Monitor seems to have difficulty detecting graphics card

[Thirtyeight]

Hello all,

I'm having some problems with graphics cards getting spotty or no detection from my monitor.

I have a computer that was pre built by target, I've had it for several years now. A few months back, the graphics card started having issues. The monitor would go black occasionally, and towards the end, it would suddenly act like it wasn't getting a signal at all. I unplugged the gpu and ran the monitor of the built in chipset and had no issues. I just bought a new gpu, and to my immense annoyance, it is immediately having trouble. The computer would boot up fine, but a few minutes in, the screen would flash on and off, and finally just stop getting a signal. I suppose at this point it could be the motherboard, but I don't know.


I'm not very experienced with computers, and I was hoping someone could give me some advise on how I might fix this. I don't have a lot of money, so I don't want to replace anything I don't have too, and I really hope getting a new gpu wasn't a big mistake. I just wanted to be able to play games with my friends again.

I appreciate any help you can provide.

 

[dustin_ds3000]

To me it sounds like the power supply is having trouble with the new video card. could you post the specs of the power supply and the rest of the computer that would be great.

 

[cliffordcooley]

Are you certain the monitor cable is still good?

 

[Thirtyeight]

I'm pretty certain its not the cable, though I don't have any other cables to test it.

Regarding my computer specs, my power supply is 400W, which was enough for my prior graphics card before I started having issues. 400W is supposed to be enough for this new card as well.

From what I can see on the sticker, my power supply is model # AP-450xs12v
part no. ATX2power400

I have an Intel Core 2 quad cpu
4 gb ram

I know thats not the full list you probably need. If you need more, how do I find that info?

 

[dustin_ds3000]

We need to know what the new video card is and also is this the power supply you have.
http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-...OWER400/dp/tech-data/B000BH0X68/ref=de_a_smtd

 

[Thirtyeight]

That's definitely the power supply. This is the new graphics card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&cm_mmc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-


This was my old card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127611

 

[Cobalt006]

I am with Dustin on this. I would go with the power supply being the problem. It may have been enough for graphics. But I would tend to think its going bad from what you have posted. Usally factory PSU are not the best and tend to go bad after a few years. Not all but some. If their is away you could swap it out . To test it. This would be the best way to know for sure.

 

[Thirtyeight]

If it is the power supply, what would be a good replacement?

 

[Cobalt006]

www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027

This hear would be more then enough. Plus give a little extra.

 

[Thirtyeight]

Is there any way to be certain? I don't want to spend more money if its going to be another dud.

 

[cliffordcooley]

Is there any way to be certain? I don't want to spend more money if its going to be another dud.

There is no way to be certain. However there is a three year warranty with Corsair CX500.

 

[Thirtyeight]

Unfortunately, It looks like that psu is too wide for my case and motherboard. Is there any chance that it could be something simple like a driver issue or something of that nature?

 

[cliffordcooley]

If your case fit the ATX2power400 listed above they are the same dimensions for width and height. Screw holes are in the same place.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATX#Physical_characteristics

 

[Thirtyeight]

The ATX is 3.82 inches wide, the corsair is 5.9 inches wide. Unless I'm misunderstanding things horribly, that almost double the width, and would definitely be intruding on other things on the mobo.

My motherboard is a Gigabyte ga-g41m-es. I apologize for not including that info sooner.

 

[cliffordcooley]

With the PSU mounting to the back of the case, the only difference is the depth. The depth is how far the PSU will go into the case toward the front of the case. It is usually the CD/DVD drive that is the limiting factor in the physical size of a PSU in the traditional case. The width and height does not change neither does the mounting holes, that is what defines part of the ATX specifications.

 

[Thirtyeight]

I see, thank you for the clarification. I apologize, I'm just tired of purchasing things I can't use or don't need.

 

[Thirtyeight]

Okay, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that after a new psu and gpu, I'm still having the same issues.

The good news is this time I have an error message, so maybe we are getting closer to the solution?

Anyway, same as before, if I plug the monitor into the integrated chipset I have no problems, but if I plug the monitor into a graphics card, the screen goes black, and the monitor acts like its not getting a signal.

This time however, I got an error message: display driver has stopped responding and has recovered. After a few seconds, I get a blue screen error message.

Any advice on what I should do now?

 

[dustin_ds3000]

Try booting into safe mode with network to uninstall the old video card drivers and download new ones. to boot into safe mode hold F8 right before you start to see any windows logo when you turn on the pc. this might take a few tries.

 

[Thirtyeight]

Well, I uninstalled the old drivers, but I couldn't do it in safe mode, as CCC refuses to work in safe mode. I tried to install the driver for the new card, but I get a "failed to load detection driver" error. If I try to boot the computer normally with the card installed, I still get the "display driver has stopped responding and has recovered error".

I probably should have mentioned this sooner, but I am running windows 7 sp1.

 

[Thirtyeight]

Still no luck getting my computer to run with a graphics card installed. Its been suggested to me that its actually the motherboard that's failing. Is there anyway to be certain?

 

[mike1959]

Hi, If you can take out the graphic card and run your system on the built-in graphics chip then that's proof it's the new graphics card, in some way, either power supply issues, or driver issues.
Some graphics cards need an extra power connector to be connected on the top edge, worth checking if yours does.
If you can run your pc and monitor using it's on-board graphics chip, make sure the old driver for your previous card is uninstalled. Then download the new driver from the card maker's website, but just save it, don't install it yet.
Then install the new graphic card, the monitor should work in a lower res mode 1024x768 probably, using Windows own graphic driver. The pc should be stable, no flashing screen etc.
Then run the installer for the new driver, and it should work, after a reboot, possibly.
Then you can choose a high res mode to suit your monitor size.

 

[Thirtyeight]

I'm sorry, but its not the power supply, I just replaced that and its a significant improvement over the old one. I'm also pretty sure its not driver related. To the best of my knowledge I have removed every trace of the old drivers, even the files the uninstaller missed. I've looked up this particular kind of problem, and as luck would have it, there's many things that can cause "display adapter has stopped working and has recovered", and no one has ever found a solid fix. At this point, I've pretty much given up on fixing this issue myself, I will take it to a shop when I can afford to do so. I appreciate all your help, but fixing this has proved to be far beyond my abilities.