Monitor not working?

[JohnVace]

I'm not totally sure if this is a video card problem but I'm at a lost for what else could be causing this.

Specs:
MB - ASUS P5N72-T Premium LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel
VC - XFX GeForce 9800 GX2 1GB
Power - Antec TPQ-850 850W
Processor - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 Yorkfield 2.5GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core
OS - Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit

At first my monitor just wouldn't come on until the windows login screen came up. It would stay off all the way through the booting process. I didn't mess with it because I've had so many problems in the past I was just tired of ****ing with it especially if it was still working. Lately, in the middle of videos the monitor would unexpectedly shut off, this last time the entire computer seemed to shut down in the middle of a video.

Now I can't get the monitor to turn back on, even at the login screen. Any idea as to why this is happening?

 

[Archean]

If you have another computer you can plug this monitor with that computer and see if its working? if you have a notebook you can even use that to check it out. I am assuming whichever monitor it is; its either with VGA connector or if its with DVI you should have VGA connector (which usually comes with graphics cards as well)

 

[JohnVace]

If you have another computer you can plug this monitor with that computer and see if its working? if you have a notebook you can even use that to check it out. I am assuming whichever monitor it is; its either with VGA connector or if its with DVI you should have VGA connector (which usually comes with graphics cards as well)

I have an HDMI cable for my desktop but no HDMI connector on my laptop, but when I unplug the cable I get the 'Check Signal Cable' message on my desktop which leads me to believe that it's working fine.

 

[Archean]

Well that leave us with a conundrum perhaps something with your graphics card?

Do you have something else to try with this rig? just see if that is what causing this.

 

[JohnVace]

Well that leave us with a conundrum perhaps something with your graphics card?

Do you have something else to try with this rig? just see if that is what causing this.

Like a second graphics card? No, not at the moment, but if needed I could also drop by Best Buy and buy a temporary one. They let you return before 30 days full price, it's how I fixed it last time.

 

[Archean]

Yes, I guess then that is the option to try once again.

But before you do that, just check out that your PSU is giving the needed voltage to the graphics card.

 

[Archean]

One more thing; you can try changing slots of your graphics card; as i think you got what 3 on your motherboard ?

 

[JohnVace]

Yes, I guess then that is the option to try once again.

But before you do that, just check out that your PSU is giving the needed voltage to the graphics card.

How do I check that if I can't see the screen?

EDIT: Changed slots, no change.

 

[Archean]

You need a multimeter to check voltage; something like this.

 

[0n1n3]

Can you boot into safe mode? If you can boot into safe mode then it's probably the graphics card or the drivers. If you can boot into safe mode then try using driver sweeper to uninstall the drivers in safe mode and then reinstall or update your drivers. If you can boot in safe mode then you should be able to start windows normally without any drivers installed, then you can update or reinstall your drivers normally.

If that is not the case, then we can rule that out.

 

[JohnVace]

Can you boot into safe mode? If you can boot into safe mode then it's probably the graphics card or the drivers. If you can boot into safe mode then try using driver sweeper to uninstall the drivers in safe mode and then reinstall or update your drivers. If you can boot in safe mode then you should be able to start windows normally without any drivers installed, then you can update or reinstall your drivers normally.

If that is not the case, then we can rule that out.

Still having this problem. Can't boot into any mode because I can't see anything. When I turn it on I see nothing. The monitor itself works, something is wrong with a part of my computer.

EDIT: I don't have any ports to run the computer without a graphics card, shouldn't there be something on the MB for onboard graphics?

 

[Archean]

It should would give you display. Does any of the LED's on motherboard light up when you hit the power button?

If so, then there is good chance there is something wrong with motherboard. Do you hear any beeps by the way?

 

[JohnVace]

Sorry, please read my edit. I re-traced my steps and realized that the MB option did not work a few months ago because I didn't have anything to connect it to, there is no port for the monitor to plug into. the LEDs do come on and I hear no beeping.

 

[Archean]

Ah ok; that only mean one thing, that your motherboard does not have an onboard vga solution. Therefore, I'd suggest you to try to borrow a working vga card (if you can), and try that.

 

[JohnVace]

Ok, so a little update. I went out and bought a cheap Radeon gfx card. It worked. Yay.

But... then I turned it off. Turned it back on and I have a brand new problem. Now it will show me the loading screens and start starting Windows. I get the message 'Starting Windows' and then the screen goes blank and just stays blank indefinitely. I can't think of what I may have done between when it was working before. I might have added a stick of Ram that I had taken out, but I've tried it without it again and no change.

 

[Archean]

Did you uninstalled previously installed vga/graphic drivers?

If not, please try to boot in safe mode, you can do so by pressing F8 when windows is about to start (i.e. before starting windows appear).

Then choose 'Boot in Safe Mode', and uninstall the vga/graphics drivers. Also, download Driver Sweeper or Driver Cleaner Pro (both have free version easily available on net) and install/run it to get rid of any left over files.

Once you have done this, try to boot normally, and reinstall your graphic/vga card drivers. Goodluck and let me know if you need further assistance. Regards