What to do?

[Paralectic]

So a computer I'm going to diagnose tonight has these issues:

 

Black screen on boot.

Random crashes and freezes.

Artifacting while browsing, mailing, watching videos and such.

 

The PC is 6 years old and the gpu is fine so that's not the issue ( I guess )

 

What could it be and how should I diagnose the problem of the computer?
I need help from the awesome community to make sure I can fix it so they will trust and recommend me for future PC-jobs.

 

Thanks!

[Vacsol]

So a computer I'm going to diagnose tonight has these issues:

 

Black screen on boot.

Random crashes and freezes.

Artifacting while browsing, mailing, watching videos and such.

 

The PC is 6 years old and the gpu is fine so that's not the issue ( I guess )

 

What could it be and how should I diagnose the problem of the computer?

I need help from the awesome community to make sure I can fix it so they will trust and recommend me for future PC-jobs.

 

Thanks!

if it's artifacting, it's most likely the GPU

 

[Paralectic]

What are the specs/model of the computer?

Not sure yet, but I assume it's a Core2Duo with a GTX 650(ti boost).

@vinyldash303

[terrytek]

Not sure yet, but I assume it's a Core2Duo with a GTX 650(ti boost).

@vinyldash303

Hmmm, Core 2 Duo chipsets are actually pretty hot. If you use onboard at all, it might overload the chipset.

[Paralectic]

EDIT This is also true ^^

 

Then I'd say give it a dusting and replace the thermal paste on the GPU. How new is the graphics card?

 

EDIT 2: Has the owner OC'd anything?

It's from someone who doesn't game, it's a family-pc.

[Paralectic]

Then I would start with a dusting, and thermal paste replacement on the graphic card. Then start it up and check the temperatures on everything with HWMonitor and see if the artifacting goes away, if it doesn't start a thread in the Graphics Cards/troubleshooting forum, and give the GPU core some more voltage to work with. They guys over there generally know what they're talking about.

I'll bring my ram, gpu and hdd to check if any of mine work and I'll see.

[Paralectic]

Smart thinking

If I fix it I get some cash and can buy something to replace my stock cooler :-)

[Paralectic]

212 Evo?

Most likely.