What's wrong with my computer?

[physics_ninja]

In a nutshell my computer won't show anything on the monitor. The monitor seems to be fine: the power light is on, if I unpug the cable I get a no signal message, but when I turn on my computer nothing happens. absolutly nothing. tried it with another monitor and same results.

I have changed the battery and fiddled with the video card, but no luck.

Any idea what could be going on?

The change was sudden. one night I was using it without problmes, the next morning I got a blank screen.

No storms, so I don't think it is surge damage. As a note it had started running the "your computer wasnot shutdown properly" scan disk thingy every time I started it during the previous week even though I had shut it down properly.

 

[CrusaderX]

I'm not sure what you mean by "fiddling with the video card", but we have a computer at work that has this problem every once in awhile, and pulling the video card out and putting it back in a different slot always fixes it.

If you've already tried this though, I'm not sure what to suggest.

 

[trancejeremy]

Video card? Motherboard? I would try swapping in a new video card myself.

At one time, computers would beep if they had a problem. And if you had a list of what the beeps meant, you could fix the problem. Does yours beep?



Anyway, see here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/POST_error_beep

If it's a long beep and 2 short beeps, it means bad video card.

 

[Steel_Wind]

In a nutshell my computer won't show anything on the monitor. The monitor seems to be fine: the power light is on, if I unpug the cable I get a no signal message, but when I turn on my computer nothing happens. absolutly nothing. tried it with another monitor and same results.

I have changed the battery and fiddled with the video card, but no luck.

Any idea what could be going on?

The change was sudden. one night I was using it without problems, the next morning I got a blank screen.

No storms, so I don't think it is surge damage. As a note it had started running the "your computer wasnot shutdown properly" scan disk thingy every time I started it during the previous week even though I had shut it down properly.

When you tried it with another monitor - did you use the same cable to the monitor - or a different one? (most monitors have a dedicated vga cable - but you never know...)

(Was hoping it might be a pin on the cable, which is screwy).

Otherwise - sounds like video card is blown.

 

[ssampier]

It almost sounds like a bad video card. But if it's a separate card (rather than integrated), it could simply be unseated.

Unplug said computer, removed all the cords, and unscrew the case. Now lay the computer flat on non static surface (table or kitchen floor). Now unscrew the video card. With AGP cards, you may have a plastic "tab" that you have to pull to release the card. Now reseat the card in the slot, screw it back in and push the "tab" back in (some AGP only).

Fire it up. It should work now. If not, I am suspecting power supply. Do you hear any fan noise?

 

[Bront]

If your computer has an internal speaker and it isn't beaping, then the video card isn't the issue.

It could be a power supply, as they tend to die every once and a while.

I also suggest unplugging the HD and booting up, to see what happens. Same with the video card.

Also, you can try a different monitor in case it's the monitor.

 

[Redrobes]

I think that the previous posts have summed it up - you need to swap each bit out in turn until you find what is the problem.

One thing you can try tho. Can you use the front panel monitor buttons to bring up the "On Screen Display" panel on the monitor - assuming you have one like that. That should come up even if you have the monitor unconnected from the PC. If that used to work and its now dead then its a monitor problem.

I have also seen problems like this with the Mobo / CPU going bad so that it could not initiate the BIOS properly and therefore start your graphics card boot sequence. Your card might be ok but it might not be able to boot. In these situations you can get it so that you dont even get it power up as far as the BIOS so it doesnt beep. (Your graphics card has its own BIOS but will not beep of course - you need the MOBO and its BIOS working in order to tell if the graphics card has powered up ok.)

Personally If I could not swap stuff out I would start to strip the components out of the machine until I had a mobo, CPU and one stick of ram. No HD, no video card nothing else. Plug in. if the mobo LED comes on you have power. If you get a PC that lights up and does not beep then you have probably got those bits ok. Then start to add to it until it becomes totally dead noting what you last added.

Ideally you need spare bits tho.

 

[Steel_Wind]

If your computer has an internal speaker and it isn't beaping, then the video card isn't the issue.

It could be a power supply, as they tend to die every once and a while.

I also suggest unplugging the HD and booting up, to see what happens. Same with the video card.

Also, you can try a different monitor in case it's the monitor.

This isn't necessarily so, btw. I have had video cards fail in Windows that still post on boot up. In fact, I just replaced one for this reason on Friday.

I do know what you mean and your advice is close to being almost always true but it isn't an OR ELSE matter.

 

[physics_ninja]

thanks guys,

By "fiddling" I meant that I pulled it out and put in back in again. no luck there.

I don't recall it beeping, but I will listen to it more carefully. It doesn't have external speakers.

The fan is working.

Tried a different monitor, but with the same cable. Will try different cable.

I have never unplugged a HD before. Is there anything I should know before yanking?

 

[Steel_Wind]

Tried a different monitor, but with the same cable. Will try different cable.

Same cable? Ohhh. Check the male VGA pins carefully on the cable. One may be bent and/or loose. That is absolutely enough to produce the precise symptoms you have mentioned.