[dvd7e]

I have a custom built PC that's been working great for about 2 years now. Today it just restarted without notice, however, and is no longer displaying anything on the monitor. On the restart I couldn't get any video to display on my monitor at all. I tried reconnecting the video cable on both ends, tried restarting the computer multiple times, but got nothing.

I have no reason to suspect high temperatures, everything felt like normal temps to me immediately after the restart. I know the monitor is powered because I can see the light illuminating behind the power button. I tried shutting down and waiting 30 mins and spraying out the inside with a can of compressed air, still a blank monitor.

Could this be a blown video card? As far as I can tell everything else is fine, the computer starts/boots up I BELIEVE, but without any video it's impossible for me to verify that.

From what I can remember, my power supply unit is like 700-800 W, should be big enough for my video card, I think it was like a GTS Dark Knight or something, fairly middle of the road graphics card a few yrs ago, probably a little low end now but I don't do any gaming or anything. i5-550 quad core processor, 4 GB RAM, Windows 7, ASUS P-75 motherboard (or something like that, I'm going off of memory here)

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

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Hello dvd7e

So that we can better assist you can you open the case and make notes on then provide the PSU (power supply unit) and the exact add on video card details, brand, model name/number of both please. see my canned below for guidance;

At this point do not try the present card in another computer in case it is bad and causes damage.
The following checks require the computer case to be opened so take the following safety precautions 1st, disconnect the power cord from the wall and take anti static precautions before touching anything inside, you can do this by touching a bare metal part of the case.

1: Check the condition of the pc to monitor lead, no bent pins in the end connections
and that both ends are secure. Done already
2: Remove the video card, blow out the slot and then re-seat the card securely, do the same with the Ram sticks.
3: Clear the CMOS by removing the MBs silver CR2032 battery for a few moments and then replace it, this will restore the MBs factory defaults and so clear any possible bad MB settings, see .jpeg below;
NB: After clearing the CMOS you will need to go into the BIOS, re-set the time and date, save (F10) > Y to accept the changes and then exit (see below).
4: Make sure that all fans are working correctly, this includes the PSU.

While the case is open the opportunity should be taken to clean out any heat trapping dust, clean all fans, if canned compressed air is used do not allow fans to spin freely use something like a clean popsicle stick to hold them still and finally make sure that all connections are secure.

Hopefully one of the above will resolve the issue but if not try another video card.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Cautionary note: When using canned compressed air do not upend the can as fluid may be emitted which can/will cause damage to your hardware.

[phillpower2]

Hello dvd7e

So that we can better assist you can you open the case and make notes on then provide the PSU (power supply unit) and the exact add on video card details, brand, model name/number of both please. see my canned below for guidance;

At this point do not try the present card in another computer in case it is bad and causes damage.
The following checks require the computer case to be opened so take the following safety precautions 1st, disconnect the power cord from the wall and take anti static precautions before touching anything inside, you can do this by touching a bare metal part of the case.

1: Check the condition of the pc to monitor lead, no bent pins in the end connections
and that both ends are secure. Done already
2: Remove the video card, blow out the slot and then re-seat the card securely, do the same with the Ram sticks.
3: Clear the CMOS by removing the MBs silver CR2032 battery for a few moments and then replace it, this will restore the MBs factory defaults and so clear any possible bad MB settings, see .jpeg below;
NB: After clearing the CMOS you will need to go into the BIOS, re-set the time and date, save (F10) > Y to accept the changes and then exit (see below).
4: Make sure that all fans are working correctly, this includes the PSU.

While the case is open the opportunity should be taken to clean out any heat trapping dust, clean all fans, if canned compressed air is used do not allow fans to spin freely use something like a clean popsicle stick to hold them still and finally make sure that all connections are secure.

Hopefully one of the above will resolve the issue but if not try another video card.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Cautionary note: When using canned compressed air do not upend the can as fluid may be emitted which can/will cause damage to your hardware.

[dvd7e]

I think I have the issue resolved.

After replacing the CMOS like you suggested, I was able to get video back on the monitor, but Windows wouldn't boot. I was getting a BOOTMGR missing error message, and I noticed that my harddrive with Windows installed wasn't spinning. So I hooked it (my harddrive) up to another power port on my PSU and did a System Repair and then restarted, Windows booted up just fine. So I guess one of the connectors from my PSU was bad.

The PSU by the way is a Seasonic S12D, Rating is 80 (Silver), power output is 750 W, it's 2 years old. Do you think this is a cause for concern and I should consider replacing the PSU? Or is this just an isolated anomaly, and continue using it until I see other power problems?

Thanks!

[phillpower2]

Hello dvd7e

The BOOTMGR missing message could indeed have been caused by a HDD issue but it may also have been caused by an OS problem, you have followed the correct troubleshooting steps so well done for that

Seasonic are one of the best (some say are the best) brand and quality PSUs but they are not infallible, as a precaution can you run Speedfan and provide us with a screenshot of the results so we can check your voltages, depending on the results you may need to run a second program for confirmation of the Speedfan readings, are you ok with screenshots?


Download Speedfan and install it. Once it's installed, run the program and post here the information it shows. The information I want you to post is the stuff that is circled in the example picture I have attached.
If you are running on a vista machine, please go to where you installed the program and run the program as administrator.


(this is a screenshot from a vista machine)