No signal to monitor...

[Azrael.]

Alright my friend just built a new computer, and we are having problems.

The motherboard does not have on board video. We have everything connected correctly, and the computer will power up just fine. For some reason we can't get a signal to the monitor. We think that for some reason the AGP slot might be turned off by default. Is there any way we can externally fix this without purchasing an old PCI card (we are lazy)? Is there any other problem that could be causing this?

His system specs are the same for mine except he has the ASUS A8V instead of the ABIT listed in my specs. He also has a Radeon 9700 Pro.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Azrael.]

Also, we tried switching my 9700Pro for another card, but that gave us the same results. We also tried switching monitors, but that didnt help either.

 

[The Dark Elf]

I'd get a geforce4mx 440, dirt cheap, you should be able to see whats going on then

Or if it has a TV out in the onboard video try plug a TV in and see if you can see anything.

 

[The Dark Elf]

Or reset the bios maybe.. perhaps it was turned off at some point, if its been used prior.. or maybe you accidently did that and thats whats caused this to happen.

 

[blahblahblah]

Motherboard could be gone. If its not the video card, I would suspect the motherboard. You can test the video card by putting it into another computer and see if it works.

 

[Asus]

I've built systems where the monitor didn't turn on when we pluged in the monitor. All we do is turn the monitor on/off and the PC as well.
Turn off the power on the back of the PC and the monitor. Try again. I 've had this happen often. A PCI card might just work.
Make sure nothing is shorting the board.

 

[lePobz]

Any bios settings that have the FSB out of range of the graphics card causes the problem you mention, the fix for this is to reset to defaults by removing and then replacing the bios battery on the motherboard.

If that doesn't fix it then the graphics card is either broken or conflicts with the motherboard

 

[Gossoon]

And this sounds really basic, but it can never hurt to make sure the card is seated properly. You have to really push those suckers in hard.

 

[Azrael.]

Alright thanks for the help guys although its still not working... I am sure that nothing is shorting the board, and the light is on which means that it's not fried. We tried to reset the CMOS/BIOS, but, with all this done, the monitor still says, "no signal." And ASUS, there is no ON/OFF switch on the back of the monitor, and we tried to just turn it on and off on the front, but still doesnt work. do you guys have any other ideas? Or ASUS, can you please describe the process in a bit more detail just incase i didn't do this right. Thanks a lot for the help!

 

[Azrael.]

Wait, what is the deal with the battery?

 

[lePobz]

Pull the battery out, leave it out for 10 seconds, then put it back in and boot up. Then enter BIOS and make sure all the settings are right for your cpu (if you do get a signal after putting the battery back and booting up)

 

[DreamThrall]

Just in case you don't know what the CMOS/BIOS battery is, it is one of those flat batteries that watches use. The CMOS/BIOS uses a sort of flash memory to store the settings, so if you remove the battery, the flash memory loses power, effectively wiping out the settings. The battery should be located somewhere on your motherboard (obviously), but it can sometimes be a little tricky to get out. I recommend being VERY careful with a flat screwdriver or perhaps a butter knife... just make sure you don't slip!

 

[Asus]

What I have done in the past is flip the switch on the powersupply of the PC or unplug it.
Turn of the monitor and unplug the monitor from the PC (VGA cord).
Then plug it back in. Turn the mointor and PC back on and see if that does anything. I just usually play around with it, at least that's what I did when it happend when my friends PC was being built. I donno.

 

[h4vvok]

Sigh...did you make sure to properly install the motherboard onto the tray? IF you forgot to put in the spacers, then that is your problem....and if you dont have any idea what Im talking about then you might have a big problem.

 

[Asus]

Sigh...did you make sure to properly install the motherboard onto the tray? IF you forgot to put in the spacers, then that is your problem....and if you dont have any idea what Im talking about then you might have a big problem.

That's very true as well! hehe

 

[ewilson248]

Is the motherboard actually coming on.. in other words, does the fan on the psu spin up? (means its getting ok to go from mobo), does the hardisk spin up? Just because you get an LED to light on the mobo does NOT mean the mobo is good, It just means it is getting a small standby power from the psu. If you swapped out the monitor and the agp card, the chances are VERY likely that the mobo is not coming on/fried. Again refer to the earlier comments about mobo installation, spacers etc...

 

[h4vvok]

No spacers= Can still push the power button and fans may spin, but mobo could be locked down or fried (Locked down as in some MOBOs if the spacers arent in it shuts itself off to prevent damage, and then either wont start up or it repeats the process of lockdown)...and is the bios beeping? You should hear a beep when the computer turns on...you might be in BIG trouble if you forgot the spacers and are not hearing a beep when you turn the power on.

 

[Azrael.]

K, the spacers are in, but they didnt send me enough screws to screw the whole motherboard down (only the corners), and the mobo does not beep when i turn it on, but everyhting powers up (all fans, cpu fan, i hear the hdd spinning up, the GPU fan spins up, the fan on the PSU spins up) please help me out.

 

[Asus]

Some boards won't work if you only have a few of the standoffs used.
Usually the 6 holes on the far left and middle of the board are used to mount. The right side usually are open or you can use plastic spacers to hold the board up.

 

[Azrael.]

alright, i found some screws and completely mounted the mobo, although im still not getting a beep from the mobo. what does this mean? is it fried?

 

[lePobz]

could mean u aint put the PC speaker in properly

 

[Azrael.]

the PC speaker is in properly. i rewired the thing, but still no beep, no signal. what do you think is up? could something be fried? if so what? Thanks for the help.

 

[Azrael.]

FINALLY, got it to work. My dickhead friend had connected the processor incorrectly. After I set up my BIOS and get my drivers installed, I am going to walk over to his house and stab him in the face with a Phillip's head screwdriver. Thanks for your help.

-BaNDiT

 

[Asus]

FINALLY, got it to work. My dickhead friend had connected the processor incorrectly. After I set up my BIOS and get my drivers installed, I am going to walk over to his house and stab him in the face with a Phillip's head screwdriver. Thanks for your help.

-BaNDiT

w00t
Awesome!

 

[ewilson248]

another satisfied customer.. we should really open up our own 24/7/365 tech support site..