Christmas lights on my screen?
Christmas lights on my screen?
So there were some odd occurrences with my PC a while back. While playing a card game—relatively not demanding on the GPU—I noticed flashing red, blue, and green lights across the screen, reminiscent of Christmas lights. My game would freeze, I would force quit it, then restart. This pattern repeated a few times, mostly right after starting the PC and only during that specific game. At first, I suspected the game itself was causing the issue, thinking it might have a bug.
Recently, I replaced my power supply unit a couple of days ago. Since then, this problem reappeared in two other games: Green Hell and Cities Skylines 2. In the first case, after exiting the game and opening the menu, I saw red lights gradually appearing and vanishing. The issue wasn’t limited to one screen—it happened across different displays. I have a recording to confirm it’s not related to my monitor.
https://imgur.com/a/UavJqiB
View: https://imgur.com/a/UavJqiB
What could be causing this? Is it a driver problem? I’m not sure where to look. Thanks.
Update your message with complete hardware details and operating system information.
PSU specifications: voltage, make, model, wattage, age, condition (original to build, new, refurbished, used).
Storage: type, manufacturer, capacity, current usage.
Monitor: brand, model, screen size, resolution.
Games: list of titles you're playing, source reference.
Check Reliability History/Monitor for any error messages or warnings near the time of light changes.
Consider sharing the video via Imgur (www.imgur.com) with the attached link.
The 5 year old with nearly 2000 GB HDD (games) seems to be the probable cause.
Since this is the "games" drive and issues arise while playing games, the drive might begin to weaken.
Typical advice is to keep a drive usage between about 70-80% of its capacity.
Where is virtual memory stored? In the configuration settings?
Are both drives stored in places separate from the present host computer?
It seems the initial issue isn't as straightforward as it appears, since the first game I encountered was stored on my local drive. Some selected folders are connected to an external drive, right? What exactly are you asking about?
"Chosen folders"
-Many posters have not secured their systems and/or crucial files. And when issues arise (or worsen), it might be too late or recovery may not be feasible. This is why backups are essential. It's good that the selected files are backed up – an external drive is preferable to nothing.
But I suggest an additional backup that isn't linked to the affected computer.
"Virtual Memory"
FYI:
https://www.makeuseof.com/how-incre...ou use all, virtual memory is really helpful.
You can quickly discover other related links with explanations, etc.
Virtual Memory should be left untouched (i.e., let Windows handle it).
But if disk space is limited or fragmented (HDD), Windows will work harder swapping data between RAM and Virtual Memory.
The GPU might also play a role, particularly if the issue has persisted for a year. It could be getting worse as the storage drives fill up.
Check Task Manager and Resource Monitor to monitor system performance. Search for changes just before or at the time the Christmas lights effect appears.
Use both tools together but focus on one at a time.
It seems like the main issue might be related to the paging file configuration. The user adjusted it to their gaming HDD but didn't specify the OS drive, which could affect performance. They plan to investigate further during Christmas.
Take a look at this. While dealing with red dots in CS2, my resource monitor showed CPU and disk usage around 50%, physical memory at 50%, some memory below that, and numerous errors. I'm not sure if these are typical. The processes list didn't show anything out of the ordinary. Eventually, the game crashed.
The debug mode is activated in the nvidia control panel, allowing the game to run smoothly without any problems. It helps identify and resolve potential issues during the gameplay.
Adjusting the page file from the HDD to the OS host drive (C is a solid approach).
Monitor the Physical Memory bar at the bottom of the screen when the Memory tab is active.
Maintain current system performance without making any changes for now.
Get comfortable with the available tools and learn how to choose and organize the data displayed.
Watch the small arrows in the column headers; clicking them will alter the sorting order.
In the Resource Monitor, you’ll see several processes that might seem unnecessary or not helpful at first glance.
It’s likely some are started through Task Manager at Startup (see the tab), while others could come from Task Scheduler.
You may not realize it, but these are often unknown to you.
Make sure you understand what each process is doing and its purpose.
Print a screenshot to use as a checklist and proceed step by step.
Begin with the least essential tasks and allocate resources accordingly.
Take your time and document your actions.
This will help you identify and remove unnecessary processes, improving overall performance.
Think of it this way: too many people on stage at once can interfere with each other, reducing the quality of the performance.
= = = = Nvidia debug = = = = (Recorded your previous note)
I’ll wait for Nvidia’s clarification.
A brief "Nvidia debug" search uncovered the following link:
https://docs.nvidia.com/deploy/gpu-debug...index.html
Other useful links are also available—though I’m unsure about their reliability.
One interesting reference was:
https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/w...oc...ver/592051
I don’t know why enabling debug mode resolved the issue, but it might just be a coincidence.
Before moving the page file, check the logs for any entries before the change.
Compare the records before and after the move; this could provide useful clues.
Other suggestions about Nvidia, Page Files, Debug Mode, etc., may exist in the community.
I’m open to those ideas.