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No output from PC - help!

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  • 06-01-2008 12:46am
    #1
    The Boarder Man
    Registered Users Posts: 148 ✭✭


    Hi all,

    My PC somewhat died this morning and I am quite desperate to get it working again.

    When it's powered up all the fans start fine but the monitor stays black. I have checked the monitor with another PC - it's fine. I have tried resetting the BIOS with the Clear CMOS jumper - no change. I have removed unneccessary hardware, checked connections, taken out and put back the graphics card and motherboard battery all to no avail.

    What happened this morning is that it was workning normally when I suddenly lost the display. After a manual reboot it worked fine for another minute before loosing the display permanently. I have had to manually reboot a few times in the past due to the screen freezing and keyboard and mouse no longer responding but I don't know if this is related.

    PC specs are (as far as I can remember):
    MSI K9N Neo Motherboard
    AMD 64 X2 4600 processor
    XFX 7600GT graphics card
    Seagate Barracuda 320GB hard drive
    2GB RAM

    Any help, advice or things to try would be most gratefully received!


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    #2
    The Boarder Man
    Registered Users Posts: 148 ✭✭The Boarder Man


    Another thing I will add is that if I have my keyboard connected when booting up the lights on it don't respond correctly.

    As well as the standard num/caps/scroll lock lights I have an F function light which changes what the F keys do which I normally have on (eg lit up).
    When I power on the PC the F function light comes on and the others don't as normal. If I press the F function key I can turn it on and off a couple of times but then all the lights turn on and off again returning to the state where the F function light is on and the others are not. However it is now stuck like this and can no longer be changed.
    If (starting from the beginning again) I try to turn on one of the other lights (eg caps lock) it won't respond but will go through the same process after a couple of tries - all the lights go on and off and then no response.

    Finally when I turn off the PC the remaining light on the keyboard stays on. I only goes off a few seconds after I turn off the power to the PC.

    I don't know if this helps at all but thought I should mention it.


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    #3
    DublinDilbert
    Registered Users Posts: 5,370 ✭✭✭DublinDilbert


    I'd power down completely, ie pull the power cord... then try taking out the graphics card and re-seating it.. you could also do the same with the memory...

    might be worth your while cleaning the edge connector on both, just make sure your earthed when you do so.


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    #4
    coldfeet
    Closed Accounts Posts: 217 ✭✭coldfeet


    I feel ur pain, i'm having the exact same problem at the moment.


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    #5
    Webmonkey
    Registered Users Posts: 9,579 ✭✭✭Webmonkey


    Odd, I would try getting/borrowing some old graphics card and have a try.

    I would imagine if memory was to blame, you would have got the blue screen of death or something. Certainly sounds like the graphics card.


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    #6
    The Boarder Man
    Registered Users Posts: 148 ✭✭The Boarder Man


    Thanks for the replies. I'll try reseating the memory as I haven't tried this yet. Does it matter what order the memory is replaced in? I can't think why it would but there's a spark in my memory which thinks it might.

    I guess it's most likely the graphics card but I'd want to be sure before getting a new one. Can anyone recommend a PC repair place to have a look at it?

    Cheers.


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    #7
    Webmonkey
    Registered Users Posts: 9,579 ✭✭✭Webmonkey


    What you mean by a spark? - a blackend patch? - if so then this most certainly probably is your problem. If you have two modules of memory, try one at a time in different slots


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    #8
    Soundman
    Registered Users Posts: 2,593 ✭✭✭Soundman


    Webmonkey wrote: »
    What you mean by a spark? - a blackend patch? - if so then this most certainly probably is your problem. If you have two modules of memory, try one at a time in different slots

    Think he means that something in the memory in his head tells him that there is a particular order that the RAM should be seated in.


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    #9
    The Boarder Man
    Registered Users Posts: 148 ✭✭The Boarder Man


    Soundman wrote: »
    Think he means that something in the memory in his head tells him that there is a particular order that the RAM should be seated in.

    Yes - it was mine own memory I was reffering to. :)

    Can anyone dispel this concern?


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    #10
    layke
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,956 ✭✭✭layke


    Hi, just because the machine switches on and you can't see anything it doesn't mean you have a problem with your graphics card. It might be the problem but not always true. When you switch on your PC does it beep? If so your motherboard/CPU is fine then it is more likely to have something to do with the gfx card.
    Finally when I turn off the PC the remaining light on the keyboard stays on. I only goes off a few seconds after I turn off the power to the PC.

    This is normal, a led can hold power for a few seconds after powerdown.
    Does it matter what order the memory is replaced in?
    Not usually (motherboard depent though) however it's good practise to put the largest amount of memory in slot0 (usually the slot closest to the CPU).

    As for the PC repair place, where do you live?


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    #11
    The Boarder Man
    Registered Users Posts: 148 ✭✭The Boarder Man


    No beep! Can't remember if it did before though. Reseated RAM - no change.

    I'm in South County Dublin.


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    #12
    ixoy
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 17,990 Mod ✭✭✭✭ixoy


    The Boarder Man wrote: »
    No beep! Can't remember if it did before though. Reseated RAM - no change.
    Hey, I had an issue awhile back like this - computer turned on and had no BIOS beep. It just hummed to itself quietly and output nothing. I tried re-seating the RAM to no effect and, in the end, it turned out to the GFX card - everything else was fine.


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    #13
    duridian
    Registered Users Posts: 3,541 ✭✭✭duridian


    These sound like the same symptoms I got from graphics card that died on me as well. System freezing and working ok for a short while after occurs maybe twice, then she croaks for good. Happened to me with both an old Ti4600 and a 9800Pro. Not looking too good for your 7600GT I'm afraid.


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    #14
    The Boarder Man
    Registered Users Posts: 148 ✭✭The Boarder Man


    I'm happy to hear that tbh. I'd rather it was the graphics card as that's easy to replace. Just gotta find a spare to be sure now.

    Anyone got any sort of PCI-E card going cheap/free/loan/rent?

    Thanks for the input folks.


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    #15
    Lazarus2.0
    Registered Users Posts: 2,772 ✭✭✭Lazarus2.0


    Do you have an onboard graphics card ? If so remove your PCI(e?) gfx card and try the monitor with the onboard .....


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    #16
    yoyo
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 11,011 Mod ✭✭✭✭yoyo


    Have you tried booting off with just one stick of RAM in? This can very often be a memory problem believe it or not, if booting off neither stick singley helps look to borrowing someones PCIe card to test :)

    Nick

    My Beer Glass collection site 🍺

    My Irish Callcards site



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    #17
    duridian
    Registered Users Posts: 3,541 ✭✭✭duridian


    It would be ideal if you could get a loan of a card to test out whether or not the graphic card is the cause.
    I assume that there is a at least one old fashioned PCI slot in your machine. Don't forget that even an old PCI (not express) graphics card will be enough to test the system out. So even a card from some old clunker like a Pentium 1 computer would do the trick, all you really need to see is a boot screen, not Crysis! Maybe someone you know has an old machine with such a card laying idle in an attic. Would certainly be worth a shot before you go investing money in a new card.


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    #18
    The Boarder Man
    Registered Users Posts: 148 ✭✭The Boarder Man


    duridian wrote: »
    It would be ideal if you could get a loan of a card to test out whether or not the graphic card is the cause.
    I assume that there is a at least one old fashioned PCI slot in your machine. Don't forget that even an old PCI (not express) graphics card will be enough to test the system out. So even a card from some old clunker like a Pentium 1 computer would do the trick, all you really need to see is a boot screen, not Crysis! Maybe someone you know has an old machine with such a card laying idle in an attic. Would certainly be worth a shot before you go investing money in a new card.

    Hi again. I finally sourced an old (1996) PCI graphics card to try out. It didn't make any difference - still no output from my PC. However when I tried the graphics card in a Dell PC it didn't work either, but it does work with my old (2000) Win98 machine.
    So, can I now assume it's not a graphics card issue and that the Dell is just being stupid (it has on-board grahics so maybe it's still trying to output that way???) or is there a possibility that this card is old enough not to work with newer PCs?

    Finally - does anyone have any suggestions of where I could take my PC to get it fixed?

    Thanks.


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