Vista - Does this sound like a Graphics card hardware error?

Hello everyone,

I just want to know if a graphics card is not working, would it prevent me logging into vista? like there isn't enough graphics to boot vista? is this possible?
Also would a malfunctioning graphics card cause weird symbols in the BIOS, like weird vertical lines, dollar signs replacing spaces, E's replacing F's, A's replacing N's etc.?
Also could a power surge possibly damage the graphics card? in terms of hardware?
I am not asking for a fix here; i just want to know if this can happen

Thank you for your time

chand wrote:The answer to all your questions is 'maybe'. The only way you'll know
for sure is to try another graphics card and see what happens. There are
other hardware problems that could cause these symptoms as well. I'd
suggest you take the system in to a computer shop for diagnosis and
repair, or return to manufacturer if still under warranty. There is no
easy answer to diagnosing over the internet the symptoms you describe.

A pwr surge could have damaged all most any of your hardware eg motherboard

"chand" <guest@xxxxxx-email.com> wrote in message
news:5be6de705f9732b68f472756d17397a0@xxxxxx-gateway.com...

Thank you for all your replies. I will be sending my computer for warranty in a few days.

On Jan 18, 8:21*am, chand <gu...@xxxxxx-email.com> wrote:Power surges are blamed when nobody has a clue. Your symptoms are
classic of a bad memory chip on the video controller. If true, then
heating that controller with a hair dryer on high will make the
problem even more obvious.

Of cause, if a computer manufacturer is responsible, then
comprehensive hardware diagnostics could be executed to make this
failure obvious. No doubt what needs repair. A perfect example of why
responsible computer manufacturers routinely provide these
diagnostics.