Screen turns green!

Cyradis

Okay, I've been having this problem for quite some time now and I have no idea what's causing it: my computer starts up normally, the screen looks normal, I get the black windows start up screen without any problem, but when my desktop appears the screen suddenly turns green and starts flashing. I scanned my whole pc and found nothing, so I supposed it was the display driver. I started up in safe mode (the screen looks normal there too), removed the driver, restarted and installed a new driver. Then everything looked fine, but after restarting the pc again I had the same problem. I installed all windows updates too, but no succes. It's really frustrating... I'll post my Hijackthis log, maybe someone can see something there.

Logfile of HijackThis v1.99.1
Scan saved at 19:54:57, on 8/05/2007
Platform: Windows XP SP2 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP2 (6.00.2900.2180)
Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
C:\Program Files\HijackThis.exe
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://www.google.be/
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://breedband.telenet.be
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Window Title = Microsoft Internet Explorer aangeboden door Telenet Internet
O2 - BHO: Adobe PDF Reader Link Helper - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {7E853D72-626A-48EC-A868-BA8D5E23E045} - (no file)
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [MsmqIntCert] regsvr32 /s mqrt.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [BDSwitchAgent] "C:\progra~1\softwin\bitdef~1\bdswitch.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [IgfxTray] C:\WINDOWS\system32\igfxtray.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [HotKeysCmds] C:\WINDOWS\system32\hkcmd.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Persistence] C:\WINDOWS\system32\igfxpers.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NeroCheck] C:\WINDOWS\system32\NeroCheck.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QuickTime Task] "C:\Program Files\QuickTime\qttask.exe" -atboottime
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [atwtusb] atwtusb.exe beta
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [High Definition Audio Property Page Shortcut] HDAudPropShortcut.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [EPSON Stylus C48 Series] C:\WINDOWS\System32\spool\DRIVERS\W32X86\3\E_S4I091.EXE /P23 "EPSON Stylus C48 Series" /O6 "USB001" /M "Stylus C48"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [BDMCon] "C:\Program Files\Softwin\BitDefender10\bdmcon.exe" /reg
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [BDAgent] "C:\Program Files\Softwin\BitDefender10\bdagent.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [dvd43] C:\Program Files\dvd43\dvd43_tray.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ATICCC] "C:\Program Files\ATI Technologies\ATI.ACE\cli.exe" runtime -Delay
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [MsnMsgr] "C:\Program Files\MSN Messenger\MsnMsgr.Exe" /background
O4 - Global Startup: Adobe Gamma Loader.exe.lnk = C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Calibration\Adobe Gamma Loader.exe
O4 - Global Startup: Adobe Reader Speed Launch.lnk = C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Reader\reader_sl.exe
O4 - Global Startup: Microsoft Office.lnk = C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\OSA.EXE
O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xporteren naar Microsoft Excel - res://C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~2\Office10\EXCEL.EXE/3000
O14 - IERESET.INF: START_PAGE_URL=http://breedband.telenet.be
O16 - DPF: Dexia netbanking - http://netbanking.dexia.be/PC//Dynamic/Shared/Applet//DexiaIIA.cab
O16 - DPF: {17492023-C23A-453E-A040-C7C580BBF700} (Windows Genuine Advantage Validation Tool) - http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=39204
O16 - DPF: {215B8138-A3CF-44C5-803F-8226143CFC0A} (Trend Micro ActiveX Scan Agent 6.6) - http://housecall65.trendmicro.com/housecall/applet/html/native/x86/win32/activex/hcImpl.cab
O16 - DPF: {4F1E5B1A-2A80-42CA-8532-2D05CB959537} (MSN Photo Upload Tool) - http://cyradis.spaces.msn.com//PhotoUpload/MsnPUpld.cab
O18 - Protocol: livecall - {828030A1-22C1-4009-854F-8E305202313F} - C:\PROGRA~1\MSNMES~1\MSGRAP~1.DLL
O18 - Protocol: msnim - {828030A1-22C1-4009-854F-8E305202313F} - C:\PROGRA~1\MSNMES~1\MSGRAP~1.DLL
O20 - Winlogon Notify: igfxcui - C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\igfxdev.dll
O23 - Service: Ati HotKey Poller - ATI Technologies Inc. - C:\WINDOWS\system32\Ati2evxx.exe
O23 - Service: ATI Smart - Unknown owner - C:\WINDOWS\system32\ati2sgag.exe
O23 - Service: AVG Anti-Spyware Guard - Anti-Malware Development a.s. - C:\Program Files\Grisoft\AVG Anti-Spyware 7.5\guard.exe
O23 - Service: BitDefender Scan Server (bdss) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Softwin\BitDefender Scan Server\bdss.exe" /service (file missing)
O23 - Service: InstallDriver Table Manager (IDriverT) - Macrovision Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield\Driver\1050\Intel 32\IDriverT.exe
O23 - Service: BitDefender Desktop Update Service (LIVESRV) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Softwin\BitDefender Update Service\livesrv.exe" /service (file missing)
O23 - Service: BitDefender Virus Shield (VSSERV) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Softwin\BitDefender10\vsserv.exe" /service (file missing)
O23 - Service: BitDefender Communicator (XCOMM) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Softwin\BitDefender Communicator\xcommsvr.exe" /service (file missing)


I'm in safe mode right now because it's almost impossible to read anything when the screen starts acting funny. Hopefully someone has the solution for me. Thanks in advance!

Cyradis

It seems that there is no similar problem on this forum already, I browsed around but there's no solution here for me. I google it too but it seems that my computer has a mysterious disease...

Rahina-Rescue

I Can not See any Signs Of Suspicious Entries in your Logifile.

Seems like your problem isn't Malware Related = Topic Moved

Tansunn

I remember on my desktop with an ATI card, somewhere in the control panel was an option - I think it was called ActiveShader or something like that - and when I changed the options on it, it would display the screen with all sorts of crazy visual effects, like grayscale, sepia, "matrix" (everything was displayed using green ascii text), and such like that. Does your graphics driver have such capabilities? Maybe there were some driver settings that got saved and weren't removed when you uninstalled the driver, keeping the effect when you reinstalled? That's about all I can think of...

mirage

IMHO this looks like a problem with your graphics card. I can think of several reasons created by software configuration if there is no real hardware problem.

- Were you overclocking your graphics card before, did you change the overdrive settings in ATI CCC?
- Did you use any ATI tweaking tool, such as ATI tray tools, ATI tool, or RivaTuner?

I would suggest to do the followings to resolve or eliminate the ATI driver as a problem.

- Download latest Catalyst software
- Download Driver Cleaner and install in safe mod
- Uninstall all ATI drivers in safe mod
- Uninstall any tweaking tool that you might have installed (see above)
- Reboot into safe mod again
- Run Driver Cleaner to erase the remnants of ATI drivers completely.
- Reboot into safe mod again, and install the latest Catalyst

If you still have the green screen problem after these. You can try the above steps with an earlier version of Catalyst.

Hope this helps.

Cyradis

Thanks very much, I'll try it with that Driver Cleaner tool. I didn't change anything about my settings, didn't dowload any tweaking tool, so I have no clue what's causing it. My video card is brand new, so it would be really irritating if it would have broken already. Hopefully Driver Cleaner works for me.

mirage

If it is brand new, please do the followings before reinstalling the latest Catalyst drivers that you download from ATI. If the previous card was different than ATI, please uninstall previous card's drivers as well and run Driver Cleaner for the old card's drivers as well. After all these you reinstall the fresh/latest ATI Catalyst drivers. I hope these resolve your problems.

Cyradis

I did all the steps, but the problem stays. As soon as I restart my computer I have the green flashing screen again. The weird thing is that it only starts when the desktop opens, the Windows startup screen looks normal.

mirage

Cyradis wrote:

I did all the steps, but the problem stays. As soon as I restart my computer I have the green flashing screen again. The weird thing is that it only starts when the desktop opens, the Windows startup screen looks normal.

I think the problem, i.e. green screen, happens when the operating system initializes the graphics card drivers which sets GPU, memory frequencies, fan speeds, and probably GPU voltage. Given that cleaning the system from previous drivers and reinstalling ATI Catalyst did not fix the problem, hardware problem seems more likely now. Can you please tell what are the new and old graphics cards, and your mainboard? That information might ring a bell before deciding that the new card has a hardware problem. You have downloaded and reinstalled the latest Catalyst driver, right?

mmonnin

What does this green screen look like? Can you post a screen shot?

CB

Actually, a screen shot would be a good diagnostic tool.

If we see the screenshot as green, then it would be a software problem, if we don't see any green, then it's a hardware problem... Good Idea, mmonnin.

mmonnin

Same question solved a question of video card or monitor in another thread. Simple diagnostics. /shrug

Cyradis

Thanks, I'll post all the info and a screenshot tomorrow, unfortunately I don't have the time to do it now.

Cyradis

Okay, my old graphic card was really old, the computer was new but I bought it on Ebay and it didn't have a graphic card so I put in an old one as a temporary solution. I bought a new one a few weeks later, which has been working perfectly for half a year. The old one was an ATI Rage 128, the new one is an ATI Radeon 9250. I don't know which info I have to put for the mainboard. I have EVEREST so I can give any information you like, but I'm not sure what can be useful for you.
Here is a screenshot of the desktop:

Thrax

Your video card is dying.

Tansunn

But if that's the case, why would it look normal in safe mode? If the card was dying, wouldn't it look funky there too?

Cyradis

The screenshot is green, so doesn't that mean my video card is fine? That's what is said earlier in this topic.

CB Droege wrote:

Actually, a screen shot would be a good diagnostic tool.

If we see the screenshot as green, then it would be a software problem, if we don't see any green, then it's a hardware problem... Good Idea, mmonnin.

mirage

Cyradis wrote:

The screenshot is green, so doesn't that mean my video card is fine? That's what is said earlier in this topic.

As you said earlier that you were not overclocking and the drivers were reset to the default configuration, this is the clear indication that your video card has hardware problems. You can contact the manufacturer or the retailer for a replacement. Good luck !

mirage

Tansunn wrote:

But if that's the case, why would it look normal in safe mode? If the card was dying, wouldn't it look funky there too?

Not necessarily. In the safe mod Windows initializes the graphic board as a generic graphics adapter without any hardware acceleration. During the normal boot, graphics adapter is initialized by the graphics card driver to enable the enhanced features; resets the GPU and memory frequencies and probably GPU voltage, fan speed, etc. That is where the problems emerge when the faulty graphics card start to do the "hard work".

Thrax

If we see the screenshot turning green, the GPU itself is producing the green corruption effects, and is therefore being captured in screenshots. You were misinformed.

GPUs have different levels of operation for safe mode and regular mode; it's extremely possible that regular windows is making the GPU perform specific functions it's no longer capable of doing.

CB

Yes, my mistake.

What I meant was that it could narrow it down because if we see the green, then it's not the monitor the cables, or the video port, it's happening before the signal leaves the system.

Cyradis

I already contacted the store where I bought my video card, their website says it has three years warranty. I'll try to take the card out later and put my old one back to see if it works then, so I can be sure it's the card that's not working. Just cross my fingers now that I'll get a new one... Thanks anyway everyone for the help!

Thrax

Those manufacturer warranties on video cards are pretty great. You'll be fine on that front.