Monitor not displaying

[wd2b]

Problem: Monitor not displaying.

System:
PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply

MoBo: DFI LP UT X58-T3eH8 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard

RAM: 6GB
Graphic: Evga 260

Not sure what's going on with my system. In the middle of work, my system just turned off.

Upon attempt to reboot, first couple times, nothing happened, but there after, it fires up. However, nothing appears on monitor.

Switched to a second graphic card, reboot again, but nothing appear on monitor.still.

Took out main hard disc drive that contain OS, hooked onto a different system via USB external enclosure, showed up OK,

At this point not sure what's happening. Any and all thoughts on this would be much appreciated.

Thank you,
wd2b

 

[limitedaccess]

Does the monitors OSDs work at all?

 

[dioxholster]

did your computer turn off or just the monitor? because if the computer turned off then clearly the monitor is fine

 

[wd2b]

Does the monitors OSDs work at all?

Yes, monitor's OSDs work.

did your computer turn off or just the monitor? because if the computer turned off then clearly the monitor is fine

That initial auto-shut off was the entire PC system.

Forgot to mention,
1. The monitor is a 2 years old Dell 222209WA.
2. a second HD drive is hooked onto system also, but only as a storage drive.

Additional test: managed to hook a working CRT type monitor onto system, but nothing display there as well.

Hopefully, this ruled out the monitor as problem?

If not monitor, the graphic card seemed to also been ruled out. Then what else could it be?

 

[dioxholster]

does power reach the motherbooard? is there an led lit up when connected to power? it could be the Power supply, but i doubt it though. how about you reset the jumpers, if i remember correctly and if you read the manuals, there are jumpers on the board that you remove, wait 5 minutes then put them back and that should reset the bios. thats the first things you should try.

you said you were working so i doubt you stressed the system, and im sure there were no heat problems. so do the jumper thing first. btw, you do connect the PC to a surge protector right? oh and you should also remove lithium battery, i think and put it back after a while.

 

[wd2b]

dioxholter and limitedaccess,

Thank you very much for the replies,

yes, the led light, "reset" and power shut off buttons come on when hooked turned on system.

Need to confirm what I believe to be OSD. Whenever I turned on the Dell LCD monitor now, it displays "MESSAGE entering power save mode" and the "Dell 222209WA", nothing else. Is this what OSD refers to? There are no Vertical color bars displayed whatsoever.

Took battery off, then reset jumpers to pins 2&3. After over a minute or so, put back the battery, and set jumpers back to default position (pins 1&2). Replug, power cord, Turned on system again, but still nothing display on monitor. (System still hooked up with the spare graphic card).

What else can i try? I didn't check for the workmanship of the second HD drive as it is only a storage device. If this drive is not working, could it affect the system? Not a raid set up.

does power reach the motherbooard? is there an led lit up when connected to power? it could be the Power supply, but i doubt it though. how about you reset the jumpers, if i remember correctly and if you read the manuals, there are jumpers on the board that you remove, wait 5 minutes then put them back and that should reset the bios. thats the first things you should try.

you said you were working so i doubt you stressed the system, and im sure there were no heat problems. so do the jumper thing first. btw, you do connect the PC to a surge protector right? oh and you should also remove lithium battery, i think and put it back after a while.

 

[dioxholster]

oh man i dont know. what i would do next is pull out the power plug and wait a while. you could go further and pull out PSU power cords from motherboard. not sure how that would help. what we know is the monitor or graphics card or hard disk aint the problem so try doing another thread like this one in another forum section, the problem is either CPU/motherboard/PSU related. oh wait a minute, have you tryed replacing RAM? thats probably it. you got 3 ram stick right? pull two of them out and keep one. start computer, if it doesnt start, replace with another --- keep cycling through till one works.

 

[wd2b]

Cycled through memories: took the first two (furthest from the CPU), then use that first one placed in 2nd, then third, with each reboot in between, nothing appears on monitor.

Used 2nd stick, placed in first, 2nd, third mem slots, with reboots in between, nothing apear on monitor either.

Used third stick, placed in firs, 2nd, 3rd slot, with reboots in between, nothing either.

THis is beginning to be scary.

Tried posting in the General hardware forum, but wasn't allowed to do so, not sure why? Is it because I am such a noobie?

Anything else I can do?

TIA

oh man i dont know. what i would do next is pull out the power plug and wait a while. you could go further and pull out PSU power cords from motherboard. not sure how that would help. what we know is the monitor or graphics card or hard disk aint the problem so try doing another thread like this one in another forum section, the problem is either CPU/motherboard/PSU related. oh wait a minute, have you tryed replacing RAM? thats probably it. you got 3 ram stick right? pull two of them out and keep one. start computer, if it doesnt start, replace with another --- keep cycling through till one works.

 

[dioxholster]

well i dont want you to rip everything apart yet, it could be small problem that we havnt noticed yet. how old is the motherboard and CPU? how long have you been using them. I dont know why you cant post in the general forum, you should. and did you smell anything burning when you first opened the case?

 

[wd2b]

Yes, am hoping we don't have to rip everything apart.

Motherboard and CPU are about two years old and running Windows 7 X64 and been using them as my main system mostly.

Just now tried general hard ware forum again, and got this problem posted there as well. Here's the direct link: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1036147802#post1036147802

No, no burning smell when first opened the case.

well i dont want you to rip everything apart yet, it could be small problem that we havn't noticed yet. how old is the motherboard and CPU? how long have you been using them. I dont know why you cant post in the general forum, you should. and did you smell anything burning when you first opened the case?

 

[limitedaccess]

Yes, monitor's OSDs work.

I asked this, as it does not seem like an issue with the monitor. When you start your PC I am guessing you will not hear typical sounds such as the hard drive working to load windows or the fans speeding up?

From a diagnostic perspective first inspect for physical signs of damage, I see you have mentioned you do not smell "burning." Do you see any possible signs of damage on the motherboard for instance (obviously melted/blown cap, browning, etc.) Are the cooling solutions unobstructed and dust free? Are all the components properly mounted/connected?

Disconnect (power and connector) of all devices except the cpu, 1 ram dimm and graphics card. I would reset cmos via jumper (see motherboard manual) before trying the battery method. You should also watch if the fans are spinning up while booting.

Failing these you would either need to have more tools or parts to work with the properly tell whether the CPU or Motherboard is the issue here, or possibly the PSU. You can try physically removing these components to check for visual damage as well, although if not experienced I do not recommend opening the PSU for safety reasons.

 

[wd2b]

Thank you, limitedaccess.

I asked this, as it does not seem like an issue with the monitor. When you start your PC I am guessing you will not hear typical sounds such as the hard drive working to load windows or the fans speeding up?

The DVD drive spins, but can't differentiate whether the main hard drive spin or not.

From a diagnostic perspective first inspect for physical signs of damage, I see you have mentioned you do not smell "burning." Do you see any possible signs of damage on the motherboard for instance (obviously melted/blown cap, browning, etc.) Are the cooling solutions unobstructed and dust free? Are all the components properly mounted/connected?

Checked for any obviously melted/blown cap, browning, but didn't find any. Haven't worked on the system recently nor moved it before the auto shut down, so components seemed properly connected.

THere are some dust collected at the CPU fan, but normal level, not overly dusty.

Disconnect (power and connector) of all devices except the cpu, 1 ram dimm and graphics card. I would reset cmos via jumper (see motherboard manual) before trying the battery method. You should also watch if the fans are spinning up while booting.

Will disconnect as you suggest and see what happen.

In the mean time, what are some specific steps I can take to detect whether the CPU is working properly or not?

Failing these you would either need to have more tools or parts to work with the properly tell whether the CPU or Motherboard is the issue here, or possibly the PSU. You can try physically removing these components to check for visual damage as well, although if not experienced I do not recommend opening the PSU for safety reasons.

Would the led light come on if the mother boarder is defective? What tools do I need to do additional detection on the CPU workmanship?

 

[limitedaccess]

Well really you'd need another known working cpu/motherboard to really test it, but CPU is usually not the most likely scenario. In most cases the issue lies with memory/motherboard/ or psu. Though with the limited testing we have done here, it is likely motherboard->psu->cpu->memory as possible issue. You could test the PSU if you had a multimeter. The reason I don't suggest to open it to look for defects as it is somewhat dangerous, as the capacitors are likely to be holding a large charge.

The reason I suggest removing everything, even if you suspect something is working fine, is that it is best to eliminate as many variables as possible.

If your DVD drive does spin up, I am leaning to thinking the PSU is fine. The likely issue here is something is wrong with the motherboard. But you are best following your thread in "general hardware" now, as this is unlikely to be a monitor issue judging from the information given. You could try connecting to a TV (if you have a newer TV with hdmi, maybe dvi if you do not have a spare monitor) to 100% rule that out if you wish. You might also want to try different cables to connect your monitor as well (who knows, small chance could be something that simple).

 

[wd2b]

limitedaccess, thank you very much for your continued support on this situation.

Thanks for further explaining about the reason behind removing every thing except the bare essentials. I unplugged most except the bare minimum as mentioned at the other thread

Yeah, don't think I have enough knowledge and skills to safely open the PSU. But I can get a hold of a multimeter, please kindly walk me through the steps of testing with a multimeter.

Unfortunately, I don't have another LCD monitor, LCD monitor cable, or a newer TV that would have HDMI connection.

If the orange led light on the MO lights up, would that alone be any indication of a working MO? If not, what else, aside from testing with a spare MO (which I don't have one), can i do to check its workmanship?

Well really you'd need another known working cpu/motherboard to really test it, but CPU is usually not the most likely scenario. In most cases the issue lies with memory/motherboard/ or psu. Though with the limited testing we have done here, it is likely motherboard->psu->cpu->memory as possible issue. You could test the PSU if you had a multimeter. The reason I don't suggest to open it to look for defects as it is somewhat dangerous, as the capacitors are likely to be holding a large charge.

The reason I suggest removing everything, even if you suspect something is working fine, is that it is best to eliminate as many variables as possible.

If your DVD drive does spin up, I am leaning to thinking the PSU is fine. The likely issue here is something is wrong with the motherboard. But you are best following your thread in "general hardware" now, as this is unlikely to be a monitor issue judging from the information given. You could try connecting to a TV (if you have a newer TV with hdmi, maybe dvi if you do not have a spare monitor) to 100% rule that out if you wish. You might also want to try different cables to connect your monitor as well (who knows, small chance could be something that simple).

 

[wd2b]

To test the LCD monitor on my working lab top, went and purchased a DVI to VGA adapter, hooked up the LCD monitor, boot up lap top, configure display for dual monitor, nothing show up on LCD monitor, only on lap top's.

For those of you who have experiences with dual monitor, do things show up on second monitor as soon as the system is configured for dual monitors? If so, could this proof cyclone3d's experiences -- "seen a few dell monitors that still power on and the screen comes on and then goes to power saving mode because whatever detects the signal from the computer has fried"?

Any thoughts on this is much appreciated.