«

Recently, I cleverly downloaded the W32.Alcra.B virus from Limewire. Ever
since I've had it, my monitor has been flickering. This usually happens
when I start a program or do something that's processor-intensive. One or
both of my monitors will turn black for up to two seconds, then turn back to
normal.

I've scanned my system with both Norton Antivirus and AVG which now report
nothing. I also can't find any reference to W32.Alcra.B causing flickering,
so am wondering if this is a weird coincidence.

The flickering does not happen in Safe Mode.

I do not suspect a heating problem as neither my video card nor processor is
overly warm.

I'm running Windows 2000. If anyone has any suggestions, I would really
appreciate them.

HC

First thing I'd try is re-installing the video card drivers.
Also run dxdiag and see if anything abnormal shows there.

--
Kenny Cargill


"HC" <> wrote in message
news:OOscf.118617$yS6.48349@clgrps12...
> Recently, I cleverly downloaded the W32.Alcra.B virus from Limewire. Ever
> since I've had it, my monitor has been flickering. This usually happens
> when I start a program or do something that's processor-intensive. One or
> both of my monitors will turn black for up to two seconds, then turn back
> to
> normal.
>
> I've scanned my system with both Norton Antivirus and AVG which now report
> nothing. I also can't find any reference to W32.Alcra.B causing
> flickering,
> so am wondering if this is a weird coincidence.
>
> The flickering does not happen in Safe Mode.
>
> I do not suspect a heating problem as neither my video card nor processor
> is
> overly warm.
>
> I'm running Windows 2000. If anyone has any suggestions, I would really
> appreciate them.
>
> HC
>
>

Hey Kenny, thanks for your response.

> First thing I'd try is re-installing the video card drivers.

No luck unfortunately.

> Also run dxdiag and see if anything abnormal shows there.

Yes, it does. I tried "Test Direct3D" which made the display go absolutely
MENTAL. Here's a screenshot:
http://www.hans.org/temp/mangosproblem.gif

I've discovered that the problem is greatly reduced if I turn off hardware
acceleration. But, it's got to be off completely - even Basic Acceleration
won't do.

Thanks again,
HC

HC wrote:
> Hey Kenny, thanks for your response.
>
>> First thing I'd try is re-installing the video card drivers.
>
> No luck unfortunately.
>
>> Also run dxdiag and see if anything abnormal shows there.
>
> Yes, it does. I tried "Test Direct3D" which made the display go
> absolutely MENTAL. Here's a screenshot:
> http://www.hans.org/temp/mangosproblem.gif
>
> I've discovered that the problem is greatly reduced if I turn off
> hardware acceleration. But, it's got to be off completely - even
> Basic Acceleration won't do.
>
> Thanks again,
> HC

How about clearing the BIOS settings? I have noticed on some systems that
there is an Optimal Performance setting in the BIOS, which when enabled can
cause display issues. I know this isn't likely the cause, but i thought i
would throw the idea on the table.

--
Windows XP -
A 64 bit upgrade to a 32-bit patch for a 16-bit GUI shell running on
top of an 8-bit operating system written for a 4-bit processor by a
2-bit company who cannot stand 1 bit of competition.

HC wrote:
> Recently, I cleverly downloaded the W32.Alcra.B virus from Limewire.
> Ever since I've had it,

Sounds like you still have some of it or all of it.......???



> my monitor has been flickering. This usually
> happens when I start a program or do something that's
> processor-intensive. One or both of my monitors will turn black for
> up to two seconds, then turn back to normal.
>
> I've scanned my system with both Norton Antivirus and AVG which now
> report nothing. I also can't find any reference to W32.Alcra.B
> causing flickering, so am wondering if this is a weird coincidence.

Click on Payload 1 for some info here:

http://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/viru...B%2EAS&VSect=T

and check the registry yourself: and try the online scanner here:

http://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/viru...%2EAS&VSect=Sn

> The flickering does not happen in Safe Mode.
>
> I do not suspect a heating problem as neither my video card nor
> processor is overly warm.
>
> I'm running Windows 2000. If anyone has any suggestions, I would
> really appreciate them.
>
> HC

--

Their ethics are a short summary of police ordinances: for them the
most important thing is to be a useful member of the state, and to air
their opinions in the club of an evening; they have never felt the
homesickness for something unknown and far away, nor the depths which
consists in being nothing at all. ___________Soren Kierkegaard

Ellis_jay

"HC" <> wrote
> my monitor has been flickering

Okay, I figured out the problem. Oddy enough, the virus was pure
coincidence.

When I took a closer look at the video card, I found...

http://toao.net/tsc/capacitor.jpg

o.O

I'd bet money on it being the video card

Thanks to all who responded,
--HC

On Thu, 10 Nov 2005 04:48:31 GMT, "HC" <>
wrote:

>"HC" <> wrote
>> my monitor has been flickering
>
>Okay, I figured out the problem. Oddy enough, the virus was pure
>coincidence.
>
>When I took a closer look at the video card, I found...
>
>http://toao.net/tsc/capacitor.jpg
>
>o.O
>
>I'd bet money on it being the video card
>
>Thanks to all who responded,
>--HC
>


I noticed you were using an NVidia card, I had a geforce card go
recently, the fx 5700 (cheap card i know) but it looks like the same
exact capacitor that went. That seems like a coincidence, or Nvidias
making cheaper and less reliable cards. Also I had a geforce 4 card
that went went the fan locked up and the gpu started to melt.

unluckylanding wrote:
> On Thu, 10 Nov 2005 04:48:31 GMT, "HC" <>
> wrote:
>
>> "HC" <> wrote
>>> my monitor has been flickering
>>
>> Okay, I figured out the problem. Oddy enough, the virus was pure
>> coincidence.
>>
>> When I took a closer look at the video card, I found...
>>
>> http://toao.net/tsc/capacitor.jpg
>>
>> o.O
>>
>> I'd bet money on it being the video card
>>
>> Thanks to all who responded,
>> --HC
>>
>
>
> I noticed you were using an NVidia card, I had a geforce card go
> recently, the fx 5700 (cheap card i know) but it looks like the same
> exact capacitor that went. That seems like a coincidence, or Nvidias
> making cheaper and less reliable cards. Also I had a geforce 4 card
> that went went the fan locked up and the gpu started to melt.

I had a 5600XT awhile ago (since upgraded to a 6800GT) and i never had a
problem with it.

--
Windows XP -
A 64 bit upgrade to a 32-bit patch for a 16-bit GUI shell running on
top of an 8-bit operating system written for a 4-bit processor by a
2-bit company who cannot stand 1 bit of competition.

"The Prophecy" <> wrote:

|>I had a 5600XT awhile ago (since upgraded to a 6800GT) and i never had a
|>problem with it.

GeForce? you might be interested in this link
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/25/2222212
Yes I have the link bookmark'd

--
Blue Ball Machine
http://blueballfixed.ytmnd.com/

Trax wrote:
> "The Prophecy" <> wrote:
>
>>> I had a 5600XT awhile ago (since upgraded to a 6800GT) and i never
>>> had a problem with it.
>
> GeForce? you might be interested in this link
> http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/25/2222212
> Yes I have the link bookmark'd

Cool.... handy link.

Thanks Trax
--
Windows XP -
A 64 bit upgrade to a 32-bit patch for a 16-bit GUI shell running on
top of an 8-bit operating system written for a 4-bit processor by a
2-bit company who cannot stand 1 bit of competition.