PC displays graphics characters

  • Thread starter Thread starter David C
  • Start date Start date
D

David C

Help!

On startup Windows XP splash screen is OK but on starting
XP (Pro), everything else is in some obscure character set
(which looks like drawing characters) - every English
letter/character has been substituted for a drawing
character.

The only clue I can get from the owner, is that after a
recent storm, his PC restarted and all the PC Motherboard
resources were re-installed (Standard Floopy Drive, PCI
Bus, IDE Control, etc.)

Motherboard is a GA-6VX7-4X, 800Mhz PIII.

Any clues or leads would be appreciated.
 
You mention that the system was on when a storm caused (I assume) a power
outage, spike, surge or other electrical problem. This is not a good thing.
Your mother board or some of the components on it may be damaged. There may
be damage to the video card or chip causing the strange "characters" you now
see on your screen. Can you get into Device Manager to check the hardware
for problems? If you can't access the Start menu, you have a problem. As
this is a PIII board, it may be difficult to get repairs or parts due to the
age of the board. As a very last resort, you could try a reinstall of
Windows. Assuming you can access the CD drive, that is. I would suggest a
format and install as opposed to just reinstalling Windows.
 
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