Monitor problem or computer problem?

[Corpse Cruncher]

I have an old computer which has developed an odd problem I don't know how to fix. When it starts up I can't see anything on the screen and have no idea if it is booting up or is. Turning the monitor on or off makes no difference. I disconnected the monitor from the back of the computer and it appears to work. I get a picture up saying no signal. Reconnecting it and there is no picture even if the power is switched off and on again. I'm sure the monitor is working so something may be wrong with the brains and it is an area I know nothing about. There is no beeping or smoke, one day the whole thing was working the next morning nothing?

Please has any person have any ideas what is wrong or how to fix it? Nice and easy understandable terms please, I suffer from technophobia. :eek:

[El Greco]

Perhaps the same problem (http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=48749) as mine. Since I started looking around for that problem, I found out that the no beep/no boot symptoms are an all too common way for motherboards to expire.

[Corpse Cruncher]

Oh dear, I hoped it was not that serious.

[Wudang]

Do you hear your hard disk going? Does your PC have a light that shows disk activity? I think EG is right but it might also be a loose graphics card.

[Corpse Cruncher]

It does sound as though everything is functioning there is no light or lights. The floppy has alight so should I put one in and see if it picks it up?

Also it has not got a separate graphic card, it is one of those all in one types. It's an old machine, which was working fine and then this occurred out of the blue.

The monitor is fine I checked it on another computer and it works with that. So it does look like the brain side is amiss. Is there anyway round to make the computer and the monitor work so I could at least see what the start up was doing?

[punchdrunk]

The monitor is fine I checked it on another computer and it works with that. So it does look like the brain side is amiss. Is there anyway round to make the computer and the monitor work so I could at least see what the start up was doing?

If you have a video card that isn't on-board, you could try putting that in the computer. Although the OS might not recognize it until after boot-up, in which case you are still screwed.

[Soapy Sam]

You checked the monitor with another computer.
Did you check the computer with another monitor?

[Corpse Cruncher]

You checked the monitor with another computer.
Did you check the computer with another monitor?
No I have not but I will do so. I have one I know is working as I am using it now.

[Corpse Cruncher]

If you have a video card that isn't on-board, you could try putting that in the computer. Although the OS might not recognie it until after boot-up, in which case you are still screwed.

I wouldn't know what a video card looked like if it stood right in front of me. I'm not familiar with the contents of a computer. I fear I may break something in my poking around inside.

Does anybody know if a site that show pictures of the innards of a computer so I could at least recognise some components before I open the case and stick my hand in?

[Underemployed]

The video card will be very easy to recognise as it will be the only one with the connector for your monitor cable. As you look at the upright case, it will be a 'card' (ie a rectangular circuitboard) that sticks in to the much larger circuitboard (the motherboard) at a right-angle. It will most likely be in a white-coloured slot. Might even have a little fan on it.

Just grab a screwdriver and open it up (with the power off). There's nothing in there that will bite you or explode.






...unless you accidentally trip the super-secret self-destruct jumper that all computers have. But that hardly ever happens.

[Corpse Cruncher]

When my help arrives I get them to do it. That way if something nasty is inside the case, they will get eaten first.

[El Greco]

The video card will be very easy to recognise as it will be the only one with the connector for your monitor cable. As you look at the upright case, it will be a 'card' (ie a rectangular circuitboard) that sticks in to the much larger circuitboard (the motherboard) at a right-angle. It will most likely be in a white-coloured slot. Might even have a little fan on it.

But she said before that there's no separate gc, it must be one of those motherboards with on-board graphics. Although she might be wrong, but on-board graphics are pretty common in store-assembled PCs.

[Underemployed]

Uurgh OK...In that case, it's time to buy a new computer, Cruncher. You might be able to extend the lifespan of this one a bit longer by getting an actual graphics card, but for the price of getting and one and fitting it, you could be a third of the way to a brand new PC.

[Corpse Cruncher]

I think it is the CPU is dying. Now it is only a small celeron, according to the manual a 700 celeron is the biggest I can put in it. Now should I replace it or what is best thing to do with it?

I looked inside, and there seems to be no burnt areas and it doesn't beep or smell hot.

[a_unique_person]

Perhaps the same problem (http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=48749) as mine. Since I started looking around for that problem, I found out that the no beep/no boot symptoms are an all too common way for motherboards to expire.

That is the problem with computers. A friend of my sons had exactly the same problem, and it was the drivers. When I re-installed them, everything was fine. You can't tell till you eliminate all the alternatives.

[Corpse Cruncher]

That would help, except I can't see the anything written on the screen. What is a cheap graphic card to buy to make sure it isn't the inbuilt sis graphic chip-set.

[Vitnir]

Just go for the cheapest graphics card you can find, no mind make or model. It will still be ok for a non-gaming computer. If you know any gamer he/she will have a few old ones that are retired. I think I have three old graphics card lying around collecting dust.