I See No Text

[insanechicken]

ok, i booted up the pc, & turned on the monitor, but i see no text/image.

It's a new pc i've just built (my first one).

I have no idea why, can anybody help me please?

[streetster]

1. Is the monitor cable securely attached
2. Is the graphics card fully in the slot
3. Are you hearing any beeps/Is the PC speaker plugged in (the one on the motherboard, not the soundcard)
4. by 'booted up' do you mean 'turned on' ?

[insanechicken]

1: yes
2: yes
3: no beeps/yes
4: yes

[5cupa]

do u have another Gfx card to test it with sounds like a pure signal error

[insanechicken]

do u have another Gfx card to test it with sounds like a pure signal error

nope

[Jonny]

Hmmm. Try another gfx card (may have to beg a mate). Do all the fans/HDs come on? And is the CPU fan plugged in to the motherboard?

[mike_w]

On the motherboards I've had (your's might be different), it always beeps once or twice on start up. If it isn't beeping at all, it might suggest something is stopping it from actually booting at all. I have known causes to be CPUs, motherboards and graphics cards - essentially it could be anything.

Try taking out all the non essential compnents e.g. PCI cards, optical drives, HDDs, and try booting up again. If it still doesn't work, your best bet would be to swap out components.

One last thing: try taking out all the RAM, and flick the switch. It should start beeping at you; if it doesn't, it sounds like a motherboard problem.

[insanechicken]

all the fans, led's etc come on, but how can i tell if the HDD comes on

[mike_w]

all the fans, led's etc come on, but how can i tell if the HDD comes on

You can normally hear them spin up, especially if you have the case open.

[Jonny]

Do what Mike says. Bad RAM and GPU normally cause beeps. Bad CPU,motherboard, faulty connections do not. Everything unplugged except Mobo, CPU, GFX, and try again. Make a note of any beeps (Long/short/number).

[insanechicken]

i think i hear the HDD, and there is a quiet beep when i press the power button

[insanechicken]

i removed the RAM, but still the same

[Jonny]

One beep when theres no RAM? Listen carefully. Then try it with no graphics card. Check the AGP slot for dirt and dust.

[mike_w]

i removed the RAM, but still the same

If it's not beeping when you take the RAM out, I think that would be a problem with the motherboard, or possibly the PSU. Don't take my word for it - check the beep codes for your motherboard, although every motherboard I know of beeps when the RAM is out.

[m0cea]

May be worth considering doing a CMOS reset.

I have a Asus A8N Sli and A 6800 Ultra and if I have a crash for any reason I get no graphics until the machine boots into Windows. The only way I have found to clear this is to remove the CMOS battery and short the battery jumpers.

[Jonny]

^ ^ do you know how to do this, insanechicken? It's in your motherboard manual. Basically just a case of popping out the button battery on the motherboard, shorting the two contacts underneath with any metal object for 15 seconds, and then replacing the battery.