1. © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Installing and Troubleshooting Video LAB

2. © 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

3. © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Installing and Configuring Video

4. © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 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

5. © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 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

6. © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 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

7. © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Display Applet Screen Saver –Power Management features

8. © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Display Applet Settings tab –Allows you to configure multiple monitors –Can configure resolution and color depth Video Mode

9. © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Display Applet—Advanced Monitor tab –Can update monitor driver –Can set the screen refresh rate Change in small increments Can cause damage

10. © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Display Applet—Advanced Many video cards have card-specific tab

11. © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 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

12. © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 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

13. © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Troubleshooting Video

14. © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 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

15. © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 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

16. © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Video Card Problems Don’t forget the obvious –Limited colors—check the color depth –Resolution set too high “Input signal out of range”

17. © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 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!

18. © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 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

19. © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 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

20. © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 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

21. © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Dead pixel

22. © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Lit pixel

23. © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved stuck pixel

24. © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Cleaning Monitors Anti-static monitor wipes or anti-static cloths should be used for cleaning the monitor –Avoid commercial cleaning solutions on LCD screens