I was persuaded to buy a new computer 8 years ago. I bought it from the biggest computer shop in Auckland. It was fine for a few years. There is no brand name on it. Then when I upgraded the OS I had enormous trouble updating the drivers for the Nvidia card. I suspect the Nvidia card is often causing problems with displaying graphics or playing DVDs. Every few days especially after running Thunderbird for emails the whole screen is covered in a repeated mess of colours and I have to restart.
At the moment Firefox 84.0.1 sometimes seems to be running very slowly, even though other software runs OK.
I am having trouble with copy and paste. I often have to Copy more than once otherwise whatever was in the clipboard just stays there.
Occasionally the system hangs , so I have to restart almost every day.
Quite often the spell checker doesn't flag errors.
Where can I buy a new desktop computer that doesn't have Nvidia software or components? And a shop that guarantees their computers?

trade4us2 - 2021-01-09 15:43:00

Nvidia are one of the biggest if not THE biggest graphics card manufacturers.

As for guarantees, well any retailer must provide guarantee and then there's the CGA to back that up. What maintenance, if any has been done to your desktop?

Edited by nice_lady at 4:03 pm, Sat 9 Jan

nice_lady - 2021-01-09 16:02:00

8 years is a good life for a PC. one to three years is usual warranty period. However software issues are generally not covered by warranties (ie
they are specifically excluded in license agreements 'to the maximum extent permitted by law' yada yada) - buying a new pc because of software problems ( pretty much most you describe) is probably a waste of money. A good tech could probably work their way through a couple of pages of those sorts of issues in an hour or so.

The only possible hardware problem is the "repeated mess of colours" - might be video card or ram maybe... but even under CGA you would be pushing the proverbial uphill after eight years...

Edited by king1 at 4:32 pm, Sat 9 Jan

king1 - 2021-01-09 16:29:00

Perhaps an overheating cpu or video card? (8 years of dust)

nice_lady - 2021-01-09 16:31:00

trade4us2 wrote:

Then when I upgraded the OS I had enormous trouble updating the drivers for the Nvidia card. I suspect the Nvidia card is often causing problems with displaying graphics

Running 10 now? Try turning off 'transparency effects', right click on an empty space on the desktop then click /personalise/colors/transparen-
cy effects, see if that fixes your color problems. My graphics card stopped working properly at the 2004 update. I cured it by buying an MSI GT 710 pci e 16x card and fitting that.

Not really for gaming or intense graphics work but fixed all my win10 graphics problems, driver loaded effortlessly being an official windows 10 64bit 2020 driver. (shhhh it's a nvidia card, don't tell OP;).

Edited by muppet_slayer at 4:58 pm, Sat 9 Jan

muppet_slayer - 2021-01-09 16:49:00

Would pay to download HDsentinel too, and see what it has to say about your at least 8 year old hdd/ssd.

muppet_slayer - 2021-01-09 17:01:00

trade4us2 wrote:

I was persuaded to buy a new computer 8 years ago. I bought it from the biggest computer shop in Auckland. It was fine for a few years. There is no brand name on it. Then when I upgraded the OS I had enormous trouble updating the drivers for the Nvidia card. I suspect the Nvidia card is often causing problems with displaying graphics or playing DVDs. Every few days especially after running Thunderbird for emails the whole screen is covered in a repeated mess of colours and I have to restart.
At the moment Firefox 84.0.1 sometimes seems to be running very slowly, even though other software runs OK.
I am having trouble with copy and paste. I often have to Copy more than once otherwise whatever was in the clipboard just stays there.
Occasionally the system hangs , so I have to restart almost every day.
Quite often the spell checker doesn't flag errors.
Where can I buy a new desktop computer that doesn't have Nvidia software or components? And a shop that guarantees their computers?

8 years is a fairly good innings. For instance most lease machines are
replaced after three, not just to keep the installed base fresh and the $$ rolling in but because the amount and cost of maintenance of older machines tips the economic scale.

Surface corrosion on connectors, heat shifting resistor values, caps eventually drying out, even electrons migrating in the semiconductors, all of these take their toll with time. Try pulling any expansion boards and giving the edge connectors a freshen up with some isopropyl alcohol and a cloth, get them bright again. look for any bulging tops on capacitors, or any that are coming up of their legs, these can be replaced if you are keen.

Power supplies are another source of such problems, lots of heat and current in one concentrated place. Easy to swap out if you have a spare.

ronaldo8 - 2021-01-09 17:33:00

Here's what the screen looks like when I run Thunderbird sometimes or try to play a video.
https://trademe.tmcdn.co.nz/photoserver/full/1466046705.jpg

I am running Ubuntu 18.04. I want to upgrade to 20.04 but I think it will die because Nvidia drivers have such problems.
It ran perfectly on Ubuntu 12.04.
I have a laptop running Windows which I hate. On only use it for Zoom because my desktop doesn't have a camera or mike.( A plug in mike now works.)

See here why Nvidia has problems for many others
https://www.debugpoint.com/2021/01/install-nvidia-driver-ubu
ntu-linux/

Edited by trade4us2 at 5:52 pm, Sat 9 Jan

trade4us2 - 2021-01-09 17:47:00

They are often going strong after 8 years, however the new Windows 10 can have problems with older hardware. Older computers can have issues though.

There are other options than Windows and they can have better performance. Ask me if you would like to know more.

tygertung - 2021-01-09 17:47:00

The member deleted this message.

nice_lady - 2021-01-09 17:49:00

trade4us2 wrote:

Here's what the screen looks like when I run Thunderbird sometimes or try to play a video.
https://trademe.tmcdn.co.nz/photoserver/full/1466046705.jpg

that looks like a hardware issue to me

king1 - 2021-01-09 18:25:00

trade4us2 wrote:

See here why Nvidia has problems for many others
https://www.debugpoint.com/2021/01/install-nvidia-driver-ubu
ntu-linux/

this doesn't seem to be anything other than an installation guide - i'm not seeing anything about many others having nvidia problems...

king1 - 2021-01-09 18:28:00

Open it. Check for dust. Bad caps. GPU fan stuck or bad bearings.....etc etc.

nice_lady - 2021-01-09 18:29:00

Best way to test if it is a *hardware* issue is to swap out suspect hardware individually and test.

If you don't have spare hardware kicking around, I will sometimes grab an old HDD and do a clean install of the OS (Ubuntu in your case) which can help determine that it is, or is not, a *software* problem ie if it still does the same on a clean install it is probably hardware...

Edited by king1 at 6:36 pm, Sat 9 Jan

king1 - 2021-01-09 18:35:00

trade4us2 wrote:

I was persuaded to buy a new computer 8 years ago. There is no brand name on it. .

?

Brands don't make computer parts. Parts manufacturers do. "Brand" PCs stick a label on the outisde, whats inside matters more. The BRAND of the parts, motherboard, GPU, GPU, HDD etc.
All of your issues have nothing to do with that at all.
It's software mainly. Do a fresh install and that will cure the bloat and clutter.
As for the artifacts, it could be the GPU is on the way out....get a new GPU, not a entire PC. Last time I bought a PC was 1998. It's been upgraded since. OK nothng left of the original now....not even the case but still, oldest parts in it are now 11 years old (motherboard, CPU and RAM).
Youngest would be the GPU, which is 4 now.
And the newest thing of all is my operating system.

lythande1 - 2021-01-09 19:14:00

The latest crash, when I clicked on an application.
https://trademe.tmcdn.co.nz/photoserver/full/1466121103.jpg

trade4us2 - 2021-01-09 20:15:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYWzMvlj2RQ

nicc4 - 2021-01-09 21:44:00

nicc4 wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYWzMvlj2RQ[/qu
ote]

heh I remember that, that mobile power switching chipset they had at the time, what was it called? omega or something..Optimus! thats right, a complete steaming pile under linux. Long time ago now though, things have improved.

ronaldo8 - 2021-01-09 22:09:00

I am now told by a number of people that Nvidia won't run properly under Linux. It's a pity that I didn't know that before I bought the computer.

trade4us2 - 2021-01-10 10:30:00

trade4us2 wrote:

I am now told by a number of people that Nvidia won't run properly under Linux. It's a pity that I didn't know that before I bought the computer.

those kind of statements are a bit of a sweeping generalisation that really have no valid meaning.

you have minimum eight year old hardware and what looks to be a hardware fault, from the images you posted. Get the problem fixed and it will be back to normal.

Even though some evangelists would say linux is the greatest and 'just works', you can't realistically expect too many devices to go eight years without any problems...

king1 - 2021-01-10 11:09:00

But you said "it was fine for a few years"

Was that before you put Linux on it?

nice_lady - 2021-01-10 11:11:00

nice_lady wrote:

But you said "it was fine for a few years"

Was that before you put Linux on it?

there seems to me to be several posters that are conspicuously quiet at the moment...

king1 - 2021-01-10 11:41:00

probably sussing out how to deal with the first ever problem...

king1 - 2021-01-10 11:43:00

Lol perhaps if the OP was to confirm if during those years it was running fine they were running Linux?

Might help the process of elimination
Anyway to me it looks like a hardware issue.

Edited by nice_lady at 11:49 am, Sun 10 Jan

nice_lady - 2021-01-10 11:47:00

Anyway back to the point, I'm running Linux on much older hardware than that with no problems. I've been running it on a 10 year old netbook, a 17 year old desktop, two 7 year old desktops and a 3 year old laptop and each runs fast and reliable.

The 17 year old desktop also has Windows XP on it, but that runs pretty slow. Probably needs reinstalling as Windows gets clogged up after a while.

The netbook also has Windows 7 on it, which also runs slow. Would probably run fast after a fresh install.

Yes Linux can have some problems (typically easily resolvable) with some hardware, but it is no different to other operating systems which also can have problems with some hardware.

Usually the drivers for all hardware are built in to the kernel so everything just works. Usually on Windows you will have to supply the drivers.

If you have a graphics card, can you just remove it and try using the built in graphics on the motherboard? Are you still getting the errors?

tygertung - 2021-01-10 12:17:00

tygertung wrote:

Usually the drivers for all hardware are built in to the kernel so everything just works. Usually on Windows you will have to supply the drivers.

If you have a graphics card, can you just remove it and try using the built in graphics on the motherboard? Are you still getting the errors?

Must have been a while since you used windows, I can't remember the last time I had to install a driver...

But your second point is a good idea and may be an easy fix if the OP is ok removing the external graphics card

king1 - 2021-01-10 13:01:00

tygertung wrote:

The 17 year old desktop also has Windows XP on it, but that runs pretty slow. Probably needs reinstalling as Windows gets clogged up after a while.

you sure that 17 year old hardware isn't contributing to the slowness...

king1 - 2021-01-10 13:06:00

nice_lady wrote:

But you said "it was fine for a few years"

Was that before you put Linux on it?

The computer that I bought has always had Ubuntu on it for about four years, except when Ubuntu upgraded itself and stopped working immediately. The shop put Windows on it and it worked. So they said the computer was fine. Clearly the Nvidia card has some weird problem and I may as well buy a new computer. I will stay away from Nvidia forever.

trade4us2 - 2021-01-10 15:01:00

have you actually paid anyone that knows what they're doing to take a look at it? Even though it's eight years old and probably not worth spending too much on, buying a new computer for something that could be a simple fix doesn't make much sense to me...

king1 - 2021-01-10 15:09:00

king1 wrote:

have you actually paid anyone that knows what they're doing to take a look at it? Even though it's eight years old and probably not worth spending too much on, buying a new computer for something that could be a simple fix doesn't make much sense to me...

Yes you are right. Where do I find someone who knows about Ubuntu?
There are many things that I like about Ubuntu. I don't want Windows.
This looks like a weird hardware fault in the graphics card. I don't think anything else will fit in this computer. There's another guy with the same problem in a Ubuntu forum.

Edited by trade4us2 at 3:17 pm, Sun 10 Jan

trade4us2 - 2021-01-10 15:16:00

Have you had a look inside the machine for dust or failed fan on the graphics card or other similar issues ?

nice_lady - 2021-01-10 15:25:00

trade4us2 wrote:

Yes you are right. Where do I find someone who knows about Ubuntu?
There are many things that I like about Ubuntu. I don't want Windows.
This looks like a weird hardware fault in the graphics card. I don't think anything else will fit in this computer. There's another guy with the same problem in a Ubuntu forum.

being a hardware fault, it doesn't really require any specialist knowledge of ubuntu, just someone who can do some basic troubleshooting and maybe open it up swap out a couple of bits of hardware to see if it fixes the problem... all decent techs will have spare hardware lying around they can test it with.

Edited by king1 at 3:29 pm, Sun 10 Jan

king1 - 2021-01-10 15:28:00

king1 wrote:

probably sussing out how to deal with the first ever problem...

hahaha.

ronaldo8 - 2021-01-10 15:56:00

At a guess you are using the propriety Nvidea driver in Ubuntu. Just go back to using the Nouveau (open -source) video driver that comes Ubuntu. The difference in performance when not gaming is negligible.
Go to Driver Manager and change it.

mark119 - 2021-01-10 16:03:00

king1 wrote:

probably sussing out how to deal with the first ever problem...

You lot are typical of Linux users. You like to ridicule people instead of being helpful.

trade4us2 - 2021-01-10 18:29:00

mark119 wrote:

At a guess you are using the propriety Nvidea driver in Ubuntu. Just go back to using the Nouveau (open -source) video driver that comes Ubuntu. The difference in performance when not gaming is negligible.
Go to Driver Manager and change it.

It is not obvious to me how to do that. The first version of Ubuntu that I got worked fine without knowing the slightest thing about Linux.

trade4us2 - 2021-01-10 18:31:00

king1 wrote:

you sure that 17 year old hardware isn't contributing to the slowness...

No, because if I use the period operating system (XP) it is running slow, whereas with a fresh install of XP it runs real fast.

tygertung - 2021-01-10 18:48:00

I've run ubuntu and nvidia without issue. The screen corruption is most likely a hardware fault, in the nvidia card. If you're that sure you don't want nvidia, get an AMD card to replace it.
The trick with nvidia & linux is to stay away from the nouveau driver, its rubbish, and use the latest proprietary driver made by nvidia.

bitsnpieces2020 - 2021-01-11 07:49:00

trade4us2 wrote:

I was persuaded to buy a new computer 8 years ago. I bought it from the biggest computer shop in Auckland. It was fine for a few years. There is no brand name on it. Then when I upgraded the OS I had enormous trouble updating the drivers for the Nvidia card. I suspect the Nvidia card is often causing problems with displaying graphics or playing DVDs. Every few days especially after running Thunderbird for emails the whole screen is covered in a repeated mess of colours and I have to restart.
At the moment Firefox 84.0.1 sometimes seems to be running very slowly, even though other software runs OK.
I am having trouble with copy and paste. I often have to Copy more than once otherwise whatever was in the clipboard just stays there.
Occasionally the system hangs , so I have to restart almost every day.
Quite often the spell checker doesn't flag errors.
Where can I buy a new desktop computer that doesn't have Nvidia software or components? And a shop that guarantees their computers?

Sounds like you likely have software errors within windows or your application you are pasting into, 8 years is good going anyway.
none of this is the computers fault.
Nvidia is one of the largest manufacturers of video cards.
Some of the bundled software with the drivers can be removed or disables on startup.
Spell checker in thunderbird is known to randomly not work sometimes.
If it was me I would simply reinstall windows and install an SSD if its a high spec machine.
its possible your graphics card may have a fault, but without looking at the PC, there is no way to tell.
I suggest you download furmark and run a stress test.
Download prime95 and run a stress test to see if it falls over too.

Edited by nzoomed at 4:05 pm, Mon 11 Jan

nzoomed - 2021-01-11 16:04:00

You need to read the thread. The OP is running Linux.

nice_lady - 2021-01-11 17:26:00

In my experience, some versions of Ubuntu just work and some don't. I agree that 8 years is pretty good. My motherboard is slightly older, it just would not work with some video cards (ironically Asus Nvidia cards, same brand as motherboard), and Windows 10 will not recognise the USB 3 ports. Linux (Ubuntu 20.x now), does fine.

emmerson1 - 2021-01-11 19:00:00

Try installing Lubuntu, it is much faster and who knows, it might magically fix hour problem.

I'm running Lubuntu 20.04 on my old netbook, and it goes good.

tygertung - 2021-01-11 19:01:00

I now discover that the Nvidia integrated graphics is not supported any more and they don't supply the drivers. I will need a newer computer even though this one works perfectly. I will avoid Nvidia forever, as they don't work properly with Ubuntu (who like to automatically supply drivers for everything).

trade4us2 - 2021-01-15 14:37:00

What graphics card does it have?

cube_guy - 2021-01-15 15:13:00

What if you get a second hand graphics card, non nividea?

tygertung - 2021-01-15 16:24:00

It has Nvidia graphics integrated with the motherboard. It displays Ge Force 7025 / nForce 630a

Being integrated there is nowhere to plug in another card. The power supply is probably not big enough to run anything else anyway.

trade4us2 - 2021-01-15 20:42:00

That's slightly strange as they usually have a AGP slot or whatever graphics cards use these days in the motherboard.

I guess the good news is that you can probably get a second hand computer of a similar age or even newer for almost nothing.

tygertung - 2021-01-15 21:05:00

Yes there appear to be suitable computers on Trademe for around $100 or $150 buy now. I don't do gaming.

trade4us2 - 2021-01-16 00:44:00

trade4us2 wrote:

It has Nvidia graphics integrated with the motherboard. It displays Ge Force 7025 / nForce 630a

Looks like a discontinued product that there are no longer driver updates for. Its integrated so you can do little to replace it unless there is an expansion slot on the motherboard. I would be moving on and looking for a newer machine, especially as some of the other issues you mention - copy and pasting not working and the system hanging in general is unlikely to be graphics related. It just sounds like an old machine that is slowly giving up. It is never going to get better.

cube_guy - 2021-01-16 15:28:00

Does the screen errors stop and go? My 2c I've had issues like this it comes and goes, mine were related to the video drivers. One time it was a Nvidia mid level card many donkey years like 13yrs ago, I swapped it to a ATI card with the store and it went away. Now I am using a AMD 2400G chip which has a integrated video cos I don't do gaming. In the past I have had issues occasionally also. AMD bought ATI so ATI issue more recently.

Seems to be OK now.

Have you tried updating the drivers? Or try some other older version drivers? Have you checked if there are any dust issues around the video card and the CPU as mentioned by someone else? Yes an 8yr old computer still does the job, my previous one I had it for 9yrs before RAM was an issue since I do some photography.

rayonline_tm - 2021-01-28 09:51:00