what is the exact error message?

Had you installed the right driver VIsta 64bit?? It should be on th cd itself.. make sure that you update your bios.. hope your motherboard is not faulty.. as this card is a good.. issues with it are rare.. can you run a hardware test??

Yeah I have been using the right driver, ill do a hardware test.

this problem seems really temperamental sometimes I turn it on and the graphics are all messed up, others it comes on randomly, or whenever a game is on.
So im thinking its maybe I fitted it a bit roughly and broke my motherboard, is this possible?
Maybe my monitor had worn out, ill test the monitor theory today using my mates.


Also when it messes up a little pop up at the bottom say something like 'Display driver stopped responding and has recovered' then its back to normal, but sometimes it doesnt go back to normal.

hm.... i know that used to happen to me when there was to much for the card to handle and it overheated and crashed.... could be what is happening to you

I dont see how its overheating, It's not doing anything.

well true but gpu's tend to run hot anyway..... what kind of cooling do you have in your case? you could use something like gpu-z to check your temps

I've tested an older 8800gt in my system and it worked without the problems the ATI had, so im now planning on sending the ATI back for a replacement.