Graphics Card Not Dead, But Not Working Either

Hi all,
First, this site is awesome. I have fixed a few problems with my computers based on the information here. This is my first post.

Last night, while playing Sims 2: Apartment Life, my moniter flickered a black screen twice and then froze. Almost immediately after I got a blue screen of death, however the computer shut off faster than I could read.

So, this morning I turn on my computer and nothing. I got the white text and the nice big 'e' for emachines with the Boot and Bios keys listed. Then the monitor went to standby. I turned it off and then back on and tried to get boot settings so I could start up in easy mode - thinking something happened to my drivers, but same thing happened, monitor went on standby.

So, I turned the computer off, opened it up and took a look inside. A little dusty, but everything was plugged in right and I made sure the video card was secure.

I took the plug out of the video card and put it in the default on board thingy. Started it up, same thing. So, now I'm thinking, '****, my card died'. 'Cept when I turn the machine on the fan starts up. So, I'm confused.

I take the card out and start up the computer and BAM, it works. So, I'm still thinking its a dead card. Well, I try a few things, like uninstalling the old video card drivers, restarting and plugging the card in during restart. WIth the moniter still plugged into default and working correctly, I check Device Manager and what do you know?! It lists my card and starts trying to install the drivers. So I go ahead and reinstall the drivers. Says I need to restart, so I do.

Sure enough, the monitor just goes to standby like before. Doesn't matter what I plug it into.

So I take out the card, plug it into default, and go into my BIOS. I make sure it's reading my video card from the PCI-e slot and such, which it says it is. So, now I'm just confused.

I'm tried rolling back, in case it was a Vista update that broke things or something I might have done. That didn't work. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling again and that didn't work.

Because it recognized the card in Device Manager, that means the card isn't dead right? I had a real hard time installing the damn thing the first time around a year ago. I'm afraid of buying a new one because if the card isn't dead, then something could be up with my computer motherboard, right?

Here are my specs:
eMachine T6420
AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3400+ 2.21GHz
2.00 GB RAM
32-bit Windows Vista

The video card is: PNY Geforce 8500 GT 512MB

My computer does have an onboard nVidia graphics card.

I hope someone can help me. Sorry for all the text.

Well, I'm betting your card is toast. Just because its being seen by device manager doesnt mean its working. You stated you have on board graphics card? I think you mean on board graphics chipset, AND you installed your graphics card....There could be things going on.. like a PSU thats on its way out.. but.. since you said once you unplugged. ( i assume you meant took out? ) your graphics card..your monitor was working again?? Thats a pretty good sign you card went. AND... I think you said it started when you were playing a game.. heat can kill a card... gaming causes heat and trust me.. I've fried a few going at it hardcore and getting it hot for long periods so I know that it can happen when playing...Now, that doesnt mean something else could be the problem..but.. cards are at great prices right now.. so checking out a newer card is a fairly easy way to find out..unless you know someone who has a card you can try and see???

Blaydrnnnr, it's possible his mobo has onboard graphics, mine has as well, it's for people who don't need graphics performance, but it shuts down when you install one in the PCI-e. Now blue, first of all: where did you get your drivers? If you got them through windows, try and download the newest ones from the nvidia website. In my opinion, your card is indeed dead, but if you want to check it, try sticking it into a friends pc or (preferably) into an old pc you have lying around maybe. Anyways, it's not like GPU's are that expensive nowadays, so if it's broken, just buy a new one.. Also do what blayd said to check your mobo: try another GPU..

Amplid

Hey, could Hybrid SLI be a problem for bluehottie? If he has onboard GeForce, it might be causing all the fuss by kicking in, but this is still all ifs and buts!

bluehottie, pls mention your motherboard make, model and manufacturer.

Try in a friends computer. If the card does not work there then get a new one.
Have you got an on board speaker or LED readout on the motherboard?
If you have there should be a couple of beeps if the card is dead.