Video and display issues can be difficult to troubleshoot, especially if you do not have a spare video card or display to use for swapping. Use Table 9-5 to look up typical symptoms, causes, and solutions for video and display issues.
Table 9-5 Video and Display Symptoms, Problems, and Solutions
| Symptom | Possible Cause | Items to Check | Typical Solution |
| VGA mode | Incorrect driver | Verify that the correct | Install the latest driver for |
| for video hard- | driver is installed. | the video hardware from | |
| ware | the GPU or hardware | ||
| vendor. | |||
| System booted | Check the startup mode | Restart the system in nor- | |
| to Safe mode or | in use. | mal mode. | |
| VGA mode | If the system will start | ||
| only in VGA mode, | |||
| replace the video drivers. | |||
| If the system will start | |||
| only in Safe mode, use | |||
| MSConfig to disable | |||
| startup options until sys- | |||
| tem starts normally. | |||
| Chapter 9: Troubleshooting 179 | |||
| Symptom | Possible Cause | Items to Check | Typical Solution |
| No image on | Loose or discon- | Check the video cable | Turn off system and dis- |
| screen | nected video | connections on the | play before disconnecting |
| cable | computer and display. | and reconnecting cables. | |
| Incorrect selec- | Check the video cable | Use the display control | |
| tion of input sig- | to determine the video | to select the correct input | |
| nal (LCD, LED | signal type. | type. | |
| panels with VGA | |||
| and other input) |
Vertical refresh Press Esc to return to
rate out of range previous resolution (if
(LCD, LED) just selected).
Shut down the system and restart it in VGA mode.
Reselect the correct verti-cal refresh rate and restart the system.
| Overheat | Failure of fan | Check the video card or |
| shutdown | on video card’s | chipset for fan failure. |
| active heatsink |
If the fan on video card has failed, replace the fan if possible.
If the fan on video card has not failed, add more fans to case and reroute the cables to improve airflow.
| Dead pixels | Defective LCD or | Gently tap the screen | Check with the vendor |
| LED panel | over stuck or dead | to determine the number | |
| pixels. | of defective pixels that | ||
| qualify for warranty | |||
| replacement. | |||
| Replace the panel if the | |||
| pixels are distracting. | |||
| Artifacts | Small bitmap | Check the dimensions | A full-screen image |
| image over mag- | of images with artifacts. | should have at least the | |
| nified | same dimensions as the | ||
| display to avoid artifact- | |||
| ing. | |||
| Reduce large images to | |||
| smaller size instead of | |||
| enlarging small images to | |||
| avoid artifacts. | |||
180 CompTIA A+ Quick Reference
Table 9-5 Continued
