No Picture on VDU

  • Thread starter Thread starter Sinbad The Sailor
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Sinbad The Sailor

Hello All,

I couldn¹t see another thread appropriate for this problem, so if I am
posting in the wrong place please direct me to where I should be posting.

I have been asked to take a look at a friend¹s computer and I can¹t seem to
get an image on the VDU.
I checked wires, etc, round the back and have plugged the monitor in via the
VGA port (I think it¹s called that)
I managed to determine that the monitor, and cable, are not the cause of the
problem, because I could get a picture from my laptop on it, so this also
cancels out pins being loose in the cable or the monitor being broken.

I cannot determine the brand of graphics card, however, the motherboard on
the computer in question does have it¹s own VGA port also and neither work.

What I¹m asking for, is a list of possible problems, how to check them one
by one, until the cause is found. I don¹t really want to be telling the
friend that they need a new graphics card until I¹m sure.

I¹m thinking it could possibly be something to do with no power being
supplied to the graphics card, but if so, why can¹t I get a signal through
the port on the motherboard?
The BIOS could also be the cause of the problem ­ when the computer is
powered up it gives something like 8 bleeps? Correct me if I¹m wrong, but
surely it should be just one? So maybe the BIOS is incorrectly configured or
something?

Thanks in advance.

-Dante
 
One short "beep" is correct.
That means that the mobo has passed POST: Power On Self Test.

Find out the mobo's manufacturer, go to their site, and check the Bios error
beep codes.
 
Hello Mick,

Thanks for the reply, much appreciated.

I hate to sound like a newbie, but I've never had to identify a mobo without
a VDU - can you suggest any distinguishing features to look for to help me
identify it?

Thanks Mick.

-Dante
 
Sinbad The Sailor said:
Hello Mick,

Thanks for the reply, much appreciated.

I hate to sound like a newbie, but I've never had to identify a mobo
without
a VDU - can you suggest any distinguishing features to look for to help me
identify it?

Thanks Mick.

-Dante
Click to expand...


If it is a desktop machine, remove the side panel and look for a name/model
type on the motherboard.



--
Mike Hall - MVP
How to construct a good post..
http://dts-l.com/goodpost.htm
How to use the Microsoft Product Support Newsgroups..
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=newswhelp&style=toc
Mike's Window - My Blog..
http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/default.aspx
 
Hello Mick,

Thanks for the reply, much appreciated.

I hate to sound like a newbie, but I've never had to identify a mobo without
a VDU - can you suggest any distinguishing features to look for to help me
identify it?
Click to expand...

Leave your computer alone.

Download Belarc Advisor (Google it), run it.

Look in the top section for "Main Circuit Board"

Find out what the BIOS type is (Award, Phoenix, etc.)

Then check this list:

http://www.pchell.com/hardware/beepcodes.shtml
 
No Picture on VDUPerhaps the reason the motherboard VGA port isn't working
is because there is a video card plugged in. If you can remove the plug in
card then the onboard video may work, but windows will have to load drivers
for it.
Neil
Hello All,

I couldn't see another thread appropriate for this problem, so if I am
posting in the wrong place please direct me to where I should be posting.

I have been asked to take a look at a friend's computer and I can't seem to
get an image on the VDU.
I checked wires, etc, round the back and have plugged the monitor in via the
VGA port (I think it's called that)
I managed to determine that the monitor, and cable, are not the cause of the
problem, because I could get a picture from my laptop on it, so this also
cancels out pins being loose in the cable or the monitor being broken.

I cannot determine the brand of graphics card, however, the motherboard on
the computer in question does have it's own VGA port also and neither work.

What I'm asking for, is a list of possible problems, how to check them one
by one, until the cause is found. I don't really want to be telling the
friend that they need a new graphics card until I'm sure.

I'm thinking it could possibly be something to do with no power being
supplied to the graphics card, but if so, why can't I get a signal through
the port on the motherboard?
The BIOS could also be the cause of the problem - when the computer is
powered up it gives something like 8 bleeps? Correct me if I'm wrong, but
surely it should be just one? So maybe the BIOS is incorrectly configured or
something?

Thanks in advance.

-Dante
 
Dante:
Forget about "beep codes" and (at least for the moment) forget about
concentrating on identifying the motherboard.

If I understand the basic problem it's that when you power-on the PC (it's a
desktop machine, right?), all you get is a black screen. No display at all.
Is that right?

And as far as you can tell at this point the power supply is "going", right?

What you (or someone) has to do now is to get inside the PC desktop's case.
Are you (or someone) able to do this? Do you have some knowledge about the
"innards" of the machine?

Anyway, when you're inside the machine, disconnect the HDD(s) and the
optical drive(s). At this point you want to work with *only* the basic
components that are installed in the machine, i.e., your power supply,
processor & heatsink, RAM modules, and graphics card, monitor, keyboard, &
mouse. Nothing else. No sound card, no HDD, no other storage devices nor
optical drives, no external devices - nothing else but those basic
components.

Then power-on the machine. Do you get a screen display at this point? If
yes, can you access the system's BIOS and spend some time checking the
various settings - going from screen to screen in the BIOS? Spend about an
hour with the machine powered-on and no problem with a screen display?

If you do get a screen display, any error messages or other strange
messages?

If no screen display, unseat the graphics card and reseat it. See if you can
determine if there are any loose or disconnected cables (other than the ones
you've disconnected). Do the RAM modules look like they're properly seated?

The problem here is that if all looks well but still no screen display, it's
probably a defective component. Usually it's the motherboard, but not
always. It could be the graphics card, the RAM, the processor, etc. Might
even be a defective power supply. And the only way to definitely tell which
one is the trouble-maker is by substituting a known good component on a
one-by-one basis. Obviously this is a difficult problem for the average
end-user.

If you do get a screen display, then reconnect the HDD and see what happens.
Then we can go on from there.
Anna
 
Mick Finn said:
Leave your computer alone.

Download Belarc Advisor (Google it), run it.

Look in the top section for "Main Circuit Board"

Find out what the BIOS type is (Award, Phoenix, etc.)

Then check this list:

http://www.pchell.com/hardware/beepcodes.shtml
Click to expand...


And just how would the OP run Belarc if the computer doesn't display any
information on the monitor. Maybe you can run the program blind and print
its results by using the keyboard but I really don't think the OP could.
And with 8 beeps, I would suspect that the computer won't boot up anyhow to
be able to run Belarc. It's a great little program but it can't work on a
dead machine. Your response was worthless to the OP. Others have answered
with decent responses so I won't add in to their answers.
 
Sinbad said:
Hello All,

I couldn¹t see another thread appropriate for this problem, so if I am
posting in the wrong place please direct me to where I should be
posting.

I have been asked to take a look at a friend¹s computer and I can¹t
seem to get an image on the VDU.
I checked wires, etc, round the back and have plugged the monitor in
via the VGA port (I think it¹s called that)
I managed to determine that the monitor, and cable, are not the cause
of the problem, because I could get a picture from my laptop on it,
so this also cancels out pins being loose in the cable or the monitor
being broken.

I cannot determine the brand of graphics card, however, the
motherboard on the computer in question does have it¹s own VGA port
also and neither work.

What I¹m asking for, is a list of possible problems, how to check
them one by one, until the cause is found. I don¹t really want to be
telling the friend that they need a new graphics card until I¹m sure.

I¹m thinking it could possibly be something to do with no power being
supplied to the graphics card, but if so, why can¹t I get a signal
through the port on the motherboard?
The BIOS could also be the cause of the problem ­ when the computer is
powered up it gives something like 8 bleeps? Correct me if I¹m wrong,
but surely it should be just one? So maybe the BIOS is incorrectly
configured or something?

Thanks in advance.

-Dante
Click to expand...

"AMI BIOS
1 short(Beep) DRAM Flash Error
2 short(Beep) DRAM ECC Check Error
3 short(Beep) DRAM Detect Fail
5 short(Beep) CPU Error
6 short(Beep) Keyboard Error
8 short(Beep) Display card memory Error
9 short(Beep) ROM Error
1 long - 3 short(Beep) DRAM Damage
1 long - 8 short(Beep) Display card or monitor connected error"

Buffalo
 
Hello Again All,

Thank you all for such great answers! It seems the greatest technical minds
in the world work their wonders on here!

The friend, in my absence, decided to recruit someone else to take a look at
it, who claimed that the only thing in error was that a cable was loose.
Yes, I hear that shocked gasp. While I was there, I had already taken the
side off the (desktop) computer and checked all the cables, so already I
know he's lying. (The person claimed to be a computer technician, I was told
by an observer he works in packaging at a local business)

I'm sure you can understand how irritating this was for me. It was a
stinging blow to my ego.

Now, apparently this cable solved everything. So I'm not concerned about
that now. I am concerned that there may be an underlying trouble now,
something that wasn't solved by this 'cable' that will surface.

Am I correct in my worries? Or can I sleep soundly?

Thanks to all of you for your help, I will share cake!

-Sinbad
 
Think I'd just wait and see if your friend gets a fault again. (just out of
interest, what cable)
Neil
 
Sinbad The Sailor said:
Hello Again All,

Thank you all for such great answers! It seems the greatest technical
minds
in the world work their wonders on here!

The friend, in my absence, decided to recruit someone else to take a look
at
it, who claimed that the only thing in error was that a cable was loose.
Yes, I hear that shocked gasp. While I was there, I had already taken the
side off the (desktop) computer and checked all the cables, so already I
know he's lying. (The person claimed to be a computer technician, I was
told
by an observer he works in packaging at a local business)

I'm sure you can understand how irritating this was for me. It was a
stinging blow to my ego.

Now, apparently this cable solved everything. So I'm not concerned about
that now. I am concerned that there may be an underlying trouble now,
something that wasn't solved by this 'cable' that will surface.

Am I correct in my worries? Or can I sleep soundly?

Thanks to all of you for your help, I will share cake!

-Sinbad
Click to expand...


While reseating the cables, he may have accidentally reseated something
else?
 
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