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Installing and Troubleshooting Video

LAB

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

Overview

• In this chapter, you will learn to

– Select the right type of video card

– Install and configure video cards and monitors

– Troubleshoot video problems

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Installing and Configuring Video

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Physical Installation Issues

• Two primary issues

1. Long cards• Some video cards are tall

and may not fit in all cases• Get a new case or new

video card

2. Proximity to nearest PCI card– Video cards run very hot– Leave space for ventilation– Good practice is to leave the slot next to an AGP

card empty to allow better airflow

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Software

• Two-step process

1. Load the drivers– Use built-in Option ROM– Check the manufacturer’s

Web site for updates

2. Check the drivers• Use the Display applet

• To set suitable refresh rate• set depth color and resolution

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Display Applet

• Found in Control Panel or right-click the desktop and choose Properties

• Making the screen pretty– Themes– Desktop– Appearance

– Other tabs– Screen Saver– Settings

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Display Applet

• Screen Saver

– Power Managementfeatures

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Display Applet

• Settings tab– Allows you to configure multiple monitors– Can configure resolution and color depth

Video Mode

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Display Applet—Advanced

• Monitor tab

– Can update monitor driver

– Can set the screen refresh rate

• Change in small increments

• Can cause damage

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Display Applet—Advanced

• Many video cards have card-specific tab

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Working with Drivers

• Video drivers work same way as other hardware drivers– Can access this screen

from Device Manager or Device applet

– Update driver– Roll back driver– Uninstall driver

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3-D Video Cards

• Graphics processing units needed

– Screens redrawn several times per second– Need to covert data to coordinate and color

– 3-D video cards have massive amounts of RAM for textures and fast processors for transformations

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Troubleshooting Video

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Video Card Problems

• Vast majority of problems are– Improper or corrupt drivers– Incorrect settings very large refreshing rate

• Incompatible or corrupt driver symptoms– 640 x 480 mode– 16-color VGA

• Your response– Boot into Safe mode and remove driver– Use Add/Remove Programs if available– Use Device Manager

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Video Card HW Problems

• Hardware problems usually just one of two – Fan has gone out– RAM is faulty

• Faulty hardware symptoms– Bizarre output– Display is a mess– May see mouse moving

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Video Card Problems

• Don’t forget the obvious

– Limited colors—check the color depth

– Resolution set too high• “Input signal out of range”

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Troubleshooting Monitors

Opening up a monitor can be deadly

Even when the power is disconnected, certain components inside a monitor retain a substantial voltage for an extended period of time. If you accidentally short

one of the components, it could actually kill you!

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Troubleshooting Monitors

• Dangerous inside a monitor

• Proper adjustment requires specialized training

• Your goal is to determine if a problem is in one these three categories:– Common monitor problems– External adjustments– Internal adjustments

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Common Monitor Problems

• Ghosting, streaking, fuzzy vertical edges – Check the cable connections and cable itself

• Missing color – Check cable for breaks, bent pins, and

monitor adjustments

• Loss of brightness – Normal with age, so use power management– Internal adjustments may be made

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Bad Pixels

• Bad pixels– Normal to have some bad pixels– Dead pixel: never lights up (always black)– Lit pixel: stays on pure white– Stuck pixel: stays on certain color

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Dead pixel

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Lit pixel

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stuck pixel

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Cleaning Monitors

• Anti-static monitor wipes or anti-static cloths should be used for cleaning the monitor

– Avoid commercial cleaning solutions on LCD screens