[Ratta237]

Hi guys,
My computer has been being a little bit of a donkey lately.
Here is a list of what happens:
Starts up computer,
Waits 10 min to start up,
Opens up minecraft,
Logs in and connects to minerealm,
About 2-3 min after connecting my screen starts to get lots of odd purple green lines through the image,
Keeps degrading in quality until the screen gos black,
The computer doesn't respond,
Forces shutdown, I try again and a similar thing happens.
Any ideas what's happening to my laptop?
If this helps my operating system is vista 32 bit home premium.
My graphics card is an amd mobility hd 3650.

[Unbound]

Power supply and gpu check them. Also any heating up?

[Ratta237]

Power supply and gpu check them. Also any heating up?

No heating up, it stays cool. The gpu, I don't really know. The CPU er hmmm, I have been running dayz lately. It's been doing this since we bought it it's just been doing this weird line stuff more then it use to, and at different times. Usually it stuffs up in the start up menu, not once it's started up. The power supply is working fine.
EDIT: My CPU is a core2duo @ 2.13ghz

[Seorsum]

Try a different computer on the monitor, it may be the monitor.

[Ratta237]

Try a different computer on the monitor, it may be the monitor.

Um, it's a laptop so that's not possible.

[Seorsum]

Ah, is it possible to connect to a separate monitor? Then press [start + p] until it says "Projector only" or something of the sort? (Assuming using Windows)

[Yeavon]

also dunno if itll help but look to see if any updates to your driver for your built in video card

[Ratta237]

also dunno if itll help but look to see if any updates to your driver for your built in video card

Nah, it's an old card, the drivers haven't been updated in years.

[Puged]

Power supply and gpu check them. Also any heating up?

It certainly sounds like an overheating problem.

[Tee]

Sounds like a dry solder joint to me - the slightest bit of heat will cause increased resistance in the joint and result in weird behaviour. I've had it before.

First thing I'd do is plug it in to an external monitor and see if the problem occurs on that too. That will immediately tell you if it's the graphics card playing up (in which case the external screen will go weird too) or the screen electronics (in which case the external screen will be fine).

If testing shows that it is the graphics card that is at fault then it's likely a dry solder joint. Depending on how nuts you are and whether you're prepared to accept the notebook never working again, it may be possible to fix it. Spoilered instructions below.

Spoiler:

• 1. Remove the graphics card from the notebook. Search the web for a service manual if you need to.
  2. De-dust it thoroughly using compressed air and a small paint brush.
  3. Take an oven tray and lay down some aluminium foil. Form some small aluminium balls by rolling foil and place them onto the tray, then place the graphics card on top - this just allows hot air beneath the card. The graphics card must be placed upside down, with the solder joints on the PCB (printed circuit board) facing upwards. Get this wrong and your card is guaranteed toast...
  4. Preheat your oven to 385F / 195C. Use an oven thermometer to make sure that is the final temperature at the shelf you will be using. Let the oven preheat properly so temperature is consistent.
  5. Place the oven tray into the oven and time 8 minutes exactly. Remove the tray from the oven after this time and let it cool on the bench.
  6. Refit the graphics card and rebuild the notebook. Pray. Switch it on.

This worked for me with an old 7900GTX in a Dell E1705 notebook. It just reflows the solder and remakes the joints. Your luck may vary though - it's just as likely to kill your machine as it is to fix it. It's a step you take just before you would throw it in the bin otherwise

WARNING: The solder in the graphics card may be lead based. Look for a small sticker with a symbol showing a circle with Pb inside and a slash across it. If that sticker is there then it's lead free and will be reasonably safe to do this procedure on. If that sticker is missing then the solder may contain lead, and breathing the fumes that result from this process could give you lead poisoning. Not something you'd queue up for