I think you've hit the nail, Kyle. A long process of trial and error ahead. The Asus board doesn't have a built in video port, but i do have some other cards I could try. I take care of tech at the elem school I teach at, so have access to lots of parts to switch out with. I thought about the PS, but that may be a last resort. thanks for your lengthy and well-thought reply

chuck 

-------------- Original message -------------- 
From: Kyle Elmblade <[log in to unmask]> 

> I'm not sure the two problems are related, though I could be wrong. I'm 
> assuming the video card is PCI Express. Do you have a second slot? It could 
> be a bad slot, and moving it then running that way for a while would be one 
> way to check. 
> 
> It is slightly possible that it is a failing power supply, or one that is 
> just enough underpowered that intense graphics work has an affect on it. The 
> only way to really test this, though, is to buy a new power supply. If 
> that's not it you have the expense of paying for a part you didn't need, 
> unless you have a friend who has a spare one you can test with. Of course, 
> having a spare power supply around never hurts either. I'd probably look at 
> this last if for no other reason than how much of a pain it is to 
> troubleshoot. 
> 
> Have you checked for updated drivers on the video card? Or any defects on 
> the card or the drivers? You might try back-revving the drivers to see if 
> the problem goes away with an earlier version of them. 
> 
> What it comes down to is it is either hardware or software related. I know 
> that sounds obvious, but it's easy to forget the rules. Eliminate everything 
> that it's NOT until you are only left with what it could be. I would start 
> with the software. Drivers first. If need be, start using the stock Windows 
> VGA drivers for a while and see if you can reproduce it (ugh this is a pain, 
> but easier than replacing the power supply). If that ain't it then start the 
> hardware troubleshooting process. See if just having the system sit for a 
> while will reproduce it. Then start taking things away. Sound card, CD/DVD 
> drives, any peripherals, etc. If all that goes away and you're still having 
> the problem, swap the video card to a different slot if possible. If not, 
> try to find another card to substitute with and see if it still happens. If 
> so, then you may need to try the power supply next. 
> 
> Hope this helps. I know others will have additional 
> suggestions/possibilities. 
> 
> Cheers! 
> Kyle Elmblade 
> [log in to unmask] 
> 
> On Thu, Dec 18, 2008 at 2:37 PM, Chuck Finnigan wrote: 
> 
> > I'm having problems with this setup. Every so often (eg, I was working in 
> > Publisher today) the graphics would just go out and I'd have to reset the 
> > computer each time. Another problem is Windows Media Player keeps reverting 
> > to error messages and closing. 
> > 
> > Here's my system: 
> > XP_SP3 
> > Windows One care, everything up to date 
> > Asus P5Q-PRO MB / BIOS v.1104 (7/31/2008) 
> > Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3GHz Rev. EO 
> > 2MB Kingston DDR2 800 / PC2-6400 (2 SLOTS) 
> > DRAM frequency 400.8 MHz 
> > Timings: 5-5-5-18 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS) 
> > Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT (driver v. 6.14.11.7813) 
> > 
> > Any suggestions would be appreciated. 
> > 
> > Chuck Finnigan 
> > [log in to unmask] 
> > 
> > Do you want to signoff PCBUILD or just change to 
> > Digest mode - visit our web site: 
> > http://freepctech.com/pcbuild.shtml 
> > 
> 
> Do you want to signoff PCBUILD or just change to 
> Digest mode - visit our web site: 
> http://freepctech.com/pcbuild.shtml 

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