I just had a go on Pharoah and now I have lines through my normal screen ... I have looked everywhere , even tried restarting it . Other than removing and never playing the game again can it be fixed or has anyone else encountered this ? The white is clear , all the other colors are striped no matter what the game .

Your graphics card is dying. That has nothing to do with Pharaoh, it's just bad luck. Buy a new one.

It may not be your graphics card but the settings for that particular game.

Hmmm... I have my monitor sometimes freak out and do really stupid things, like going purple. Try resetting the monitor as well.

Changing the resolution, as it may not be a compatible resolution.

White lines? Hmm if they were black it could be confused for interlace, and playing emulated games with interlace can have an interesting effect on video and games where you get an uprez effect for free but with half the light (as your brain fills in the gaps of what should be there).

Does the game support alternate API? Example Spaz and Rebel Galaxy both support DX11, and DX9, and openGL, so picking a different API may play differently with your card.

New card , never had an issue before so I think that is not the issue . It only happened after I exited and never reset with any of my other games....still seeing lines . I think you are right however it is not resetting upon exit . Other titles will not resolve the issue . On my main screen now I see horizontal lines ...regardless of what I do :( I have tried a factory reset on the screen , changing resolutions however it still persists . I just should not have run it I think .... I am currently reinstalling my Nvidia to see if I can resolve it that way .

Hmmm... bad video ram? It's sound more and more like a hardware/video card issue of some kind. If it's persisting all the time no matter what.

If it was just on specific games, I'd say it was resolution or API.

If you can't solve it in the next say 2 days, I would say send it back and get a different one. Contact support and get an RMA (they won't give it to you until you troubleshoot it), or if it's new and from a big store like Walmart or something, you might be able to take it in person and get a 1:1 replacement of the same card.

If no fix then as it's a new card it should still be under warranty and it is pretty hard to diagnose something unseen from our end.Let us know if you fix it or get it fixed.

I had a similar problem many years ago, it turned out to be the connection at the back of the pc had worked loose. I know it sounds too simple, but have you tried pushing home the connections between monitor and pc?

(by pushing home, I mean re-securing, not putting them in a trolly and walking round the block). :-)

Hmmm... Makes me wonder if the card slot was clean...

DownunderDon, If you are comfortable with getting your hands dirty installing/uninstalling your card (else I assume someone else did it for you) take the card out, make sure it's clean (probably rubbing alcohol on the connectors will be fine) and also make sure to use compressed air on the contacts on the actual motherboard, then put the card back in.

I don't expect this to make a difference, but it's a slight possibility.


Hmmm... Also to note, the card fully fit in the slot it was suppose to enter I assume? I've heard plenty of horrible rumors and seen some myself, so I won't take anything for chance.

If you have an on board graphics processor, try plugging into that. That will eliminate the monitor as a source of the problem. If the problem has vanished, then uninstall your main GPU driver and do a clean install of them. Switch back to the main GPU plug and see if the problem still persists. If so, then it is likely hardware.
What kind of monitor/cable are you using?

Also, what's your Video card and operating system?

Yeah, thinking monitor as a possibility, too. The other option is to try a different monitor. HDMI input to a TV would probably work if a second PC monitor isn't available.

Have a similar thing on an older laptop, but just a couple lines. Plug into a second screen and the problem doesn't move to the other display. So yeah, separate the GPU from the screen one way or another.

 
If you see the (vertical?) bars during <span class="bold">POST</span> or in the <span class="bold">BIOS setup utility</span>  (before Windows starts loading) , it's definitively a hardware issue.  You'll have to find out what's wrong, and there are many possible causes :  a bad DVI / VGA cable or monitor, a faulty GPU or video RAM, an inadequate power supply, an overheating GPU, a loose or disconnected cable, etc.

If no line appears during POST or in safe mode, try to rollback your drivers.  It not necessarily means that it's a software issue, It could also be a defective component on the video card, a weak voltage / amperage, or a bad connection.  Keep in mind that a video card has a very low <span class="bold">TDP</span> in 2D, and most of the problems will occur in 3D when the card will be drawing much more power and using most of its RAM.
 
What are your nVidia card, CPU and motherboard, and which version of Windows is installed ?  What power supply are you using ?  Does it come with 6-pins or 8-pins <span class="bold">PCI-E connectors</span>, and is it <span class="bold">80+</span> certified ?
 
 
 
You could try the following to identify the culprit  (or ask a friend to assist you) :

1.  Check your monitor and its DVI / VGA cable.  If the cable is properly attached, try to gently twist it at both ends and check if the bars disappear while you play with the cable.  If they disappear completely, it's probably a loose contact inside the cable.  In that case, a new cable will fix the problem.  I had a similar problem with my laptop, and I fixed it by replacing the internal video cable between the LCD and the GPU.

2.  If you have another monitor and DVI / VGA cable, plug them to your computer.  If no artifact appears with this setup, you have a faulty monitor or cable.  Try with both cables to see if the problem is gone.  If no line appears with both cables, the problem could be your monitor.

3.  If you only have artifacts while playing 3D games, your video card is probably overheating, defective, or having a power issue.  Make sure that your video card is properly seated on the motherboard, and check for any loose or missing connections.  Also check if the heatsink of your video card is clogged with dust.  A dusty heatsink can lead to overheating, and can be easily cleaned with <span class="bold">compressed air dusters</span>.  At the same time, you can also remove dust from your CPU and your power supply.  Make sure that you never flip the can upside down.  If the problem is fixed after cleaning the heatsink, use a benchmark utility like <span class="bold">Unigine Heaven</span> to see if the video card is stable, and that no artifact appears on your screen during the test.

4.  If you have a spare video card, uninstall the current video drivers, replace your video card with the spare one, and install the correct drivers.  You could also try with a different power supply if you have one, but make sure it has all the necessary connectors and enough power for the whole system.

5.  If your video card is the culprit and it's still under warranty, ask for a new one.  If the card was bought at a retail store, ask them for a replacement.  Otherwise, you'll have to contact the manufacturer for a <span class="bold">RMA</span>, or an Express-RMA if you want to receive your new card faster.
 
 
 
These pages might interest you

   ▪   Troubleshooting DVI problems
   ▪   The Lagom LCD monitor test pages
   ▪   Unigine Heaven
 
 

Sometimes things, even new things, simply break. Pharaoh just happens to be the game that was running when it did.