[slow graffiti]

I'm running Windows Xp...not sure what else about my system is relevant, if anything.

I was using a 17" Panasonic S70. Today I received a 19" Gateway EV910. (Both are CRT.)

I plugged up the Gateway. When turned on alone, a message stating "Your monitor works correctly." is displayed. I started the computer. The monitor didn't include a driver - said it was plug and play. Once I got to Windows, the screen was flashing in and out, staying up from half a second to 15 seconds at a time. I shut down.

I replaced my old monitor cable with the one included with the Gateway, thinking that might be the reason for the blinking. The new cable has the same ends as the old cable, but it is considerably thicker and has thicker cylinders near each end (similar to the one in this image). I thought that might help - it's the first thing that came to mind.

I got the new cable in place. The monitor continued to show the green power light and the message above. When I turned my computer on again, the screen went blank and the green power light turned to the red standby color.

Now neither monitor using either cable will turn the power light back to green, or display anything onscreen. I've checked the cable and power connections several times over.

Where do I go from here? How do I fix a problem when I can't see anything?

Thanks for you time.

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Hi and welcome to Geeks to Go. Try un-doing all of the changes you made. Go back to the orginal monitor and cable which you know were working. Then try booting into safe mode. Press F8 during boot up and see if you can boot into safe mode. Is this "on board" video or do you have a graphics card?

[austin_o]

Hi and welcome to Geeks to Go. Try un-doing all of the changes you made. Go back to the orginal monitor and cable which you know were working. Then try booting into safe mode. Press F8 during boot up and see if you can boot into safe mode. Is this "on board" video or do you have a graphics card?

[slow graffiti]

Thanks for the reply. It's on board.

The computer seems to be functioning completely normal except it does not send anything to the monitor to be displayed. I can turn it on and wait a few minutes, then press enter to log into my desktop. Though I can't see it, I know it does as it plays the XP start audio clip. I can access my drives through the other computers on my network; I can press Alt Ctrl Del, S (for shut down), and Enter (for okay) and it shuts down. I hear the shut down audio clip and it powers down.

I did try the old monitor and cable...I've tried every combination of the two monitors and cables.

Both monitors work on my sister's machine (this one).

How can I get to Safe Mode when I cannot see what I'm doing on the machine?

Edited by slow graffiti, 30 November 2006 - 12:04 PM.

[austin_o]

Press and hold F8 as you boot up. If you don't see a display the on board video probably died. If you have an available PCI slot, you could try a PCI video card (not PCI-E).