Blank screen on POST/ windows but i can hear windows load !!!

[ashwinc1]

Hello, been pullin my hair out with this, hope someone can point me in the right direction.

Just put together this new machine:

ASUS Rampage Formula Republic of Gamers Series iX48 lastest bios 701
Core 2 Duo E8400 Socket 775 (3.0GHz
Corsair 4GB Kit (2x2GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2 Memory
Sapphire HD 4870 1GB
Corsair 620W HX Modular PS
1TB Hard Drive SATA300 7200rpm 32MB Cache Caviar
Optiarc AD-5200A-0B 20X DVD±RW/DL Int IDE
SB Audigy 2z


p182 case
case is open with no panels, temps on both cores 32'C roomtemp is a chilled 15'
Windows Xp pro sp3
Everything is running at stock

put the machine together 3 days ago, no probs at all everything was running on stock. 2 days ago the probs started after i removed 2 ide drives that i backed up on the the 1TB sata drive. Restarted the comp and all i got was a black screen from my monitor (samsung 22'lcd) monitor detects a connection, the screen has a box that flashes the words analogue then digital every 4 secs, if i discconnect the cable then it displays " no signal check cable".

But i can hear winodws xp pro loading, also the lcd post display that came with the mobo does not display any erros, it simply turns off after the the hdd start loading XP as it should, Except i cant see anything because the monitor is blank! after the drives have gone quiet i can use kb-shortcuts to restart/shut down comp, XP has def loaded!


So i panic and check everything, remove ram, check power leads, check gpu is seated ok. Monitor works on laptop, another monitor has same problem on new computer.
This is the stranger thing, after 20 mins with the comp being off i turned it on and it booted ok into windows, i ran prime 95 in case the ram was funny and benchmarked the gpu with the lastest ATI drivers and both were ok after 45 mins. BUT when i restarted windows xp i got a blank screen on post but the lcd post display was again like before showing a post taking place and then xp would load but i could not see it.
Finally i move the gpu to the secondary pcie slot, furthest away from cpu. Computer boots! no probs!
Now today after changing the FSB from 333 too 366 and leaving all the bios setting alone then loading windows ok , ran prime 95 and orthos for 30 mins ok, then i restarted the comp and the same problem! Blank screen on post and xp loading up. Reset cmos did nothing, i have left the comp off for over 30 mins but still the monitor is blank on post and boot.

Sorry for long post, just wanted to make sure i included everything
Hoping someone can shed some light because i'm running out of google hits to read!

Thanks
AC

[peterb]

Dodgy connection to the monitor, or an intermittent fault on the GPU would be my first thoughts - do you have another monitor cable or another GPU to test by substitution? Have you checked that any power plugs going to the GPU are seated correctly? Could be a mobo problem, although you have tried different slots which tends to rule that out. Also the possibility of a problem with the PSU, although the Corsair is a good unit, so less likely.

[mac124]

Sounds to me like it has set a resolution the monitor cannot display, he said stating the blindingly obvious, do you see the post screen at all or is it blank all the way through the bootup sequence or just when it starts loading windows? If you can try booting into safe mode and reset the resolution, though i am not 100% sure this is possible as i have never tried it myself.

[ashwinc1]

Hey thanks for both ur replies.

So after being left off for 2 hours rebooted and the monitor came on at POST, HURRAY!. I read that updating the bios and increasing the voltage to memory can solve this problem so i checked the bios version, i have v4 and current is v7 so i downloaded and updated the bios via the Asus EZ Flash. Bios said flash went ok, rebooted and blank screen again and now the LCD poster displays BIOS error. ARRRGGGGGG!!!!

I'm also getting 1 long and 3 short beeps then 5 sec later 1 short and the lcd poster displays BIOS ERROR , and still the screen on the monitor never changes from displaying "analogue" then " digital" , its a samsung 22' (which i plugged into my latop to make sure its working, also tries a 17' crt into the vga card, got the same blank screen) Apparently the beeps indicate its a vga problem. Well since i dont own another pci-e card ... onto ebay to get one to test.

[GoNz0]

hit the bios reset yet ?

other options is 1 stick of ram and only the video card and cpu

failing that stick the cd in and see if it recovers the bios

[ashwinc1]

hit the bios reset yet ?

other options is 1 stick of ram and only the video card and cpu

failing that stick the cd in and see if it recovers the bios

totally stripped it to bits, inc bios battery
reset bios
added cpu+cooler, psu, mobo , gpu and keyboard still blank screen when i turn it on, was getting one short beed then 2 long ones, dram error ( was a good thing since the ram was on my bed at the time ) i heard about the bios restore on the Asus DVD but since i cant see anything so is there any point... actually can someone try it and tell me which buttons to press dont flash ur bios obviously but the buttons to start the process..... And if u feel like really flashing ur bios i'd REALLY app reciate the walkthough , since i cant see anything on this computer!

btw blank screen, ie no flicker or life from pressing the power button on the comp or turning on the comp then turning on the montor, except for the analogue/digital cycle, as if the screen is waiting. It detects the input coz when i disconnect the vga cable i get "check vga cable no signal" on the monitor, this has been the same problem from day 2 of getting the board and lead to me flashing the damn thing.
Also before the bios flash, turning on with the blank screen , windows would load, i could hear (speakers) it and restart it using keyboard but Could Not See Anything !

[GoNz0]

if the bios restore works, from memory it does its thing and reboots

[ashwinc1]

if the bios restore works, from memory it does its thing and reboots

thanks buddy! gonna try now Crosses finger!!! damn wish i was religious sometimes!

[ashwinc1]

ok cd in and nothing, hit alt f2 and the lcd poster displays "EZ Flash" what now? Remember the screen is still blank!

[GoNz0]

ur bios isnt corrupt then, it may be the typical bios error as nothings set if it will allow the ez flash menu

[ashwinc1]

well after i hit alt f2 the cd spins, then i hit enter and the cd spins again, but after that i have no idea on whats going on , the screen is blank.

I cant get into windows since the bios flash yesterday, lcd poster displays "Bios Error" and the system hangs. Thing is since the screen is blank no idea what is going on. best wait for the ASUS EN6200LE TC256/TD to arrive of ebay so will wait and see. Just been googling 1 short and 3 long beeps is either ram or vga problem depending on the website u read! Hence the other thread about the DDR, Ok peeps gonna wait on this cause my head hurts and i've cut my knuckles way too many times on that bloody xigmatek fishing out the ram dimms and the power connector for the mobo

Thanks for the help and ideas!!

[ashwinc1]

Ok So after a week of backed up post (snowy chaos!) i have a ati x600 128mb pci-e card in the mobo and guess what


No more blank screen ... well kinda

Put the card in, with one ram in slot a1, cpu/cooler, psu connected, powered up and the POST screen appeared! then it goes to this screen





which is ok because no hdd attached yet

so i reboot using the mobo switch and i get a blank screen followed by 1 long 3 short beeps on the "VGA bios" section of the lcd poster. SAME problem i was having with the HD4780

So i hit reset button a couple of more times, still blank screen. Power off, reset the cmos, and reboot.

This time the POST appears on the screen, just the one beeps, then i get "cmos err" on the lcd poster and this screen





f1 takes me to the bios
f2 takes me the the first screenie i posted.

if i go into the bios and when i exit (f1) or if i hit the reset button again (f2) i get the BLANK SCREEN on reboot and the 1 long and 3 short beeps on the vga bios section of the lcd poster

So basically i cant see anything unless i reset the bios, which means any changes i make to bios to fix this wont hold?

Any ideas ?

oh bios screenies if they might help

[ashwinc1]

RMA report for hd 4780 - FAULTY! so refund on that one ( no other details as to what failed)
ok so now waiting on the mobo report....

[ashwinc1]

Finally got there, mobo is faulty, new one arriving monday, phew! Cant believe how long its taken, bad graphics and mobo, hopefully all works this time

[mac124]

Thats just downright seriously unlucky mate, glad you got to the bottom of it anyway.