Black screen on initial power-up

[Frostyr0d]

Hello everyone.

Since I bought this computer, I can't see the loading screen for Windows XP when starting the computer. It doesn't output ANYTHING until windows has started.

If i press F8 or F2 or stuff to change the settings, the screen is still black and the screen NEVER starts because it never gets to Windows.
This is not very good, for example if i need to change some settings or something.

I don't know what is the problem.. But maybe someone here knows?

Here are some system info:

AMD Athlon X2 Dual Core Processor 3800+ 2,01 GHz
ATI Radeon X600
1GB of RAM.

Hope there is anyone out there (maybe even with the same problem) that could help me
Thanks in advance.

 

[Frostyr0d]

Hehe it's just me that is stupid here... I found out what the problem was.

I plugged in my old monitor (it uses a VGA-cable). And it worked.

My new monitor uses a DVI-cable.. But it seems as the VGA is set as the primary display when starting up windows.

Anyone knows how to change this, so that it makes the DVI to primary? I dont know a **** since im a noob on computers

Thanks in advance
fr0sty

 

[altheman]

do you have both vga and dvi connectors on your graphics card?? if so plug it in the dvi port and it should auto detect.
if your monitor has both dvi and vga connections, then see if there is a button on your monitor to change the video input??

 

[Frostyr0d]

It has both dvi and vga outputs.. when i press the button on the monitor, it comes a message saying: Digital, no signal. When i press it again, it says Analog.

Then I have to wait until windows starts again to see anything on the screen that uses the dvi thingy.. it doesnt seem to auto detect it.. i only see the windows XP loading screen with a vga cable.

 

[altheman]

hmm.... not too sure what could be causing it. the method i used when i got my lcd and graphics card was to plug the dvi wire in, turn the comp and lcd on, then switch to digital mode, and now it stays in that mode unless i change it. try reinstalling your display drivers. its a long shot, but it might work. also, do you have seperate drivers for your monitor?? most monitors are plug and play, but you might have to install any drivers that came with it.

 

[Frostyr0d]

Hmm... The cable seems to be DVI into the computer and VGA into the monitor.. Maybe this causes the problem?

I bought a VGA-VGA cable today and tested.. and it worked as intended. But this DVI-VGA thing doesnt work..

Also, I have upgraded my display drivers like 3 times (Catalyst 6.3).

any ideas?

oh and btw, the screen is in Analog mode. When switching to Digital, it says no signal. this is because the cable is in the monitor VGA output i belive...

Maybe i would get signal when booting the computer if i could get a DVI-DVI cable? what u think?

 

[altheman]

a dvi-dvi cable should work, i dunno how u got hold of a dvi-vga cable.

 

[Frostyr0d]

Hmm ok.. but the strange thing is that i plugged in my new monitor with the DVI-VGA cable in my old computer.. and it worked.

 

[altheman]

try gettin hold of a dvi-dvi cable if both ur graphics card and monitor support it.
btw what do u mean by dvi-vga, do you mean a convertor. i dont think dvi-vga cables even exist, though i could be wrong

 

[Frostyr0d]

well the cable goes into the dvi hole in computer, and vga in monitor...

the monitor supports both digital and analog mode, vga is analog, and dvi is digital, right?

cuz if i try to use digital mode it says no signal.. but this is probably just because it is dvi-vga

 

[altheman]

my recommendation would be to use a cable with the same connections on both ends. im seriously lost as to how you got a cable thats vga on one end, and dvi on another !!! just so you're clear what im talking about this is a dvi cable, and this is a vga cable. i dont know any cable thats a mixture of both.
anyway, try a cable with the same connections

 

[Frostyr0d]

ok... just to be sure, this is the cable i use atm, it is VGA at one side and DVI at the other, right?

Maybe not the best resolution. but anyways here is the cable http://img146.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture89vg.jpg

 

[altheman]

thats a damn freaky looking cable. its looks like a hybrid of dvi and vga. :haha:

anyway, you should try using a cable with the same connections.
im serious, i havent come across ANYONE using a dvi-vga cable.

where did you get hold of that anyway??

my final recommendation would be to use a vga-vga or dvi-dvi cable.
hope it works out.

 

[Frostyr0d]

heh.. it didnt come a cable with the pc i bought, so i asked for one in the shop and got that cable

but yea, tried it with VGA-VGA and it worked fine. but the image was more crappy than the DVI-VGA cable

but then again, this strange thing. the DVI-VGA cable works without problems on my old PC.

also, isnt DVI-DVI cables kinda expensive?

 

[altheman]

they are bit more expensive, but apprently the quality is better then vga. ive not noticed much difference with my lcd screen :-(

 

[Frostyr0d]

I just bought a DVI-D cable, switched to Digital mode when it started, AND IT WORKED!!!

Thanks for all your help dude!

 

[altheman]

thats good to hear. good luck