Computer has no video any longer

[JaySwint]

My uncle turned his computer on, after a long period of use, and it no longer had any video. I pushed everything back in to make sure it was secure, and made sure all the components on the computer were working by transferring them into my desktop for testing. As i said, the computer worked like a charm for a long period of time, no problems and just sort of crashed. I have checked the Western Digital 60 gig HD for viruses and so far it is clean. the system is s P4 1.8 GHZ 256 ram, a matrox video card with a Viewpanel VG150. Any ideas, because I cant even see anything from the power-on!

Justin

 

[fluxvoovoo]

Be sure the system is actually posting before you proceed. The next thing is to note the led color on the monitor. If orange, you are not getting any signal - green would suggest good signal and possible monitor issue. I would try the monitor on another system and/or try another monitor on your uncles computer. These are the simple things that tell you a lot and usually speed up the problem diagnosis. If you are not getting signal from the pc then you should suspect a bad video adaptor card. Before you yank the card try discharging the pc's power supply by unplugging it form the power cord and holding in the on/off button for about a minute- then plug it back in and try it again. Certain monitors can also benefit from this procedure oddly enough - Some of Sony's monitors for instance.- it's worth a shot regardless.--If the adapter is suspect you might try a different pci or agp slot if available being sure the card is seated properly. Make sure all ram is seated properly in it's slots also. If nothing helps yet then you probably need a new video card...wouldn't be the first time probably...won't be the last either. Power brown outs can be especially hard on vid cards it seems. I recommend every user should pick up a few spare adapters at the next big sale at your favorite computer store or maybe at a garage sale etc. ...you know...doesn't have to be the best. Then you have one for testing and a quick replacement if needed to get you out of a jam. This would apply to other components such as modems and nic cards as well. hope I helped some.

 

[JaySwint]

The video card works in my computer, the monitor as well works on mine. I hit the reset betton a few times, one after the other, and it worked for a min then froze. Still dont know what the heck is going on. I checked everything else out like you said and it still is being as stuborn as ever!

Justin

 

[Wirdo]

are you sure its not the monitor that is the problem you mention testing the mb and video card in your pc. but the most common culprit is a bad/faulty monitor.