Topic: Odd Computer Display problem...

[Shamb]

So the other day the wife tells me the computer isn't working. I go in the office and I can hear the computer running but no display on the screen. So I hard boot it and it comes on for a split second during the POST but then the screen goes to "no display"  

I swapped the video card with no resolution, i've swapped the chord going from the video card to the monitor and i've also swapped the monitor itself.

So far i've tried 2 video cards, 3 chords and 3 different monitors with the same conclusion.

Any idea's???

[Shamb [OP]]

On a side note, this computer is around 10 years old.. lol... so i'm planning on purchasing a new one soon.

sooner then later if i can't fix it. ....

Anyone have any good bang for the buck PC's?

This is what i'm looking at right now

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+Essentio+Desktop+/+Intel%26%23174%3B+Core%26%23153%3B+i5+Processor+/+8GB+Memory+/+1TB+Hard+Drive/1308316.p?id=1218249064157&skuId=1308316&st=desktop&cp=2&lp=14

ASUS Essentio Model: CM5675-11

I want to get something that has atleast an i5 processor, decent video card, 6 gigs of ram w/ expandability and a decent sided hard drive (doesn't have to be TB) for around $1000

I could get the ASUS CM5675-11 and a pretty nice LED display for around $1100-$1200 range.

[Toymin8r]

So the other day the wife tells me the computer isn't working. I go in the office and I can hear the computer running but no display on the screen. So I hard boot it and it comes on for a split second during the POST but then the screen goes to "no display" 

I swapped the video card with no resolution, i've swapped the chord going from the video card to the monitor and i've also swapped the monitor itself.

So far i've tried 2 video cards, 3 chords and 3 different monitors with the same conclusion.

Any idea's???

If you have done all this and get the exact same result then I'd say you a have either a RAM or Hard Drive problem.  If you have multiple RAM chip you can try removing all but one them and try booting up and rotate it out to make sure you eliminate the RAM as a problem.   

[Shamb [OP]]

I can try that, i'm surprised I never got any blue screen of death.....

The RAM has been the same for over 6-7 years, same with the hard drive.... no change

one thing I did notice is once I installed Avast it started giving me a "Invalid Boot.ini file" during the POST but would always just boot from /windows boot file, it's been doing that for over a year now.

I think the reason it was giving me that error is because Avast attaches a text file to monitor file size change for cloaning viruses.

[emsvitil]

Take the disk drive out and put in another machine to get all your data files (I hope you know where they are)..................

[Shamb [OP]]

yea we ended up buying a new computer today. great so far, much faster.. lol...

i'm gonna transfer harddrive to an external so I can pull all my pictures/music off of it....

i went from an 80 GB harddrive to a 1TB harddrive.... haha... i can't imagine i'll ever fill this thing up.

I think my 80 gig only had maybe 50-60 gigs on it..

[Rocksurfer]

Go buy yourself a My Book external HD or the like, I have a TB My Book and it backs up all my stuff and I run my music files direct from it. Keeps my computers HD from having too much junk on it. This way next time you crash you'll have it all on the external HD. Plus while I play my music my computer sits idle for the most part since the external is running things. What is really cool about storing my music in it is that I can plug in any other computer or laptop into it and instantly have my entire music collection at my disposal.

[Shamb [OP]]

 So I went with a Dell LED display and I have it hooked up through HDMI into my video card but it won't let me go full screen, and its a 16:9 screen.

I'm wondering if it will only go this wide in an hdmi format, if I go into the options it won't allow me to adjust the picture at all.. I have a DVI cable laying around here, I may try that to see if it fills the screen.

It's about an inch on each side from left to right and about 1/2 inch on the top and bottom.

[emsvitil]

See if changing the refresh rate changes it..


BTW, a bad power supply can cause really weird problems............

[Toymin8r]

adjust the resolution for the correct aspect ratio in the display properties.   Also try the auto adjust on the monitor. 

[Shamb [OP]]

the only display properites this monitor has is a "fill" and "4:3"   obviously if I put it on 4:3 it;s going to make the screen smaller. Also there isn't an auto adjust either.

here's the monitor, its the 2320 LED

http://accessories.dell.com/sna/products/displays/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&orig_s=corp&sku=320-9333&s=dhs

so i found out this is a prob w/ the video card, some kind of underscan setting but I can't seem to find it under the video card's software.

just sent a message to see if they have an answer, supposively it can be fixed.

[Shamb [OP]]

So I finally figured out how to make it full screen through HDMI. It's a scaling option in the video card software. Took awhile to figure it out but it looks even better now.

Anyone have an external hard drive?  what brand and what brand would you recommend staying away from?

I'm just going to get an external for backing up the OS image and doing a full backup

[THK Matt]

I just use my 42" LED HDTV with a DVI cable... ITS SICK!

[Cheesemaker]

I just use my 42" LED HDTV with a DVI cable... ITS SICK!

No it's not!!  That is like sitting in the front row of a movie theater.  Well, not as bad as my cousin Steven who has his 52" HDTV hooked to his comp. 


My computer is 4 years old and is slow a hell, well I finally started looking into it, and my 250GB HD is FULL!!!    I have only 2GB left.  So, I bought a 1 TB external and gonna transfer over my pictures and important stuff on it and go from there. 
I got a bid on a computer/tower at work.  Every six months they update a bunch of computers and auction them off to the employees.  So, I got a $50 bid on one and we will see, just need a monitor. 

[THK Matt]

No it's not!!  That is like sitting in the front row of a movie theater.  Well, not as bad as my cousin Steven who has his 52" HDTV hooked to his comp. 


My computer is 4 years old and is slow a hell, well I finally started looking into it, and my 250GB HD is FULL!!!    I have only 2GB left.  So, I bought a 1 TB external and gonna transfer over my pictures and important stuff on it and go from there. 
I got a bid on a computer/tower at work.  Every six months they update a bunch of computers and auction them off to the employees.  So, I got a $50 bid on one and we will see, just need a monitor. 

LOL i just dont have to have my glasses on when im on the computer, works out great. I try and use laptops or something now and i freak out on the small ass screens. makes it nice for netflix movies.. that you watch instantly too. cause then its regular TV size when u watch them. also makes playing World Of Warcraft..... AMAZING! I am curious on what it would be like If I used an HDMI setup.

[Shamb [OP]]

DVI's the same resolution as HDMI, HDMI's just a smaller cable and has audio... DVI is video only

[Rocksurfer]

So I finally figured out how to make it full screen through HDMI. It's a scaling option in the video card software. Took awhile to figure it out but it looks even better now.

Anyone have an external hard drive?  what brand and what brand would you recommend staying away from?

I'm just going to get an external for backing up the OS image and doing a full backup

I have a My Book external hard drive does anything I want it to, not only will it back up your system but can also be used for storage of images, music, etc, etc. Currently I have use it to store my music and backup files. The only thing to remember in any hard drive is that you will need to assign a dedicated slot I used J. If you don't, everytime it boots up it will find any old slot and your back up won't happen or if you put music in it iTunes or any other media change the location in your settings.

[THK Matt]

DVI's the same resolution as HDMI, HDMI's just a smaller cable and has audio... DVI is video only

Gotcha...

[Shamb [OP]]

 so kind of another odd problem. i scaled the image out to fill the screen but when i turn the computer off and on again, when the pic comes back up it has boarders again but when i go into the scaling options they're correct.. if i change it either direction the picture will go back to full screen but i have to do this every single time i turn the computer on, annoying...

i'll be emailing ATI again it looks like...