GeForce 9800GT problems (resolution and horizontal lines) after upgrading to Windows 7

[Eric-S]

I recently upgraded to Windows 7 on my HP m9350f desktop.  I couple of days later my display ended up in 800x600 resolution with horizontal lines across the screen, right from boot up.  I have spent several hours with Microsoft and HP support trying to reload updated drivers from HP's website as well as NVIDIA's website with no improvement.  As part of normal trouble shooting I hooked up a different monitor and cable and the problem persists so it's neither the monitor nor the cable.  I removed the graphics card and temporarily replaced it with another video card and the problem goes away so the problem is with the graphics card (as opposed to the motherboard).  I replaced the NVIDIA card and problem is back, basically confirming that the problem is directly linked to the graphics card.  While I have found "many" threads on the internet regarding similar issues with 9800GT cards, I can not find a resolution to this issue. HP and MS have exhausted their resources. Any ideas or solutions????   

[Big_Dave · Accepted solution]

It time for a new video card.   Be sure to match the new card's power requirement with that of your PC's power supply.

[Eric-S]

Thanks Dave.  I've exhausted ever other possiblility and everyhing ponts to a bad card.  In any case, replacment seems to be the easliest ans cheapest option.  Existing card was a GeForce 9800GT.  The PC is an HP m9350f with 460 watts.  I'm lookng at replacing the card with a GTS 450.  Slightly beefier but with the same basic physical characteristics.  This had gone a bit beyond my persoanl knowledge base but I guess that' how you learn.  Thanks for the reply!!!

[Big_Dave]

Look here at the EVGA for some NIVIDA 450 model comparisons.  Check box all three models and then compare.

[Eric-S]

I was actually looking at the same ones today.  A new developement; I got an email back from NVIDIA tech support with one more thing to try.  I followed their insructions and for the time being it has resolve my problem. I guess time will tell but in he meantime here's what they suggested:

The issue you are experiencing is not a general behavior of the graphics card or the graphics driver. However, such issues could also occur if the display driver is not registered properly in Windows. Hence, in order to troubleshoot the issue I would request you to install this display driver using the driver cleaner software in safe mode by following the instructions described below

1) To avoid download issues, if you are running any 3rd party download utilities, please disable them as they are known for occasionally causing errors with the downloads

2) Please download and save the graphic card driver on the desktop by visiting the page at the following link

http://www.nvidia.com/object/win7-winvista-64bit-258.96-whql-driver.html

3) Uninstall the existing driver by uninstalling the NVIDIA Display Drivers from the Add / Remove programs and restart the computer

Please click the link below for the steps to uninstall the graphics driver

http://nvidia.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/nvidia.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=10

Please uninstall the existing driver using a driver cleaner. Please click the third party link below to download a driver cleaner, which is a free utility

http://www.guru3d.com/index.php?page=driversweeper

4) Please follow these steps to restart the computer in safe mode

a. Restart the computer
b. While the computer is restarting simultaneously, keep tapping the function key F8 on the keyboard
c. Now, you will need to select Safe mode with Networking

NOTE: Steps to enter into safe mode may differ for different manufacturers, kindly check with your computer manufacturer to enter accordingly

5) On Boot up, you will get the Windows Installation Wizard "Found New Hardware" please cancel it or close it. Install the driver by double clicking on the saved driver icon on the desktop and follow the instructions. After installing, restart the computer

If you still face issues after installing the driver version 258.96 then in order to troubleshoot the issue further I request you to try installing the driver version 196.21 from the following link

http://www.nvidia.com/object/win7_winvista_64bit_196.21_whql.html

Thanks again for the help.  I'll add to this post if the card ends up going bad b for now I'm good...

[Eric-S]

Image just went bad again.  Lasted almost two days though.  I'm ordering the EVGA GTS 450 tomorrow,,,

[Big_Dave]

Eric,

Let's know how it turns out.