I have a Geforce 4200 Ti VideoCard but i cannot use it anymore because when i updated my drivers everything got screwed up . When i get to the windows the computer runs about 2-10 minutes then lots of different coloured squares come on to the screen and after that the monitor shuts down and the computer reboots in few seconds after that. What can i do ?

Roll back your driver
Not sure how, but XP offers that feature.

When all else fails beat the $%!* out of it!!!

I rolled back but this didnt fix the problem now it takes about 20 minutes before the the monitor shuts down and computer reboots

Hi,

Who makes the card? Where did you get the drivers from?

I run a GF4 4200 TI also and I know that when, or if, I use the drivers from nvidia.com, I lose some card functionality. For example, I lose video capture.

You may want to consider removing all card drivers in safe mode and going back to your card manufacturers website and downloading their drivers.

If you have done the above, then disregard this post and maybe others have some ideas for you.

Good liuck!

If you have another video card that you can use for now put it in and then try to get rid of the other drivers. If successful then put your GF4 back in and start from fresh. It's only a suggestion but it what I would do if I had another card.

This doesn't sound like a driver problem - it's sounds like an excess heat or faulty power supply problem, or the video card has a faulty connection, or the ram has a faulty connection when the computer warms up. If it were the video drivers, everything would be screwed up when Windows first loads.

Make sure your power supply and cpu fan are working correctly. Check for crap at/on the power supply fan and cpu fan, and look inside the power supply through the openings. Go into your bios Setup and look at the current voltage readings when the computer is cold, then later when things go weird. Also look at the cpu temperature both times. If the cpu fan is okay, but the latter cpu temp is excessive, check for crap in the cpu heat sink, or an incorrectly installed heat sink (see your manual).

If all of that is okay, unplug your computer (ATX mboards are always powered some places even when Windows is Shut down), unplug your video card, re-seat it in its slot. While you're at it, unplug your ram modules and re-seat them.

Nope Still not working correctly . The Machine runs without crashing when there are no drivers installed but the performance isnt nearly as great as it used to be when everything worked correctly.

If all of things I suggested are okay, it sounds like the card is possibly being driven beyond its normal maximums, causing it to run faster than it is supposed to, or otherwise over taxing it, causing it to overheat after a while. Does this card have a fan? If it does, is it spinning at a reasonable speed? A heat sink? Does the heat sink get too hot to keep your finger on (at the point when things screw up)?

Have you looked for mentions of this problem on the site where you got the drivers?
Have you looked for mentions of this problem on the site for your mboard (FAQ for your model, troubleshooting, etc.)?

Are you SURE you used the correct updated drivers?

With some video driver installs you must follow certain procedures or the newer drivers won't work correctly. e.g. you may have to uninstall the previous drivers first. Did you follow the install directions?

Newer video drivers often require a newer version of Microsoft DirectX - that would also be in the install directions, and usually noted somewhere where you get the updated drivers.

"The Machine runs without crashing when there are no drivers installed but the performance isnt nearly as great as it used to be when everything worked correctly. "

The card would then be running in a default SVGA mode, putting no real strain on the card, and not using its enhanced capabilities.

Changing drivers in Windows just changes what is being used - if you select the same drivers again and they are already there but something is wrong with them, the problem is still there, even if it asks for the location of the files/*.inf files for them, because what is already there is not replaced.

Rolling back the drivers to a previous version may not work properly if the newer driver install corrupted the older install, and/or you have a mix of both driver versions.

Sometimes poorly written driver installs do not replace the older version of a file with the same name (hence sometimes the need to have to remove previous drivers first), and that may be where the problem lies, or files used with an older driver install and not removed by the newer install interfere with or do not work correctly with a newer drivers - normally these older files would be removed by following the proper install procedure.

DO NOT delete the driver files - that does not remove Registry entries for the drivers. If you already did that, you need to install them again so that you can properly uninstall them.

Look at the *.inf files for the newer drivers in the driver files you downloaded. There will also be copies of these in an /INF or /INF OTHER directory in Windows somewhere if you have already installed them.
If this is not the first install of updated drivers, there may be another *.inf file there with a very similar name, or that has content very similar to your present newest driver. There may also be a similar *.inf file for the original drivers. You should be able to find these by searching for *.inf files that contain the name of the card, or other things in the *.inf files that would be unique to the card. If you search the whole hard drive, this will also find them anywhere, possibly in directories to do with the card.
Make note of the names of these *.inf files.

Look In Add/Remove programs - is there is an entry there for the drivers you most recently installed?
Is there an entry for the original drivers?
Have you updated the drivers before, or was this the first time since the card was originally installed? If you have updated the drivers before, there may be another set of older updated drivers here, with an older date or version number.
If there is only one entry, for the drivers you most recently installed, uninstall them. There may also be an entry for previous drivers - if there is, uninstall the newest one first, then the next older one, etc. You should be able to leave the entry for the original drivers there if present.

Look at the *.inf files for the newer drivers in the driver files you downloaded.
Look in an /INF or /INF OTHER directory in Windows the the *inf file names you found previously. If the *.inf file for the newest drivers are still there, delete them. If the *.inf files for previous updates are still there, delete them. If there is *.inf files for the original driver, you should be able to leave that there.

You should now be able to change your drivers to the original one for the card - try them for a while and see if you still have your problems.

If that doesn't solve the problem, go to Add/Remove again, and if there is an entry there for your original drivers, uninstall them. If there isn't, there may be an uninstall for them in the Programs listing to do with your card, or you may be able to uninstall your drivers using the original install CD.

Then install the new drivers, or an older version from your original install disk or from off the web, using the install procedure, updating DirectX if required.

It has a heat sink which is very Hot(im not exactly sure how hot is too much). The Fan spins at reasonable speed. I checked the Fan speeds and temperature from BIOS

Cpu fan : 2900 RPM
PWR fan : 0 RPM (Power supply ?)
CHA fan : 0 RPM (What fan is this ?)

Cpu Temp : 45 Celsius
Mother board Temp : 47 Celsius

"It has a heat sink which is very Hot(im not exactly sure how hot is too much). The Fan spins at reasonable speed"

On the graphics card? Sounds like it is being overdriven, or it's faulty. Is this with the default SVGA drivers, or with the drivers that give you problems. If the former, it appears you have a faulty video card. If the latter try my suggestions about uninstalling the drivers.

"im not exactly sure how hot is too much"

Do you have a meat thermometer (for turkeys, roasts etc.) or a candy thermometer? You might be able to get a reading with that. I'm not sure how hot it should get either, but it shouldn't get all that hot unless you are doing something intensive with the graphics.

"Cpu fan : 2900 RPM
PWR fan : 0 RPM (Power supply ?)
CHA fan : 0 RPM (What fan is this ?)"

Chassis fan; case fan

It looks like you don't have a case fan, or you don't have one that that connects to the mboard. And you don't have a power supply fan lead that tells the mboard the power supply fan rpm (an option, better PS's only). These require a three pin (3 hole)connector to connect to the mboard (3 pin connector) so that the rpm can be read. If the PS fan has one, there are only two wires in the three pin connector (rpm only), the wires are outside of the PS, and connect to the mboard.

"Cpu Temp : 45 Celsius
Mother board Temp : 47 Celsius"

Are these temp readings in the bios itself? If they aren't look in the bios - those temps are more reliable.

CPU temp is okay. The mboard temp is high - a case fan or two would help. Depends on your room temperature of course. If your room temp is, say, 25, this is too hot inside your case, and you need a case fan or two. Ten degrees above your room temp inside the case is okay.

As far as the graphics card goes, you could try keeping the case open and using another fan to blow more air on the video card to see if that makes the problem go away. Any fan will do to test with, a larger cooling fan beside the case, etc. If that works, a case fan or two may cure your problem, and/or a better fan on the graphics card. If it doesn't work, and you tried my suggestions about fixing the drivers, the video card needs to be replaced.

Hey i have the same problem with my computer
seems the words go blury or the screen i even tryed driver clean for my video card and did not work try reinstales windows does the same mite the monitor needs more power to run high powered motherboard must be onley stared when upgraded my cpu if you have ansear email me thanks

"...seems the words go blury or the screen.."
".. i even tryed driver clean for my video card and did not work . try reinstales windows does the same...."

Re-installing video drivers or Windows will not help. This is a physical hardware problem, not a driver or a Windows problem.

Either:
- your monitor's focus is out of adjustment, usually due to age - how old is it? It would likely be blurry all the time.

- or

"onley stared when upgraded my cpu"

-- your computer power supply is inadequate or is starting to fail and doesn't have enough capacity to cope with the added power (current, amperage) your new cpu needs.

How can you check these things?

Try your monitor on someone elses computer.
Borrow someone else's monitor and try it on your computer and see if you have the same problem -
-- if the other monitor is fine, it's your monitor that's the problem. You can get the focus adjusted by a computer repair place, but if the monitor is old there may be nothing they can do - you need a better monitor.

-- if the borrowed display is still blurry on your computer, or your monitor is fine on another computer, it's something else:

Either:

-- your video card is overheating and/or failing. Is the video okay when you first turn it on from cold, then it becomes blurry gradually, or is the display always blurry?Does your video card have a fan? If it does is it spinning properly? Is it making any noises, especially when you start the computer from cold? A fan problem will probably mean the video is okay when the computer is cold, then becomes worse. If the fan is no good replace it - NOW!
If it does not have a fan, or it does and it works fine, it is very unlikely there is anything wrong with your video card unless you have an excessive heat buildup problem inside your case.

OR
-- your power supply is inadequate, or is failing.
Does the fan in the power supply spin okay? Is it making any noises, especially when you start the computer from cold? If it isn't well, have you noticed any burnt plastic kind of smell around your computer?
A fan problem if it hasn't gone on too long will probably mean the computer is okay when started from cold, then becomes worse. If the fan has been bad for too long, the power supply will have overheated to the point that it is damaged and failing and it will cause heat buildup inside your case that can damage other things including your video card. If the fan is no good, see the following as well - if the voltages are out NOT of whack, replace the fan - NOW! If the voltages ARE out of whack, you need a new power supply - NOW! - get one with more capacity while you're at it.
......

If you have a mboard with hardware monitoring (most mboards less than about 5 years old have that), go into your bios Setup and find the current voltages and temperatures. Look for voltages way out of whack, or temperatures that are excessive after the computer has been on at least a half hour.

If your power supply is inadequate, any or all of your +5 volt, +12 volt, and +3.3 volt readings will probably be too low. If it is failing, these voltages could either too low
or too high.

If you still have the old cpu, try installing it instead of the new one and see if the problem goes away. If it does, you definately need a power supply with more capacity (more watts), as soon as possible.