Computer Problem? Or normal occurrence?


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blckdemondrgn

-gao...?
Retired
Ok this is just happening recently and I am quite confused as to what to do.

I do not know exactly what happen but it started this week.

Basically in short my computer every now and then blink if you will. I first spotted this when my computer was going through a virus scan and the monitor just went blank or all black for a second or two and then turned itself back on. I refer this to blinking when the computer acts as if I turned the monitor off then on.

Scared of this I re-did my virus scan and spyware scan only to find nothing. After a day or two later I find myself replacing my wireless mouse batteries then another second later the computer again blink. So far there has been no detection of virus/adware at the moment.

I talked to a friend before and said this is normal on some occassions but as to why it happen I am unsure.

As the topic says, is this suppose to be normal for the computer to blink or is this some problem?

If it helps any further I tend to leave my computer on for several days, only shutting down when I have to do my daily virus/spyware sweep. Also this computer is at least 3 years old.
 
As far as I'm aware, it isn't "normal" per-se, but it is known to happen - usually due to a faulty connection. I'd suggest checking all of your chords to make sure they are firmly plugged in and that none of them have been damaged (cut, warped, pinched, etc). My old IMAC used to do it, and it was always a problem with the chord, you had to position it just right to make it stop - probably something to do with deterioration over time or some such.

Such things aside though, your monitor shouldn't really randomly be blinking on and off. My computer - like yours - is on 24/7 for weeks at a time (though I turn off the monitor before going to bed or else I'd never fall asleep...). Then again, mine is no more than a year old so *shrug*
 
dchaosblade I hope your right cause I am tired of worrying about viruses and spyware and such.

Well at one point I had someone help me straighten the cords in the back to look neat. But ever since that I rarely if ever touched anything behind my computer/monitor at all which includes the wires.

At some point today or when I do my daily computer sweep I will check the cords for any deteriations cause again I haven't messes with the chords in so long nor knew anyone that did. So if anything they've should've remain untouched for so long.

If anyone else can shed more light please do cause I would hate having to either get a new computer or worry about more problems on my computer.

In an indirect related issue, would problems on the computer (ie virus/spyware or anything) affect say my DS or Wii in any way since I would connect to the internet via Wifi USB port? Just wondering about this since I've only connected my Wii once and kinda worried about it.
 
Well from the sound of it it's just the monitor that's blinking so that shouldn't affect a usb device plugged into it. How often does it blink anyway? A couple times a hour? day? week?
 
QUOTE (Barbobot @ Mar 26 2008, 01:12 PM) Well from the sound of it it's just the monitor that's blinking so that shouldn't affect a usb device plugged into it. How often does it blink anyway? A couple times a hour? day? week?
So far I encounter the blinking around 3-5 times.

Basically once almost a day. But at one point it blinked once then again around 3-7 hours later after the first. I notice this blinking this week around. If I can I want to get rid of this blinking cause I don't want to be paranoid or even more paranoid with my computer than I need to be.

I ask about the usb just to be sure that my computer problems won't affect my DS or Wii in any way since they are using the computer to get through to the internet. I don't mind if I have to get a new DS (need one but no hurry) because of that if it was the case but I do not want to go through with that with my Wii (had a hard time getting it and before new years at that >-<).
 
Since it's just a wifi usb point the worst that may happen is the wifi connection may be reset when it blinks. It wouldn't have any effect on your DS or Wii aside from dropping your connection for a second, that's if it actually affects the usb device at all.
 
I don't think you have much to worry about blckdemondrgn. I think it might be just because that virus scans demand a lot of power from your cpu. And assuming that you have integrated graphics, which most people do, then it might have just sacraficed some graphics to use the virus scan. I have experienced something similar before with one of my older integrated graphics computers. Although this occured during boot up (after logging in to xp). Also, just to make sure, what are your computer's specs?

Maybe I read your post wrong first but you may want to check your power cord. Make sure that it is inside snuggly. You maybe even want to try another power cord just to make sure. Also, if your desk is wobbly, then it could just be that the power cord is just disconnecting after jolts.
 
QUOTE (Barbobot @ Mar 26 2008, 03:14 PM) Since it's just a wifi usb point the worst that may happen is the wifi connection may be reset when it blinks. It wouldn't have any effect on your DS or Wii aside from dropping your connection for a second, that's if it actually affects the usb device at all.
Well I ain't concern about the blinking when it comes to the DS/Wii, I am more concern with is if my computer's problems (virus/spyware/etc.) can have a devastating effect on the DS/Wii system or games making them unplayable when using the Wifi USB. I just don't want to replace the games/system if possible cause if that would be the issue I would avoid using Wifi USB even though I already bought it.

I am more concern about the blinking affecting my computer itself.

Sorry I meant to either create a new topic Wifi USB for the DS/Wii or post it seperately not to confuse with the blinking computer problem. I only post the Wifi USB here since it can be indirectly related. BTW I only used the Wifi USB once for the Wii a while back.

edit: @ranch99 sorry I am not computer literate as I want to be, how do I find the specs? I still have so much to learn about computers.
 
I don't believe, from what I suggested, that it should affect the computer itself. Only you should be concerned about the monitor life since it probably isn't healthy for it to keep connecting and disconnecting unsafely.

Just right click on "My Computer" on the desktop and go to properties.

Under the "General" tab you should be able to spot your CPU specs near the bottom.

Then under the "Hardware" tab, click the button near the top that says "device manager" under the "device manager" section. It should bring up a large tree of your hardware.

Then click the "+" next to "Display adapters" which should be the 4th from the top on some computers. This should tell you what kind of graphics you have on your computer.
 
QUOTE (blckdemondrgn @ Mar 26 2008, 01:08 PM)I ask about the usb just to be sure that my computer problems won't affect my DS or Wii in any way since they are using the computer to get through to the internet. I don't mind if I have to get a new DS (need one but no hurry) because of that if it was the case but I do not want to go through with that with my Wii (had a hard time getting it and before new years at that >-<).

Most viruses work by targeting vulnerabilities in the system's operating system. As windows is the most common operating system most virus are targeted at that, so by that logic what effects your computer is unlikely to effect your DS/Wii. That said there will be some stuff out there that can harm your Wii so be careful i.e don't random crap into your console. If your not sure what something does don't download it!


QUOTE (blckdemondrgn @ Mar 26 2008, 01:27 PM)sorry I am not computer literate as I want to be, how do I find the specs? I still have so much to learn about computers.
Right click on the my computer icon and click on the option properties. It should give you information on the computers specs e.g. processer, ram etc.
 
QUOTE (doofus123 @ Mar 26 2008, 03:58 PM) 1. check the cable on both ends.
just because you haven't touched the cables doesn't mean they won't come loose. monitor cables come with screws, make sure these screws are firm (but not too tight)

2. make sure your psu can supply your system as a whole. try run some cpu stress test and see if your screen blinks.

3. test your video card. a faulty card might cause the screen to blink, though it's unlikely because systems usually refuse to boot with a faulty video card.
Ok I will check no. 1.

no. 2 and 3 I do not know how to do.

thank you monsta for your post, I've also talked with a friend recently about this and said the same thing.

I will write my specs asap when I can but cannot know b/c I can't multi-task (talking on the phone).

Btw before I forgot thank you everyone for your assistance and hope I haven't forget and miss anything.
 
blckdemondrgn, don't worry about the 2 & 3 from doofus123's post. That would be relevant only if you have swapped out your video card recently, or if the problem has been persistent for the entire time you've had your computer. If you've been using the same comp and monitor since the day you bought it and it only recently started this flashing thing then 2 & 3 aren't relevant.

As for your Wii/DS being affected by viruses, the chances are extremely low b/c your DS and Wii don't use a Windows OS - and viruses typically target holes in the OS security. That aside, I don't think that either of the systems actually use any of the comp resources, they just share the same modem - so as long as you don't download a virus on your PC while your Wii is also connected, you'd be safe (and even then I don't see it affecting anything...).

One last note, if you are using a desktop - which I assume you are - then it's most likely that you don't have integrated graphics; you'd probably have an actual graphics card. But either way~ The question regarding how often the screen flashes and if there is anything going on during all events (such as, does it only flash when you do a virus scan?) are good questions and may be a clue if the problem is not simply due to loose cords or deterioration of stuff.
 
@dchaosblade Well as to when those flashes occur so far I can only remember the most recent ones. The second to last one flashed when the virus scan was occuring (more specifically when it scanned somewhere in the D drive). The last one occured when I switched my batteries to my wireless mouse.

Yes I haven't touched anything of my computer since I bought - never installed anything of the sort like video cards and such.

This is in fact a desktop computer running windows XP - dislike laptops, only convinient for on the go only.

Sorry ranch99 and monsta I do not see anything you two mentioned. Unless I am doing something wrong or could be the version (me using win XP), I do not know what my specs/graphics are. Could be I don't recognize it as well.

Thank you for the info about the Wifi USB. Maybe I'll get to using it this weekend provided I have everything in order - to much things to do/accomplish.

I will try to check the chords soon but can't see myself doing this anytime before friday. Not enough time for me to check until then.
 
Sounds like a hardware / driver problem. If you have a spare monitor or video card, I would suggest swapping those in and see if the flashing still occurs. My suggestion would be to start with the monitor. A monitor going bad may cause the screen to go black. A video card or driver going bad may cause your computer to freeze or stutter AND cause your screen to flicker (as if the monitor was getting unplugged and plugged back in).

Have you installed any new software or hardware recently? If you have, you can also try updating the drivers to your video card and see if that helps.
 
QUOTE (daft27 @ Mar 26 2008, 08:39 PM) Sounds like a hardware / driver problem. If you have a spare monitor or video card, I would suggest swapping those in and see if the flashing still occurs. My suggestion would be to start with the monitor. A monitor going bad may cause the screen to go black. A video card or driver going bad may cause your computer to freeze or stutter AND cause your screen to flicker (as if the monitor was getting unplugged and plugged back in).

Have you installed any new software or hardware recently? If you have, you can also try updating the drivers to your video card and see if that helps.
No I haven't installed anything at all. I rarely if ever install anything on my computer - has the bare essentials.

Well before replacing my monitor I will take dchaosblade's advice on checking for deterioration from the wires.

Also someone mention if my desk shakes it might knock the wires loose, this is possible cause my desk does shake often but again I have not notice this blinking until recently. I won't be able to tame the shaking sadly.
 
Again, I think the easiest solution is to try and switch out the power cord of your monitor with another power cord just for starters.

Then if this doesn't work, then it may be that you should upgrade your computer. For example, add more ram, get a dedicated graphics card, or improve your CPU. Since you haven't yet posted your computer specs yet, I can only assume that it is because your computer is having trouble manipulating every task. Like I've said before, an anti virus program can be quite taxing on your cpu. Not only that, since you said it 'blinked' when it was scanning your D:\ drive (again, assuming the D drive is your optical drive) then it may have put extra stress on the CPU since it needed to boot up the optical drive. This is because optical drives aren't in use as often as other peripherals are, so they are usually on stand-by. Once again, I don't believe that you need to worry about this damaging any hardware other than the life of the monitor.
 
QUOTE (Ranch99 @ Mar 26 2008, 08:00 PM) Again, I think the easiest solution is to try and switch out the power cord of your monitor with another power cord just for starters.

Then if this doesn't work, then it may be that you should upgrade your computer. For example, add more ram, get a dedicated graphics card, or improve your CPU. Since you haven't yet posted your computer specs yet, I can only assume that it is because your computer is having trouble manipulating every task. Like I've said before, an anti virus program can be quite taxing on your cpu. Not only that, since you said it 'blinked' when it was scanning your D:\ drive (again, assuming the D drive is your optical drive) then it may have put extra stress on the CPU since it needed to boot up the optical drive. This is because optical drives aren't in use as often as other peripherals are, so they are usually on stand-by. Once again, I don't believe that you need to worry about this damaging any hardware other than the life of the monitor.
Ranch, your assumption doesn't make sense. It isn't from stress; and this can be shown from the fact that the second time the monitor flashed it was while changing the batteries on a mouse while nothing else was going on. How does unplugging a mouse stress the CPU? It doesn't.

I really really doubt that the problem has anything to do with the Anti-virus or over-stressing the CPU or anything like that. It doesn't fit.
It COULD be due to outdated drivers or just because the system is old. Things wear out over time - and your Monitor might simply be going on the blitz and need replacing outright *shrug* But don't go out and buy a more ram, a new graphics card and a new CPU - it'd be a waste of money (at least - as far as fixing the problem goes. If you want more RAM, a new graphics card and a better CPU, then go for it...but if you're not computer savvy, you might want to get someone to tell you what you need to buy and such b/c of concerns dealing with power supply, cooling, etc...)




Now, to get your Computer Specs on a Windows XP machine do the following:
Click Start
Right-click My Computer
Click 'Properties' from the drop-down box.
Click the 'General' tab in the window that pops up (if it's not already on this tab)
Listed should be:
'System:' <-Tell us everything under this
'Registered to:'
someone's name
some numbers
some other stuff <- Tell us all this 'other stuff'

For example, I would say my laptop is:

CODE Microsoft Windows XP
Home Edition
Version 2002
Service Pack 2

Toshiba
Satellite
Mobile Intel(R)
Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.80GHz
2.80GHz, 896 MB of RAM


Now click over to the 'Hardware' tab at the top of the window.
Look for the button that says "Device Manager" and click it. A new window should open.
Look for "Display adapters" (has a little screen to the left of it) and click the '+' next to it.
Now, below 'Display adapters' will be another screen with some name - thats the name of your Video Card; for example, mine says:

CODE ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9000 IGP (and yes, I have a laptop, so yes, I have an Integrated Graphics Processor - IGP)

That should be everything, and I tried to give the greatest amount of detail possible without making anyone look stupid xD


Edit: Just as a side note, I listed my cruddy old laptop's specs b/c it has a Windows XP OS; my desktop has Vista, so things look different...
 
Ok now I remember what I did wrong, now I see where things are.

Microsoft Windows XP
Media Center Edition
Service Pack 2

HP pavilion
Intel Pentium 4 CPU 2.80 Ghz
512 MB RAM

Video card: Radeon X300 Series

edit: Arghh...the blinking happened again as I was typing a post >-<!!! around 7:24am eastern time.
 
QUOTE (dchaosblade @ Mar 26 2008, 07:45 PM) Ranch, your assumption doesn't make sense. It isn't from stress; and this can be shown from the fact that the second time the monitor flashed it was while changing the batteries on a mouse while nothing else was going on. How does unplugging a mouse stress the CPU? It doesn't.

I really really doubt that the problem has anything to do with the Anti-virus or over-stressing the CPU or anything like that. It doesn't fit.
I do not mean to argue nor do I disagree with your reasoning. Yet this is supposed to help blckdemondrgn solve his/her problem. I'm only suggesting such because he/she has yet to acknowledge my proposal to be right or wrong until now. Also, I don't believe my logic is flawed either. Your example about unplugging and plug in a mouse stressing a computer is wrong. You'd realize that your computer has to recognize a new hardware attached to a port thus taking up memory. That is such a weak example because remember, if you go into BIOS, you have an option of booting up certain devices. If you disable some of them, then your boot time will be decreased. Are you saying that the computer doesn't have to deal with it at all? I'm mostly basing this from personal knowledge and experience. I have had a similar experience with one my other computers as I had said before. My current computer uses a max of 50% CPU when running virus scan and mine is a 4600+X2. So the claim that antivirus can stress your CPU is not dismissible. Likewise, I am not criticizing your suggestions.

Just as a quick example:
Similar to GPUs a CPU will protect it self from overheating. A GPU might artifact to protect it self and in the same way, a cpu with integrated graphics will sacrafice graphic output to protect itself. But this isn't the case since blckdemondrgn has a dedicated graphics card.
 
I agree wholeheartedly that a virus scan can zap your system resources to practically nil if you have an older/slower computer; and I also agree that some amount of resources is taken in recognizing NEW hardware (hardware that has already been used in the past is most often recognized very quickly and does NOT take up a lot of resources). However, we are talking about a mouse - which has been used in the past - having its battery replaced. The amount of system resources used after the battery is plugged back in for the system to recognize the mouse is minimal.

Further, there is even more evidence that stress isn't the cause: This problem has only started occurring recently, and blckdemondrgn said that he "...haven't installed anything at all. I rarely if ever install anything on my computer" and "...I haven't touched anything of my computer since I bought - never installed anything of the sort like video cards and such."
Since no hardware has been replaced, and he has had the virus scanner for a long time apparently - plus the mouse has been in use for a while as well - and the problem has never occurred before in the past, why would it occur NOW? If the mouse were being plugged in for the first time and had to be recognized, have all the software installed, etc then I could see the stress possibly affecting things - but in this case it just isn't a likely possibility in the least.
 
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