# Horizontal lines while watching video



## futures (Mar 18, 2010)

I'm using a Sony Vaio VGN-FE790G laptop.
I recently downgraded to windows xp (yesterday) because i got a virus on win 7, so i thought i might as well try out win xp again since im going to have to reinstall windows anyways.

So I downgraded to windows XP...
but i kept seeing these laggy/horizontal lines while watching videos.
its like this line that appears at 2/3 of the screen that distorts the video im watching for 1 second..then dissapears..

it happens randomly over and over again, especially when the video is on a fast-moving scene. Even when im watching youtube videos! 
and its especially worse on full screen videos.

this is really annoying.

Since this never happened on windows 7 before...i thought it would fix it if i reinstalled windows AGAIN, back to windows 7.

So i did...im on Windows 7 Professional SP1..right now.

but it still does the same thing.
I don't get whats wrong.
I have the drivers that windows 7 downloaded for me...and i haven't touched anything else.

checking the device manager..it says the drivers are from 2009..which means they are pretty new right? Even when i click the "update driver" button...it says "windows determined ur drivers are up to date."

I'm using the Mobile Intel 945 Express Chipset Family.

...i dont know what i should do. 

Please help me out,
i will listen to any suggestions.

Thank you.


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## Isaac DFW IT (Mar 30, 2011)

Well, if you went back to the same exact setup that originally came with the computer, with like a restore disk from the company, I'd say that rules out software issues... 

If you had said vertical lines where appearing i would say it may be a power issue 

since they are horizontal i would say its most likely a processing issue, which could point back to driver issues, graphic processor problems, or even power problems

its possible that the virus had caused permanent damage to your, but i think the problem may actually be a small build up of dust causing overheating

do you notice any overheating? if so blow it out with some canned air and maybe start using a cooling pad
If you dont notice any overheating let me know i have a few other ideas


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## futures (Mar 18, 2010)

Thanks for the reply,
im in desperate need of any help i can get ;/
theres no way i can just ignore this problem and "live with it"..
watching videos like this is just horrible.

I can't go back to the exact same setup because I didn't really do anything in particular...

All I did was install Windows 7 Professional..install the drivers+updates that pop up in the windows update..then i upgraded to SP1..cuz it says to in the windows update.

Then i install my programs (photoshop, microsoft office, etc)..and thats it.

Nothing special really.

I've always installed windows like that, and nothing like this ever happened.
(I've reinstalled to Windows 7 Professional over 3 times before, the exact same way i wrote above).

This "horizontal line while watching videos" first happened after i reinstalled windows to Windows XP...(yesterday) AKA: downgraded to windows XP. 

Unlike win 7, windows xp doesn't dl drivers for you automatically.
so i had to find the drivers on the sony website and install them.

That was the very first time i saw this ever happen in my life. At first, I thought it was just lag or something like that..but then it happened in the youtube videos...which i watch daily.

Thats when i knew it was actually a serious problem.

I thought "well..maybe its happening cuz of windows xp..this never happened on windows 7 before...."

so thats why i went back to windows 7 pro right now.
but it's still doing it...
i reformatted my C drive twice in the past 1 day (twice cuz i reinstalled windows twice ..once to XP..once back to win 7)

So far, i've reinstalled the intel 945 driver...like 7 times.
and ive tried touching other drivers as well..but none of this is fixing the problem.

I have no clue why i do the exact same thing..
the exact same process..
and i install windows 7 + the drivers...the exact same way as ive always done...

but this time...this weird glitch thing happens wenever i watch a video.
Whether its youtube or any video really.

I know 100% that this happened cuz i downgraded to win xp..
thats the only explaination..
but why would it keep continuing onto win 7? when i format my hard drive whenever i reinstall windows?

It isn't overheating..
i touched my laptop...and its not hot at all.
Power...
ive been using this laptop with the A/C adapter plugged in 24/7...for over 1 year now...i never touch the power. it always stays the same.

Should i try reinstalling windows again?.............
-sigh...
im tired of it -.-
ive reinstalled windows twice already in the past 20 hours lol..

any other ideas? ;/

i searched online for intel 945 drivers for my laptop model..
but there aren't any for windows 7 (cuz its an old laptop)...so yeah..
now im just lost...
i have no idea what to do.


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## Isaac DFW IT (Mar 30, 2011)

dont go insane over this... re-installing the same thing over and over will *not* eventually produce a different result.

sometimes manufacturers make a bulk driver installer for all their old hardware... i just found a place you should try for your drivers
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/SearchResult.aspx?lang=eng

what browser are you using to veiw youtube in?
I've noticed that when i use ie it slows my whole computer down... I'd like to recommend google's chrome web browser. Its free, light, fast, and amazing.

when i was referring to power, i meant within the laptop. how old is the laptop exactly? if it had windows 7 on it originally it cant be that old...


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## futures (Mar 18, 2010)

Thank you for replying.

I went to the link you provided me.
and I tried to look for my model "intel 945"
but i could only find "intel 945GM"..
so i downloaded the windows 7 pro 32bit driver for that.
and i uninstalled the driver i have now,
then tried to install the new driver that i just downloaded...

but near the end of the installation..it says "unknown error has occurred. set up will exit."

Does that mean i have the wrong driver?
but i couldn't find any driver for intel 945....

I looked twice.

im using Firefox 4 right now.
and ive always used firefox.

but the videos i have on my hard drive like tv shows and stuff.
they are the same too.
very laggy and have that glitchy line that distorts the video every 5-10 seconds.

...
i wonder why the driver i downloaded off that website u gave me wont work?
unknown error?

but it says "installing driver:mobile intel(R) 945 express chipset family"
.......

and its installing...and then bam...that unkown error pops up.

I tried twice.
it doesn't work ;/

ill attach the photo.
in case it helps in any way.

oh and the laptop is pretty old.
i dont know exactly,
but more than 4 years old.

and it didn't have win 7 originally.
it had XP.


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## futures (Mar 18, 2010)

sorry about my last post.

I got the driver i downloaded off the site that you provided, to work.
The reason it didn't work before was because i edited the gpedit.msc so that windows 7 wouldn't automatically install the video driver.

I installed the one off the website,
and i checked the device manager..
and it's actually the exact same driver as the one i had in the first place.
the same date, the same number..everything.

i took screenshots of both of them,
before and after i installed.
but they're actually the exact same drivers.

I tried playing the video again,
and it is still the same.

So...the drivers are correct?
does that mean my video card or w/e is in this laptop is permanently damaged physically?...

but nothing happened..
other than that virus i got..
but ive gotten many viruses before,
usually if i just reinstall windows and format my hard drive...theres no problems...


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## Isaac DFW IT (Mar 30, 2011)

something else to check is how much ram is allocated to video processing... that would have changed when you installed xp. also, if the video processor allows you to specify the performance to quality preference you may want to play with that, try moving it to performance side.... if that doesnt help try the higher quality settings.

also, are you running at the same screen resolution u were using before in windows 7? Sometimes reducing the screen resolution can improve performance.


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## futures (Mar 18, 2010)

"check is how much ram is allocated to video processing"??
how would i do that?

yes im using the exact same resolution as before.

and the video processor..which im guessing u mean the media player im using...has options.
but i never touched those options before. (ive always used the default ones)
so im pretty sure it wont make a difference as the problem is within my computer, not my media player.

My final thing is...

im going to reinstall windows to windows 7 pro SP1 again.
clean install.
everything.

and after i reinstall.
im going to only install the drivers that my windows update tells me to install.
then right after im done that,
im going to just download a simple media player and play a video.

the key difference between doing that,
and what i already did is one thing.

-im only installing drivers that my windows update tells me to install. and im not installing ANY programs at all. all im going to install is one simple media player and try playing the video.


ill do that and let u know how it goes.
if it still has problems, even after that..then im really screwed.


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## futures (Mar 18, 2010)

I finished reinstalling windows to Windows 7 Pro SP1.

It fixed the problem.

I do not know how or why.
But my best guess would be, it had to do something with the drivers.

Or when i installed win 7 the first time, 
I didn't "delete" the C drive when installing.
I only formatted it.

This time,
I deleted it. and then made a new one.
It's basically the same thing...
but maybe it changed something? i dunno.

Other than that, i don't know why.
I thought it may be programs,
but so far i've installed 7 programs...and the problem hasn't occurred yet.
and i dont think its going to happen any time soon.

Either way, 
thank you for your help and effort Isaac. I appreciate it.

I guess, in the end, unless it's a physical hardware problem..
there's nothing better than to just reinstall Windows.

lol


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## Isaac DFW IT (Mar 30, 2011)

goto start
control panel>appearance and settings>display>screen resolution
then advanced settings

then there should be a tab that has a control center for your video processing... once you find it there will most likely be a video configuration section that allows you to tweek how video is processed. play with those settings and see if anything helps.

i hope so


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## Isaac DFW IT (Mar 30, 2011)

futures said:


> I finished reinstalling windows to Windows 7 Pro SP1.
> 
> It fixed the problem.
> 
> ...


oh nice sorry i didnt see this post when i replied. Im glad its working for you now!!


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