Snowy screen

In addition to Ifran's suggestions:

- check video cable is secure at both ends;
- try another video cable (to rule in/out faulty cable);
- try monitor on another PC (to rule in/out faulty cable).

If your PC is new and under warranty, just return it.

Hello Senator Diamond Dave,

This issue can be caused if the monitor is defective or the Video drivers are not loading. You can try the below methods to fix this issue.

I suggest that you try to boot the computer to ‘Enable Low Resolution Video’. This starts Windows 7 using your current video driver and using low resolution and refresh rate settings:

a.     Turn on or restart the computer.

b.     Press and tap the F8 key about every second until you see the Advance boot options.

c.      From the choices available select ‘Enable Low Resolution Video’ and check if you are able to boot.

d.     If you are able to boot, you will need to install the drivers for your Video card that is compatible with Windows 7.

If this fails, I suggest that you start your computer in ‘Safe Mode’:

Follow the below steps to boot the computer to ‘Safe Mode’:

a.     Restart your computer if it is powered on.

b.     Tap the F8 key after your computer initially powers on.

c.      Once you see the Advanced Boot Options menu you can stop tapping.

d.     Use the up/down arrow keys to highlight your selection.

e.     Select Safe Mode and press Enter.

f.       Logon to your computer using an account with Administrator privileges.

If the computer works fine in ‘Safe Mode’, try to update the drivers for your Video card. You can check out the below article that will give you information on how to update drivers:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Update-a-driver-for-hardware-that-isnt-working-properly

If this fails, I suggest that you contact your computer manufacturer as the issue can be related to defective monitor.

Thanks,
Irfan H, Microsoft Answers Support Engineer. Visit ourMicrosoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.