Hi,
I'm hoping someone out there can help me PLEASE.
Today I switched on my gaming PC (Chillblast Fusion Sidewinder - 2008/09 vintage, running Windows XP) and all was working fine until there was a "buzzing" sound and the picture disappeared!
Coincidentally, I had moved the setup around (slightly) a couple of days ago to make more space. It has never liked being moved and I'm hoping the problem may be connected, maybe a broken cable or connection?
I suspect the cable linking the monitor to Desktop PC may be at fault, but is there any way of knowing?
Naturally, without a monitor, I could not "see" to close down the PC correctly and with great reluctance I had to just "switch it off". I HATE having to do that, but had NO choice.
Power is still reaching the monitor.
On a couple of attempts at restarting (after making adjustments) I even got a picture for a short while. The monitor is (mainly) just black except for the occasional flashing "Analog" "Digital" in top left hand corner of screen now.
It is also started showing a message (moving around the screen) saying "Check Signal cable".
I have tried using the other connection sockets on both the Desktop PC end and the Monitor end - with no success. As far as I'm aware, it has been the Digital connection that I've been using, not the Analog. But it's the same problem on both.
A couple of times I've got a graduated grey screen on the monitor. Also a sort of polka dot design/pattern filling the screen.
Without the monitor working it is VERY difficult to know what I can do, as I cannot enter any commands etc being unable to see to do so.
At one point I thought it had fixed itself. I got as far as the monitor showing that a disk check was being run on the start up, but I didn't get to "see" any result!
What should I do next? Buy a new cable (probably the cheapest option); buy a new monitor (when I may not need to), or is the fault likely to be whatever card the monitor connects to at the PC?
When it first stopped working I could still hear the game running on the PC, I just couldn't see it, so I don't think the Desktop PC itself is the cause.
Am I missing something obvious?
I'd be very grateful for suggestions.
It's a great gaming machine and I really need to get it working, as many of my vast collection of programmes would not work on a newer PC or a later operating system, so I want to keep this one running.
You take a monitor SO much for granted. It's not until it plays up you realised you are stuffed without it!