Computer trouble!!!!!

[Spider-Who?]

Okay, so out of no where, my computer decides to not work. Here's whats going on:

The computer will turn ON (that is, the power light comes on and you can hear it firing up) - but on my monitors, nothing is seen save "No video input" on my main screen and "Going to sleep" on the other.

I've tried swapping monitors, trying to do a safe mode start up, but nothing works. Any ideas?

 

[Malice]

Ok...you power on the pc...(power light goes on) but the monitor never turns on. It says no video input.

I suggest the following:
1) Replace Monitor (this is what you have already done)

2) Monitor Cable - Some monitors dont have a monitor cable attached, so possibly its the cable.

3) Boot with a bootable CD, and see if you see "dos text" or video from the booting CD, and not the windows installation. If you see something on your monitor while booting from this CD or DVD, then its most likely not a hardware issue, its something with Windows or Drivers.

4) Reload the video drivers

5) Video Card - if you happen to have another video card, put one in and test it with this new card...

 

[Kable24]

also if you have a Dell Monitor press the middle "-" button. Monitors sometimes have a digital input and an analog input.

 

[Asteroid-Man]

Mal pretty much summed it up for you.

 

[explode7]

That computer needs thrashing.

 

[trebor]

Ok...you power on the pc...(power light goes on) but the monitor never turns on. It says no video input.

I suggest the following:
1) Replace Monitor (this is what you have already done)

2) Monitor Cable - Some monitors dont have a monitor cable attached, so possibly its the cable.

3) Boot with a bootable CD, and see if you see "dos text" or video from the booting CD, and not the windows installation. If you see something on your monitor while booting from this CD or DVD, then its most likely not a hardware issue, its something with Windows or Drivers.

4) Reload the video drivers

5) Video Card - if you happen to have another video card, put one in and test it with this new card...

Thats pretty much everything you can do that comes to mind too. Best bet is the video is really messed up, but I might be wrong cause I just started my PC repair class in college.

 

[huskerwebhead]

Okay, so out of no where, my computer decides to not work. Here's whats going on:

The computer will turn ON (that is, the power light comes on and you can hear it firing up) - but on my monitors, nothing is seen save "No video input" on my main screen and "Going to sleep" on the other.

I've tried swapping monitors, trying to do a safe mode start up, but nothing works. Any ideas?

Couple of questions:

You said you tried a safe mode startup...does that mean you are seeing POST information when the computer starts up? Or do you never see anything at all? If you're seeing POST information but the screen goes black when Windows is supposed to start, it's not a monitor issue.

What, if anything, did you change prior to this problem? Install any new drivers? New hardware? Any changes at all?

 

[Spider-Who?]

thanks for the replies.

To answer a few questions, the most recent change I did was to install a new video driver to support my dual monitor set up - but that was back in january, and there hasnt been any problems until this.

Also, no, husker, there is absolutely NOTHING that appears on the monitors, aside from the "no input signal" and "going to sleep" text.


Unfortunatly, I no longer have my windows xp startup disk (thats what happens when you move 3 times in less then a year) so I cant try Mal's 3rd option. (if anyone knows where i can get a new boot disk, that'd be great)

To reload my video drivers, as Malice suggests, wouldnt I need to see everything on my monitor to do so?

Thanks for the help - I was in the middle of updating my demo reel when all this started so I could really get this fixed! (luckily, i keep everything on an external harddrive, so no matter what happens, I wont loose anything!)

 

[Spider-Who?]

oh! here's some more info that i just remembered, if it might help diagnos the problem:

A couple weeks ago, I adjusted the power save settings (i dont remember exactly what I switched things to, i think it was simply adjusting the "going to sleep after x amount of time" option)...

 

[huskerwebhead]

thanks for the replies.

To answer a few questions, the most recent change I did was to install a new video driver to support my dual monitor set up - but that was back in january, and there hasnt been any problems until this.

Also, no, husker, there is absolutely NOTHING that appears on the monitors, aside from the "no input signal" and "going to sleep" text.


Unfortunatly, I no longer have my windows xp startup disk (thats what happens when you move 3 times in less then a year) so I cant try Mal's 3rd option. (if anyone knows where i can get a new boot disk, that'd be great)

To reload my video drivers, as Malice suggests, wouldnt I need to see everything on my monitor to do so?

Thanks for the help - I was in the middle of updating my demo reel when all this started so I could really get this fixed! (luckily, i keep everything on an external harddrive, so no matter what happens, I wont loose anything!)

OK, SO you haven't installed any new hardware (this includes a new printer or external device plugged into a USB or other COM port) and haven't installed any new device drivers. OK.

Yes, to reload drivers you'd need your monitor to be working.

And from what you can tell it sounds like the computer is booting up normally, you just can't see anything on the monitor. It's likely one of two things:

-- The monitor or Monitor cable is bad. Do you have another Monitor you can test with? Also, just to make sure, do you have more than one video card in your system? Perhaps an onboard video card that the system my be defaulting to instead?

-- It's possible that the video card is bad. This is less likely as it would have to be specifically the port that the cord plugs into on the card. These don't go out very often without the whole card being hosed. And if the card is bad, your machine would be beeping when you try and boot up.

One other thing could be going on. It's possible that, while it sounds like the machine is booting normally, it actually isn't. It may be having problems before it even reaches POST and starts showing stuff on your screen. Normally when this happens you'll get a series of beeps that you don't normally get. The number and sequence of the beeps usually tells you what the problem is. How computer savy are you? Are you comfortable repseating parts in your computer?

If so, you may want to shut it down, unplug it, and try re-seating the memory and video card.....that means simply pulling them out of their slot and putting them back in.

Good Luck...let me know what you find out!

 

[Asteroid-Man]

For the reloading option, you could theoretically take out the hard drive, boot it in another PC and go from there.

 

[Spider-Who?]

OK, SO you haven't installed any new hardware (this includes a new printer or external device plugged into a USB or other COM port) and haven't installed any new device drivers. OK.

Yes, to reload drivers you'd need your monitor to be working.

And from what you can tell it sounds like the computer is booting up normally, you just can't see anything on the monitor. It's likely one of two things:

-- The monitor or Monitor cable is bad. Do you have another Monitor you can test with? Also, just to make sure, do you have more than one video card in your system? Perhaps an onboard video card that the system my be defaulting to instead?

-- It's possible that the video card is bad. This is less likely as it would have to be specifically the port that the cord plugs into on the card. These don't go out very often without the whole card being hosed. And if the card is bad, your machine would be beeping when you try and boot up.

One other thing could be going on. It's possible that, while it sounds like the machine is booting normally, it actually isn't. It may be having problems before it even reaches POST and starts showing stuff on your screen. Normally when this happens you'll get a series of beeps that you don't normally get. The number and sequence of the beeps usually tells you what the problem is. How computer savy are you? Are you comfortable repseating parts in your computer?

If so, you may want to shut it down, unplug it, and try re-seating the memory and video card.....that means simply pulling them out of their slot and putting them back in.

Good Luck...let me know what you find out!

thanks for the tips. Here;s what I've done recently:

Tried using a completely different monitor and cable - still doesnt work
Took out the new video card so the comp would use its original - still no go
Taken out memory, etc and replaced them - no go

In attempting these things, I did realize that the initial "beep" i hear when turning on the computer (while its working) does not chime now - which would be evidence that it is in fact NOT booting up properly...

I'm running out of ideas - I guess i'm gonna have to spend the 200+ dollars and take it to geek squad...

 

[huskerwebhead]

thanks for the tips. Here;s what I've done recently:

Tried using a completely different monitor and cable - still doesnt work
Took out the new video card so the comp would use its original - still no go
Taken out memory, etc and replaced them - no go

In attempting these things, I did realize that the initial "beep" i hear when turning on the computer (while its working) does not chime now - which would be evidence that it is in fact NOT booting up properly...

I'm running out of ideas - I guess i'm gonna have to spend the 200+ dollars and take it to geek squad...

Ah...then yes, it's likely not booting. If you haven't already taken it to geek squad you can try pulling specific devices one by one...Video card, take system to min. memory if possible, but it sounds like you've done that to some extent already. It could be the processor or the motherboard itself. Which case, your kinda SOL. Sorry man.

 

[Malice]

Correct me if I am wrong.
The machine turns on...but no video at all.
Not even the BOOTing screens showing memory, hard drive, motherboard info.

Correct?

If you have pulled out the Extra Video and tried to use the native video card built onto the board (using a second monitor in both instances) there is a chance you have a bad motherboard, or something on the board.

 

[Spider-Who?]

Correct me if I am wrong.
The machine turns on...but no video at all.
Not even the BOOTing screens showing memory, hard drive, motherboard info.

Correct?

you would be correct, my good sir.

If you have pulled out the Extra Video and tried to use the native video card built onto the board (using a second monitor in both instances) there is a chance you have a bad motherboard, or something on the board.

you make me cry. will i need to replace the motherboard (if thats the case) or can it be saved?

 

[Malice]

you would be correct, my good sir.



you make me cry. will i need to replace the motherboard (if thats the case) or can it be saved?

Only someone who works on motherboards can answer that.
Chances are, you just need to replace it...
Or its the processor...memory...something there.

 

[huskerwebhead]

you would be correct, my good sir.



you make me cry. will i need to replace the motherboard (if thats the case) or can it be saved?

I'd agree with Malice as well. It's kind of a crap shoot. It's possible it's something small and easily replaceable like memory, the processor, a power cable, or as simple as a missing jumper. Or it could be the entire motherboard or a surface mount/embedded device. If it's not to much to have someone look at it...go ahead. But if it's going to cost you upwards of $100 or more then you might as well just look at getting a new motherboard.

 

[Spider-Who?]

okay - if i have to replace the motherboard - what does that entail? (have to replace any other hardware; re-installation of programs including windows? - cuz that would mean i'd have to buy a new windows program since i cant find my XP disk!)

 

[huskerwebhead]

okay - if i have to replace the motherboard - what does that entail? (have to replace any other hardware; re-installation of programs including windows? - cuz that would mean i'd have to buy a new windows program since i cant find my XP disk!)

If you get the exact same motherboard, as in a warranty replacement, then you shouldn't need to reload any software. Just remove all the existing components from the old MB, install the new MB, reconnect all the existing components, and you "should" be good to go.

If you are getting a totally different motherboard then you'll have to reinstall windows. Make sure that the new MB works with your power supply, processor, memory, etc.