Horizonal Lines, screen corruption, and artifacts are usually related to a failing graphics card or Motherboard.

But if it results in loss of power, or other hardware not working It could be related to a faulty power supply. (a faulty psu will damage both the MoBo and CPU)

You can try re-installing Windows to see if the issue still occurs, and update the graphics card driver.

Originally Posted by dayton5959

I am a novice and how do I go about checking the power supply ?

To check the psu you need a digital multi-meter, and then compare the readings to the psu specs.

Have you tried stress-testing the gpu (download 3dmark06), or have you used Vista's built-in diagnostic?
BSoD caused by multiple problems...

Hi Dayton,

does this only happen on this one video - if so it could be as simple as a badly corrupted file causing a video crash, if this problem occurs at other times I would suspect a Video/Driver issue.

PSU failure issues tend to result in the machine simply shutting down with no lock-up or error message, although failure of the PSU to supply sufficient power to the video system may show this type of error

It wasn't a video.. he said it was audio and a picture, so it's not video Corruption, as it's not video, I'd try updating your graphics driver.. what do you have? Fill in system Specs, or tell us what graphics card your system is running.

Originally Posted by rive0108

Originally Posted by xguntherc

It wasn't a video.. he said it was audio and a picture, so it's not video Corruption, as it's not video, I'd try updating your graphics driver.. what do you have? Fill in system Specs, or tell us what graphics card your system is running.

It doesnt have to be a "video" if the psu/MoBo is faulty or the GPU is failing...Its the screen image graphical representation in general- the "picture image" if you may. that is what he says is happening- screen corruption/computer turning off.

I'm with rive0108. If he's getting graphical corruption, it's either a failing/faulty video card or PSU.

Originally Posted by dayton5959

I am a novice and how do I go about checking the power supply ?

Physically inspecting the unit for shorts, loose cables, or looking for signs like quick shutdowns or reboots; another way would be to use monitoring software but I'm not too familiar with them …but you could try Speed Fan? I use it for its temperature readings but it also monitors my PS; can’t speak on the accuracy though, but it looks pretty good from where I sit. ??? Look for abnormally low voltages???

Posted by me here - Graphics Card (or drivers) issue. ATI 4870