IanD said:
Running Windows XP on Dell hardware. I have lines of dashes on the screen in
Welcome, Desktop and Internet Explorer. How can I remove these, please?
This usually means your video card is overheating and/or failing. To
test, connect the machine to a different monitor. If the problem
persists, then you know it is a hardware issue. Continue troubleshooting
by uninstalling the current card and swapping it out for a known-working
one. If the problem doesn't exist with a different monitor, then the
original monitor is probably failing.
To troubleshoot overheating, open the computer and run it open after
cleaning out all dust bunnies. Be careful when you clean; use compressed
air and be gentle. Observe all fans (overheating will cause system
freezing and/or crashing). This includes the fan on your video card if
you have one. Obviously you can't do this with a laptop, but you can
hear if the fan is running and feel if the laptop is getting too hot.
For a desktop, without touching anything, hold your hand close to the
inside of the case and feel how hot things are getting.
Standard caveat: Testing hardware failures often involves swapping out
suspected parts with known-good parts. If you can't do the testing
yourself and/or are uncomfortable opening your computer, take the
machine to a professional computer repair shop (not your local
equivalent of BigComputerStore/GeekSquad). Have all your data backed up
before you take the machine into a shop.
Malke
