IT help please

[Neal]

Evening all got a problem with the desk top PC. The monitor just displays no signal when the machine is turned on. Could it be the graphic card can any one point me in the right direction many thanks.

[Biggles]

Neal,

Was it working okay before and if so what happened when it went wrong ?

[Neal]

Thanks for the fast responce it was working fine last night turned off OK but then tonight when the machine went on monitor read "no signal" i had spare monitor so swaped it over same message on screen.

[codprawn]

Check the very obvious first - unplug the monitor lead and plug it back in.

Does the machine boot up? Can you see flashing lights and hear the hard drive working? If not that is your problem.

Open the case and see if the cooling fan on the CPU is spinning. If yes then your machine should be ok. Your graphics card may have come loose - try pushing it back down or taking it out and then plugging it back in.

If the board is dead then I suspect a power surge - a new power supply should do the trick.

[Neal]

Thanks codprawn

"unplug the monitor lead and plug it back in" Done it no joy

"Does the machine boot up? Can you see flashing lights and hear the hard drive working? If not that is your problem". All looks and sounds OK

Open the case and see if the cooling fan on the CPU is spinning. If yes then your machine should be ok. Your graphics card may have come loose - try pushing it back down or taking it out and then plugging it back in.

Will try this later when i get back Edit just done this no joy I assume the graphic card is the one the monitor plugs into

If the board is dead then I suspect a power surge - a new power supply should do the trick. Sorry what board? all power looks ok
Many thanks

[codprawn]

I meant the motherboard - some have built in graphics - others have a seperate card. If your on board graphic has died then it is possible to put an external card in but the board may have other problems.

Just an idea - try removing any USB devices - some things like external disk drives can prevent a reboot. Also even a stuck down key can cause problems.

Try removing and replacing your RAM.

If all appears to be fine try resetting the bios - this can either be done with a jumper on the board or by removiong the watch type battery for a few seconds.

Without seeing it things are a bit difficult.

Had one person who's computer wouldn't boot because there was a cd in the drive upside down!!!

[Biggles]

Does it make any beeping when you turn it on.

If so what beeping. You'll need to count it a couple of times to get it right.

Then we need to know what BIOS you have.

Might give us a clue as to whats wrong.

[Neal]

It sounds more than i am going to be able to deal with. Just picked a spare graphic card from the office and swaped it with mine but still no joy

[simmons0]

Is it an old CRT monitor? Could just be dead.
Have you got another computer or a laptop you could just connect it too and see if it works?

[Biggles]

I had a diagnostics check on a PC recently and it cost me £40. Cheaper than buying lots of bits and pieces if you haven't got them handy. Turned out to be my graphics card. Which being PCI express I didn't have anything spare lying around.

I thought it might have been the the PSU due to the smell of burning. The PSU cost £100 so to find out I didn't need one of those was worth the £40. The graphics card was 11 months old so that was done under warranty.

If its an old PC might be time to upgrade. Seems you can buy a complete PC for under £300 nowadays.