[adifrank]

Hi. For reasons which I won't bore you with, I've been having to move my desktop computer to different locations every couple of months or so.
The problem is that almost every time I move it, I then have trouble with the display. Windows will boot up fine, but the monitor won't be getting any signal. It will just remain black and eventually go into standby mode.
I've tried using different HDMI cable.
I've even tried hooking up to a different monitor
But the problem is definitely with the computer, not the cable or the monitor.

What I usually do is open up the computer case and start fiddling around with the cables and pci cards, making sure all is secure and in place. Then I try to boot up again. If the display comes up - then great! All is fixed. If not, I completely remove the graphic card from it's slot and reinstall it. Sometimes that helps.
The only problem is that I haven't been able to really isolate the problem. I mean, once I have the computer off and the case open, I'll do more than just one thing. I'll possibly remove the graphic card, check that connections are secure, press on the processor and make sure it's firmly attached to the main board, etc.

Another strange thing is that I've never noticed anything clearly out of place or any loose connections. Nothing has ever suddenly snapped into place, or clicked or moved. So once again, I can't really say what it is I do that eventually gets things up and running normally.

At first, I thought it was just some rare occurrence, but this problem comes up almost every time I move my computer, hook up all the gear and power it up. Sometimes I manage to solve the problem after one attempt at opening up the case, other times it can take three or four or even five attempts to finally get something on the display.

Windows definitely boots up. I can hear the Windows XP boot start-up chimes and I have even managed to shut down using keyboard shortcuts. The problem is that the monitor is not getting any signal for some unknown reason.

My knowledge on these technical stuff is kind of limited. I'd really appreciate some help and advice before I decide to give my computer to a technician.

Thanks

[Please see specs below]

Edited by adifrank, 12 July 2011 - 11:06 AM.

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Hi adifrank
How many sticks of Ram do you have 1 X 4GB or 2 X 2GB sticks?
Try removing the Ram and blowing out the slots, reseat the Ram and see how it goes, try 1 stick at a time if you have 2 sticks, try the GFX card in the other PCI-E slot and clearing the CMOS by removing the silver CR2032 battery on the MB, can you provide your PSU details with your next reply.

[phillpower2]

Hi adifrank
How many sticks of Ram do you have 1 X 4GB or 2 X 2GB sticks?
Try removing the Ram and blowing out the slots, reseat the Ram and see how it goes, try 1 stick at a time if you have 2 sticks, try the GFX card in the other PCI-E slot and clearing the CMOS by removing the silver CR2032 battery on the MB, can you provide your PSU details with your next reply.

[adifrank]

Hi phillpower2, thanks for replying!

I have 2 sticks of 2GB RAM.
The PSU is: OCZ 600 SXS 600W

I'm gonna call it a night and meddle with the memory sticks and CMOS battery tomorrow. Of course I won't be able to immediately know if these suggestions helped, regardless of the outcome. But I'll try them anyway and see if the problems cease from happening over time.

Thanks!

[phillpower2]

No worries, I will look out for your update.

[adifrank]

Hey phillpower2, so yesterday morning before switching my computer on I first opened up the case, detached the memory sticks, blew some compressed air into the slots and reinserted them. I then removed the round CMOS battery from the motherboard, waited for about a minute and put it back in its place.
After this I booted up my computer. No problems with the display... but I had already overcome this problem beforehand using my usual methods of removing the graphic card and going over all the connections. So I can't possibly know if anything has improved.
I got the BIOS recovery page asking me to select either entering BIOS SETUP or choosing Default Settings. I chose to enter BIOS setup. The only thing I did there was to set the system date and time. Then exited BIOS setup and started Windows.
Upon this first boot of Windows I had problems connecting to the internet using an Edimax wifi network pci card which is installed on my machine. I tried restarting the computer and upon this next boot the network card seemed to be working fine. It found my network and indicated that the connection is good. I tried to open Firefox, but no browser window appeared. I opened up Windows Task Manager and saw that Firefox was listed there, but still no browser window to be found. I tried to kill the Firefox process to try and open it up again, but when attempting to kill the process through the Windows Task Manager and this made things freeze up and for every process to become extremely slow. I decided to shut down through the Start menu and this took about 10-15 minutes with having to kill open applications every few minutes or so during the process.
Following the my computer shutdown I opened up the case again and meddled around with all the connections again - pressing down on the pci cards making sure they were well placed in their slots, I pressed down on the memory sticks confirming they were in place, etc. Then I booted up again and things were running fine.
Later in the day I received indication that there are Windows updates for me to install. So as usual I selected to install them. Following the update I was requested to restart. So I did. When Windows came back up I got that stalling effect again - Firefox browser would not come up, I tried opening an application I have called procexp which is kind of an alternative to Windows Task Manager, but it wouldn't open. Things were freezing up... So I shutdown again (another 10-15 minutes).
Opened up the case, again! Went through all the regular motions - wires, pci cards, memory sticks - booted up and all was good again.

So basically, things are eventually working out, but definitely there is something wrong and inconsistent.

[phillpower2]

Hi adifrank, apologies I seem to have missed your update
Try running Memtest http://www.geekstogo...sing-memtest86/ I suggest doing this when you do not plan on using the computer as it is time consuming.

[adifrank]

Hi. Okay, I'll try running memtest tonight and let you know of the results.
In the meantime I've noticed something else that's kind of strange. When I start the computer and have problems opening applications - the icons in the Taskbar (near the clock) appear in a particular order.
Yet, in cases where the computer starts up and everything runs fine - the icons in the Taskbar are set in a different order.

The order in both cases above are consistent, meaning that when there are issues the icons are placed in order A and when there are no issues icons are placed in order B. What's more is that somehow it seems to me that when I click on the little white triangular arrow that hides and reveals icons in the taskbar - the icons are placed in "the good order" and the computer works fine, whereas when I refrain from clicking that little arrow the icons tend to set up in "the bad order" meaning that the computer won't work properly. Of course this could have been just coincidence the first few times and now it's just become a sort of superstition... I prefer that my computer starts up good so I can get some work done, so I go ahead and press the arrow button. But I haven't really tried both methods enough to really claim that this is consistent.
I was starting to think this might be a Windows issue rather than a hardware issue (or maybe both), therefor started a thread in the Windows XP section.

I don't mean to open double threads... but I thought since you weren't replying after a couple of days that maybe you figured it wasn't a software thing and decided to take up the issue over there.
If you're a moderator, I don't mind that the threads be merged, or the other one deleted.

Thanks.

[Macboatmaster]

From your other thread.

Assuming this problem has to do with the issues I had before with my computer and display, I decided to shutdown and press the memory sticks towards the motherboard, thinking that maybe they weren't sitting perfectly in their slots. The next time I booted up all was fine and apps ran perfectly.

In case you are NOT aware, you cannot do that without releasing the clips at each end of the stick of ram first.

Secondly have you ever run memtest as suggested.

There is little point in having this thread and the other one both open at the same time. I suggest you continue on the this thread with PhillPower2.

Edited by Macboatmaster, 16 July 2011 - 08:59 AM.

[phillpower2]

I agree and thank you Mac

EDIT: Once you have completed checking the Ram I suggest that you check your HDD using the appropriate diagnostic tools available @ http://www.tacktech....ttid=287#maxtor
the regular movement of the system may be having an affect on the HDD + if the HDD is S.M.A.R.T capable ensure that it is enabled as it can offer advanced warning of potential
HDD failure, some info @ http://www.pcguide.c...resSMART-c.html

Edited by phillpower2, 17 July 2011 - 05:33 AM.