I have a COMPAQ FS7600 [Monitor] (15.7"vis,October 2004); my system is Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 (build 2600) Compaq Compaq PC CTOAAAAA, 1.20 gigahertz AMD Athlon, 512 Megabytes Installed Memory, ST3120026A [Hard drive] (120.03 GB), NVIDIA GeForce2 MX/MX 400 (Microsoft Corporation) [Display adapter].

The text on my monitor's seems pale, becoming indistinct, and there are grey streaks across it. Sometimes there is a shimmer. I have tested the installed memory; it passed mutiple runs of the test.  I don't know if the monitor can be repaired or if I need a new one.

Startup in safe mode. If the monitor picture is better , odds are its your video card and not your monitor. If the picture shows the same symptoms I would still check your video card by attaching your monitor to a friends pc and seeing the result.

It sounds like you updated the drivers for GEForce.  With GEForce, the newest drivers are not necessarily the best for your video card.  I would suggest trying different drivers from GEForce (their tech support should be able to help you).

I did update the drivers. You suggest that I rollback to previous drivers. I plan to take my computer in to an inexpensive  local shop. They don't charge for examination of your computer and labor is a flat fee or either 39 bucks of 49 bucks.
I will rollback the drivers first, then if that doesn't fix the problem I will take it in. Whatever the solution I'll report back. Thank you for your suggestions.