StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Ever since this weekend, whenever I turn on the computer and monitor, they haven't been getting a signal, despite...

1. Trying another monitor, using the same monitor cable.
2. Trying another monitor with its own monitor cable.
3. Replacing the video card (GeForce FX 5200) with a Mad Dog Predator Radeon 9250 AGP (128 MB DDR memory).
4. Cleaning the CPU heat sink and the heat sink-covering fan of dust. (The video card's own heat sink is clean.)

Any other things I can do?

Reseating all cards and the memory in their sockets would be the next thing I'd try, along with making sure all the power connectors are properly plugged in.

If that fails, try resetting the system BIOS with the jumper on the motherboard.

Glocksman wrote:Reseating all cards and the memory in their sockets would be the next thing I'd try, along with making sure all the power connectors are properly plugged in.

Didn't change these between the time before the problem nor after, so I could do them just because, but seeing the next option...

If that fails, try resetting the system BIOS with the jumper on the motherboard.

How would I do this?

In your motherboard's manual, it should list a 'reset CMOS' jumper.
It varies slightly, but the usual procedure is to unplug the power cord, remove the battery, move the jumper according to your manual's instructions, reinstall the battery, plug the power back in, and then boot back into the BIOS to reconfigure everything.

sounds just like what I had when my powersupply burned out.

there was just enough juice going to start up the fans, and the HDD light, but no where else was working.

The Yosemite Bear wrote:sounds just like what I had when my powersupply burned out.

there was just enough juice going to start up the fans, and the HDD light, but no where else was working.

Yeah, the the CMOS reset and card reseating doesn't work, odds are it's a hardware failure of some kind.
The problem is it could be a lot of things, from a bad stick of RAM, a burnt out processor, a bad PSU, to a motherboard failure or a short somewhere.

What if it is a hardware failure? (I've been told to treat it as an excuse for a new desktop.)

Well, the problem with fails where you don't even get POST (bios screen) or beeps, is that you have no fucking idea what the hell it could be

Dead CPU
Dead Mobo
Dead GFX Card
Bad Ram
Failing PSU

Take your pick, oh and btw if you replace the wrong thing you run the risk of frying the new part, have fun!

or more than one of the above

Edward Yee wrote:3. Replacing the video card (GeForce FX 5200) with a Mad Dog Predator Radeon 9250 AGP (128 MB DDR memory).

Did you put the new card into the same slot as the old one?

AMX wrote:Did you put the new card into the same slot as the old one?

He has an AGP, so it may be just the one slot.

I'm inclined to run with the "re-seat RAM" solution, or move RAM from slot to slot until you get something.


Have you gotten any beeps when you start it up? My MoBo has a little LED that shows it's getting power is it getting power?

As said, AGP, the motherboard seems to have that one graphics slot (with convenient push-lever as on RAM slots), so I did

Haven't had the time to try reseating the RAM yet. There is a bright red LED at the bottom of the motherboard that glows bright red, though, and when I tested the desktop with the case cover open an attached fan did run; I hear activity whenever I power on.

Any updates?
FWIW, my system did the exact same thing a few weeks ago, and it was caused by bad RAM.
Fortunately, Crucial is pretty quick at RMA's, but it sucked running on 1GB of DDR2-667 for a week while waiting for the replacement 2GB DDR2-800 Ballistix kit to arrive.