Does this sound like a Graphics card hardware error?

Hello everyone

I just want to know if a graphics card is not working, would it preven
me logging into vista? like there isn't enough graphics to boot vista
is this possible
Also would a malfunctioning graphics card cause weird symbols in th
BIOS, like weird vertical lines, dollar signs replacing spaces, E'
replacing F's, A's replacing N's etc.
Also could a power surge possibly damage the graphics card? in terms o
hardware
I am not asking for a fix here; i just want to know if this ca
happen:

Thank you for your tim

--
chand