BleepingComputer.com: Is My Card Dead?

I currently have a BFG fx5500 pci. Trying to figure out if its dead or a cooling problem. The night before it was working perfectly while gaming and web surfing. That night i turned off the computer and then turned it on the next morning. When my comp starts up it will first display the compaq screen, then display windows XP, then i will see my desktop with all my icons. About five seconds after i see my desktop with icons it goes away and its desplaying a bunch of lines and squares. Im wondering if its a cooling issue because ive heard many times that the fans go out or dont work well or is it dead. This will happen before my computer is fully loaded so im not able to click on anything yet.

Check the card and make sure the fan is working properly (if it has one). Try placing a house fan next to the computer and see if the card still acts up. If it doesn't work properly with plenty of cooling its problably going dead.

Yea it messed up because of the dust. I took the heatsink and fan apart and cleaned it and now it works. Thanks for the help