Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
The image on the display is distorted (bent), shaking, or wavering.
This can often be caused by problems with the power line, such as an electric motor, an
air conditioner, a refrigerator, a microwave oven, and so on, causing interference. Try re-
placing the power cord, plugging the monitor and/or the system into a different outlet, or
moving it to a different location entirely. I've also seen this problem caused by local radio
transmitters such as a nearby radio or television station or two-way radios being operated
inthevicinity ofthesystem. Ifthemonitor isaCRTandtheimage isbentanddiscolored,
it could be due to the shadow mask being magnetized. To demagnetize the mask, you can
turn the monitor on and off repeatedly; this causes the built-in degaussing coil around the
perimeter of the tube to activate in an attempt to demagnetize the shadow mask. Some
CRTs include a degauss feature in their onscreen menus, which if available would be pre-
ferred overturning the unit onandoff.Ifdegaussing seems toworkpartially butnotcom-
pletely,youmightneedtoobtainaprofessionaldegaussingcoilfromanelectronicsorTV
serviceshoptodemagnetizethemask.Finally,iftheproblemspersist,replacethemonitor
cable, try a different (known-good) monitor, and finally replace the video card.
I purchased a video card, and it won't fit in the slot
Most video cards are designed to conform to the AGP 4X, AGP 8X, or PCI Express x16
specification. It is all but impossible to install a PCI Express x16 card into a non-PCI Ex-
press x16 slot, but problems can arise with AGP cards when they're used with older AGP
systems.
Both AGP 4X and AGP 8X are designed to run on only 1.5V.
Most older motherboards with AGP 2X slots are designed to accept only 3.3V cards. If
you were to plug a 1.5V card into a 3.3V slot, both the card and motherboard could be
damaged. Special keys have therefore been incorporated into the AGP specification to
prevent such disasters. Typically, the slots and cards are keyed such that 1.5V cards fit
onlyin1.5Vsocketsand3.3Vcardsfitonlyin3.3Vsockets.Additionally,universalsock-
ets are available that accept either 1.5V or 3.3V cards. The keying for the AGP cards and
connectors is dictated by the AGP standard, as shown in
Figure 20.10
.
Figure 20.10
AGP 4X/8X (1.5V) card and how it relates to 3.3V, universal, and 1.5V AGP slots.
