Graphics card broken or is it the slot?

Alright, so I got an Aspire M5811 since 2010. One day, it suddenly wouldn't start up. Beeping noises are heard from the CPU, 1 long 2 short. After a bit of research, it seems that the computer could not detect the graphic card, which results in it not starting up. So, I reinserted the graphic card. Failed. Did it again. Failed. Repeated for 1 hour. Still hearing 1 long 2 short beeps. Then after a few (maybe 3) hours, I tried again, reinserting the graphics driver, connecting the monitor cable and turned it on. It worked. I didn't know what happened but it worked. After I was done using the computer, I turned it off. The next day (today), the problem came back. Reinserted, plugged monitor cable, turned on and it works. Now I don't know whether its the graphic card or the slot. Wonder if replacing it will work. I'm afraid that if I turn off the PC, the problem will return. Any help would be appreciated.

(I never opened the CPU since 22/7/2012 for cleaning.)
 
Hey Falconet. I think I would be far more likely that the graphic card is flaky since in your research the beeps point to the graphics card. If the slot were damaged, chances are you wouldn't get it to work at all, and since it worked one day and not the next, and since the slot itself won't break on it's own, I would suspect the card first. It wouldn't hurt to check both connection points of the cable the next time, although the beeps indicate the card's operation itself as not being right.
 
Yeah, I suspect its the ATI Radeon HD 5570 card. But the card's cooling fan will still function if I turn the PC on. Even so, the beep codes (1 long 2 short) still keep coming, which means I couldn't start up my computer. It doesn't seem to smell/look burned. Until I confirm that its broken, I wouldn't want to buy a new card. Since last Friday, I wasn't able to get my PC running as the above method doesn't work anymore. Using a backup laptop now.
So, is it safe to say that the card is broken?

P.S. Most of the computer shops now are closed due to some celebration in my area. So I cant send it to a shop until Wednesday, which sucks.

P.S.S Thanks for the reply though. Been waiting for a while.
 
Try disconnecting the cable from the card and power up. Is the same beep sequence there. Also,remove the card and power up,same beep sequence?. If so, I say it's the card.It would be nice if you have an available PCI slot and can get your hands on an old PCI graphics card (along with a VGA capable monitor) to see if the system will power up with no beeps.
 
1. "Try disconnecting the cable from the card and power up." = What cable? If you mean monitor VGA cable, the same beep sequence is still there. If you mean power cable, I don't think the ATI Radeon HD 5570 needs extra power supply so it doesn't have a cable.
2. Removed the card and powered up. The same beep sequence is still there - 1 long 2 short. I'm starting to think that the computer couldn't run without a graphics card.
3. My motherboard only has one PCI slot, along with a bunch of PCI Express x1 slots. (Remove the 5570 and its available) Thrown away my old PCI graphics card on 2011. I think it was burnt. Well I guess that's the only way to confirm it. I have only 1 VGA capable monitor. I tried the monitor on my laptop, worked fine.

So, is it broken?
 
My mistake, yes, I meant the monitor cable at the video card plug. You could never be 100.00% that there still couldn't be a problem with something related to the slot unless you tried the card in another pc, but there is always a risk that the card might damage something on another pc, although since you mentioned that there was no smell or visual damage,I feel 99% that it's the card. I myself would go for a new card.
 
Great! After hearing your opinion, I am much surer about getting a new card and that the old one is broken.
I'm going for the nVidia GeForce GTX 550 Ti by the way. Gonna be great.

Thanks for your time! Really appreciate it.
 
Back