Loss of Signal

[Zanjo]

Hi,

I've recently bought some new parts for my computer and have installed them. I can get my computer to turn on, but when it tried to load Windows Vista the signal from the computer to the monitor vanished. I have tried restarting several times and it seems to be when the Vista logon screen loads, or slightly after that, the signal goes. I tried reinstalling windows several times and sometimes it doesn't even get to the full install screen, elsewise it stops just before it finishes. I know my monitor isn't faulty (it worked fine before and still works now), and I thought it might be the graphics card. I recently purchased a 8800GT but I've been trying it with my old 6600GT as well. I've tried changing the RAM, unplugging hard drives/cd drives, changing almost everything but the motherboard, the cpu and the power supply. The CPU and motherboard seem to be working fine as it posts past BIOS, and these parts sound like they are still working after the signal goes. That really just leaves the power supply. I have a Cooler Master 430w eXtreme power supply which I haven't upgraded. I've read some reviews on the internet which aren't in its favour. UPDATE: The total max power output on the +12V rails combined is 348w, and 29Amperes, the eVGA site recommends 400w and 26 Amperes...Hmm, this could be the problem but it doesn't mention how much power on the 12V rail, just total...Do you guys think so? I can't find the stats on the 6600GT.

My specs are in my signature, however I tried changing the 8800GT with a 6600GT, I went down to 512mb of RAM and removed the 500GB HDD for testing.

Thank you very much for your help!!!

 

[MetalOwns]

Well, first off, you need to be uninstalling/reinstalling the drivers for the video cards when your switching them out. Second, that power supply seems kind of weak like you said...you might want to get a new one.

You also might want to try resetting the CMOS on the motherboard. I've had a few problems with the "No signal" message on my monitor, and a reset has always fixed.

 

[Zanjo]

Hi MetalOwns,

I didn't have any specific drivers installed for my old graphics card so I figured vista would just use a generic one until I got round to installing a proper one, I couldn't actually get into the screen to do that though unfortunatly. I'll try clearing the CMOS and giving it another go when I have more time...In the mean time does anybody else have some opinions on what could be wrong?

Thank you.

 

[Zanjo]

Well I reset the CMOS and Vista actually managed to install, I then booted into vista and could install the graphics card driver. It seems to work slightly more now. But the problem is still there. It usually freezes every so often (for example when installing an audio driver it froze and I could hear the drive spinning down,) and it occasionally loses the signal. Something seems rather unstable within the system. Any ideas?

Thanks!