Quote:A driver is just software that runs your device, these usually are of no cost.  What are the circumstances of it messing up?  Does it happen when you just start windows?  Does the computer have to be on for awhile?  Are you playing games or watching movies or does it do it when you're just surfing the Internet.  My first thought is what Eleventh Doctor alluded to, and that is your graphics card is overheating, or maybe the card isn't fully seated.  

 

Make sure your air vents are free from dust, pop the lid open and run a vaccum hose around if you see a bit of it.  Sometimes dust can get drawn to the graphics card heat sink fan, and it cakes on causing the fan to not get enough rotations and or stop spinning which could lead to the overheating.  

 

I meant the video card - if that must be replaced, the whole computer goes out.

 

It happens when I am posting, reading, searching, whatever - but not when I am chatting on AOL or watching videos. The blackouts are random. When I type, characters and spaces often do not show up immediately and the cursor sometimes stops blinking. It is like there is a disconnect between the computer and keyboard, except this is also random.

 

Another symptom is for the first time ever, I can hear the fan running without my hearing aids in. The fan runs for a few seconds, then turns off, then starts again. This is a constant thing and does not require me to be using the computer. That is why I thought this is a hardware issue.

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