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Thread: blank screen

  1. #1
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    blank screen

    Hi,

    When I switch my PC on the screen is blank, and the front panel LED is lit up. The keyboard and wireless card don't appear to work though (i.e no lights come on).

    I googled this and tried quite a lot of things so far, ie clearing the CMOS, and disconnecting components one by one.
    I now have the bear essentials working so a motherboard, cpu and monitor plugged in. I've even disconnected the hard drive, and RAM. Note the hard drive sounded like it was working when I switched on the power. The cpu fan is still working and the front panel LED is still lit up all the time, yet nothing shows up on the monitor.

    I'm fresh out of ideas so just wondered if there is anything left to try? Does this sound like a CPU or motherboard problem?

    Thanks for any help in advance.

    Ed.

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    Re: blank screen

    This really could be anything we need more details. Are you getting any BIOS beeps when you start the PC up?

    You need the RAM in the motherboard to check the system is working use 1 stick, also have you checked the monitor works? do you have a spare monitor or plug something else compatible into it to see that it work
    HTPC1 - Coolermaster CM330, E2180 + Zalman 9500AT, GA-P31-DS3L, 2x1Gb PC6400 , Antec Earthwatts 430w , Fujitsu 2.5" 40gb HDD, 8600gt, Hannspree 32" LCD TV - Kubuntu 8.04

    HTPC2 - Silverstone TJ-08, Asus 690g, Athlon LE1300 + OCZ Vanquisher, 2x512mb PC5300, Dell 350w PSU, Fujisu 2.5" 40gb HDD, 8600gt, Toshiba 33" CRT TV - Ubuntu 8.04

    Laptop- Lenovo T41, Pentium M 1.6ghz, 768mb PC2700 RAM, 40gb HDD - Ubuntu 8.10

    NAS - Dell Case, Jetway J7F5 Mini-ITX, 1gb PC5300, Enermax Pro 82+ 425w, 1TB Hitachi - FreeNAS 0.69 on 256mb CF

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    Re: blank screen

    Thanks for your help. I plugged the RAM back in and booted up but there weren't any beeps. I have checked the monitor works by plugging it into my laptop so I'm sure about that.

    Ed.

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    Re: blank screen

    How old is this machine ?

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    Re: blank screen

    Just a thought i have seen pc's with out an onboard speeker or an external speeker
    The manual should tell you were the external speeker is plugged in if there is not one there try connecting one from another PC case and check for beeps
    Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

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    Re: blank screen

    Do you have any external drives plugged into any usb socket? This can sometimes cause the problems you specify.

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    Re: blank screen

    In answer to the questions above:
    The motherboard is only about 2 years old but the case and hard disk are roughly 5 years old. It's not a sata disk.
    The m/b is an Elite Pro P4M800PRO-M and the cpu is a pentium 4.
    There aren't any usb devices plugged in at all.
    I've checked the manual which is not brilliant but as far as I can tell the case speaker is plugged in the right place. I'm not sure about the onboard speaker though.

    Ed.

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    • s3ds's system
      • Motherboard:
      • PK5-WS
      • CPU:
      • E6850
      • Memory:
      • 4GB Kingston
      • Storage:
      • 15k Seagate SAS
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      • PSU:
      • 500W Enermax
      • Case:
      • Coolmaster Centurion
      • Operating System:
      • XP SP3 or Ubuntu
      • Monitor(s):
      • TWIN 22" NEOVO
      • Internet:
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    Re: blank screen

    looking at this pix it looks like there is one you could try removing the case one and see if it beeps
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowIm...%20Motherboard
    if there are still no beeps its time to start swapiing bits with a working PC if you can
    Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

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    Re: blank screen

    I replaced the motherboard and RAM yesterday but still get a blank screen and no beeps when booting up. The cpu fan still works, but the hard disk doesn't seem to come on, and the HDD LED is still lit up all the time (not blinking). Does this sound like the CPU has gone?

  10. #10
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      • Motherboard:
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      • CPU:
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      • Memory:
      • OCZ DDR2-6400
      • PSU:
      • Enermax

    Re: blank screen

    Quote Originally Posted by equick View Post
    I replaced the motherboard and RAM yesterday but still get a blank screen and no beeps when booting up. The cpu fan still works, but the hard disk doesn't seem to come on, and the HDD LED is still lit up all the time (not blinking). Does this sound like the CPU has gone?
    Yes, Either CPU or the power supply has a dead rail that feeds the CPU.

    I asked the age of the machine as I have seen machines that act like this with blown capacitors.

    What socket is the CPU ? 775 or 478 ?

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    Re: blank screen

    It's a 775 socket. The case and hard drive are original, about 5-6 years old. The power supply/mobo/cpu/ram are only about 2-3 years old. Now I've got a new mobo and 2GB ddr2 ram, which set me back £54 yesterday I'm almost starting to wish I had gone to repair it at PC world!

    The dead rail that you mention, is that the lead from the power supply which plugs into the mobo? It has about 20 wires fitted into one plug? I think there's only one of those on my power supply.

    If you were going to chance it, would you say it was the cpu? Does anyone have one for £10 they would be willing to sell me?!

    Thanks,
    Ed.

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    Re: blank screen

    I have just bought a pentium 4 2.66GHz cpu off ebay for £10.50 (including postage) so will let you know how I get on.

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    Re: blank screen

    I still had the same problem with the new cpu, but I think have found the reason for the blank screen: the ATX 12V Connector wasn't plugged in! duh! I only thought you had to plug in the ATX Power Connector. Anyway now the mobo beeps, and the bios boots up but it looks like my hard disk may be broken. I get the following output:

    Press F2 to run Setup
    Press F11 for Boot Menu
    Single-Channel Memory Mode
    2048MB OK
    Auto-Detecting IDE1 Master.IDE Hard Disk

    3rd Master Hard Disk Error
    Press F1 to Resume

    So I press F1 and then get=>

    Checking NVRAM
    Reboot and Select propert Boot device
    or Insert Boot Media in selected Boot device and press a key


    So do I need to buy a new hard disk?! If I switch the computer off, it won't power up again until I clear the CMOS.

    Ed.

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    Re: blank screen

    By the way, I have tried using different IDE cables and have the power cable plugged into the hard drive but still get the same problem. I've also checked the BIOS to make sure it recongises the hard disk. I tried booting up with a windows XP cdrom, which gets me to the screen where you can select last known configuration, or start in safe mode with command prompt but after getting past here it reboots and returns to the same position.

  15. #15
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    Re: blank screen

    What about the UBCD4Win or something? Boot into that, and then try to run some checks on the hard drive to see if you can access files on it, and if that fails check it for errors? It's probably worth giving that a go before buying a new hard disk.

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    • Maccer101's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Foxconn G33
      • CPU:
      • Q6600 + Scythe Infinity
      • Memory:
      • 2gb Samsung PC-5300
      • Storage:
      • 1TB Samsung F1 + 250gb WD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • MSI 8800gt OC 512mb
      • PSU:
      • Corsair VX450
      • Case:
      • Antec Mini P180
      • Operating System:
      • Ubuntu 8.04
      • Monitor(s):
      • Samsung SW223BW + Dell 19"
      • Internet:
      • 10mb Virgin Broadband

    Re: blank screen

    Is there another machine you can plug thr HDD into available anywhere to you, as I would be easier to check the disk on a working machine
    HTPC1 - Coolermaster CM330, E2180 + Zalman 9500AT, GA-P31-DS3L, 2x1Gb PC6400 , Antec Earthwatts 430w , Fujitsu 2.5" 40gb HDD, 8600gt, Hannspree 32" LCD TV - Kubuntu 8.04

    HTPC2 - Silverstone TJ-08, Asus 690g, Athlon LE1300 + OCZ Vanquisher, 2x512mb PC5300, Dell 350w PSU, Fujisu 2.5" 40gb HDD, 8600gt, Toshiba 33" CRT TV - Ubuntu 8.04

    Laptop- Lenovo T41, Pentium M 1.6ghz, 768mb PC2700 RAM, 40gb HDD - Ubuntu 8.10

    NAS - Dell Case, Jetway J7F5 Mini-ITX, 1gb PC5300, Enermax Pro 82+ 425w, 1TB Hitachi - FreeNAS 0.69 on 256mb CF

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