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Question

Difficulty: MediumVideo, Display, and Projector Issues

A desktop technician is troubleshooting a workstation used by a CAD designer. The monitor displays flickering visual artifacts and line distortion whenever the system performs 3D rendering tasks. The technician takes a screenshot of the corrupted screen output using the operating system's built-in utility and opens the saved image file on a separate known-good display, where the image renders perfectly without any distortion. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the issue?

  1. A loose or damaged video display cableAnswer
  2. B
    Faulty video RAM (VRAM) on the graphics card
  3. C
    An outdated or corrupted graphics display driver
  4. D
    A failing CCFL backlight inverter inside the monitor

Answer

A loose or damaged video display cable
Taking a screenshot is an effective isolation technique in video troubleshooting. Because the screenshot captures raw frame buffer data from GPU memory, a clean screenshot proves that the GPU, VRAM, and display drivers are rendering images accurately. Therefore, artifacts visible only on the physical display screen must be caused by hardware downstream of the GPU output port, such as a loose or damaged display cable or a faulty monitor.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the diagnostic test result provided in the scenario.
The captured screenshot displays clean, uncorrupted imagery when opened on a different monitor.
Screenshots capture the digital image buffer generated in GPU memory before it is serialized and sent out through the video port.
2
Isolate the root cause boundary using the screenshot test.
Because the frame buffer is intact, the GPU processing, VRAM, and display driver software are functioning correctly.
Hardware or software defects prior to video output encoding would permanently burn artifacts into the screenshot file.
3
Determine the component responsible for post-framebuffer visual artifacts.
The issue is isolated to physical signal transmission or display hardware, specifically the display cable or monitor panel.
Signal degradation along a bad DisplayPort or HDMI cable causes flickering lines and digital artifacts on the physical screen without affecting internal rendering.

Key Concept

Display Troubleshooting via Screenshot Isolation
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Topics

Video, Display, and Projector Issues

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