no video output

[Tearose]

I'm getting our old computers ready to donate, and restoring the original OS. One had a problem, and I saved its good parts to fix others. The one I'm working on now needed the power supply replaced, and I did that, but when I started it up, nothing showed up on the screen. No beeps either. I switched the video card, in case that was the problem, but still nothing on the screen. Any ideas what's wrong? Or things I can check? TIA
Jill

 

[Tearose]

One more clue. I just tried to start it one more time, and now I see the front LED, that should be green is flashing red.

 

[wahnula]

Tearose

Do you have any other video cards? Are there any power connectors to the vid card that are missing? Is video chip onboard or an add-in card? More info as to make & model & details re: all hardware will be appreciated.

To troubleshoot, strip down. The PC that is. Remove it from the chassis. Clean thoroughly w/ canned air. Remove all peripherals, CD ROM(s), HDD, mouse, kbd etc. Just i stick RAM, PSU, CPU and vid card. Short across the "PWR" pins at the MB header briefly with a small flat-blade screwdriver. Any signal to monitor(does it light up)?? BIOS? POST beeps?..If not switch monitors & cables. Remember to do things one at a time, resist the urge to make many changes between attempts.

If no improvement then swap RAM, change vid cards, CPU & MB in that order. It all starts in POST and getting a BIOS to display. Once you're they're you're golden.

Tony

 

[Tearose]

That's way more than I have time to devote to a computer I'm giving away. I'm hoping for some easy and quick things to test, or I'll take this one to the recycling center.

So here's some background on it. We had a lot of HP Vectra VL 800s. This one was no longer being used, but was in working order. Another one that was in use started getting the 2 beep signal that indicated a power supply problem. It also had the flashing red LED. I switched their power supplies, and the user stopped getting the beeps, and could use the computer, but still had the flashing red. I was able to get the user a new computer, saved all the reusable parts of her old one to repair others, and recycled the chassis and motherboard. This computer, when I tested with the power supply from the other computer started giving me the flashing red LED, so I assumed the power supply was indeed bad. Now that all the vectras have been replaced with newer machines, I'm getting them ready to donate to a school. So I put the original power supply back in this one, and I'm still getting the flashing red LED. I already switched out the video card, so the card isn't the problem- they were both working the last time they were used. I'm guessing the problem is on the motherboard- something that might have gotten knocked when I switched the power supply, but I didn't see anything that looked loose or akilter.

 

[wahnula]

tearose,

You are to be admired both for your tenacity and your social conscience. Recycling/donating PCs is not the way it's usually done here in Texas, it's off to the landfill at the first sign of trouble. Luckily a member here pointed me to

http://www.freecycle.org

that led me to a person who picks up & repairs PC equipment for donation to schools. Perhaps that's what you should do in this case.

If you have replaced the GFX card and the PSU with known working ones, try disconnecting/reconnecting all cards and power connectors. It may indeed be a MB problem like a cracked PCB or bad caps, or possibly something behind the MB that is shorting traces, or the bad PSU did some damage. If you don't have the time for disassembly then you have still done more than your share. I see stacks of old PCs left at the curb for disposal around here, so the recycling center or freecycle are both good options. Best of luck.

Tony

 

[Spitfire8807]

Hey everyone,

I was messing around with my computer, given to me by a friend, old one BTW. Its a Packard Bell and it runs 98. I found a problem with the CD Burner and took it out and put in another one, and also took out the power supply, and then put it back in. It worked before but now I plugged in the moniter and it says "No Signal Input". I tried the 3 other moniters and they say either that or I get a blinking green light on the moniter. It also sounds like the fan is running and things are working, but Im not getting anywhere without a picture. Any suggestions?

Thx

 

[Tearose]

I may just pull the drives, memory and cables out of this computer and another that's flashing red, and offer the parts on Freecycle, then recycle the chassis. We've given a lot of stuff away on freecycle here, but the funder that paid for our computers requires that, if working, they be donated to schools or non-profits when we upgrade. Otherwise, I'd offer all of them on freecycle.

 

[wahnula]

Tearose

That sounds like your best bet. Old hardware can be very frustrating (and dusty!).

Spitfire8807,

Please start a new post to discuss a new problem. This is called "thread hijacking" and while I am sure that was not your intent it is considered poor Netiquette. Go to the main forum you wish to post in like forum602, then start a new post. We'll see if someone can help you.

Tony