Monitor NOT communicating with Graphics Card - Help!

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luckharm

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I have run out of things to try, so I am hoping someone can give me some other suggestions. I have had this PC , which a friend of mine built from parts for over 6 years. Last December I replaced the power supply and the graphics and sound cards and everything has been working fine. Several weeks ago, the monitor would not come on, on start-up. I just got a black screen. I do know a little about the internals of a PC so I tried the following:

1. I unhooked the monitor and hooked it to another PC and it worked fine, so I eliminated the possibility that it was the monitor.
2. I took another monitor from another PC and hooked it up to the troubled PC and still got a black screen.
3. I returned the graphics card, since it was still under warranty, and got a new one. I positioned the new card in the only PCI slot, connected the power supply and the video digital connector and powered up my PC. My heart sank, when I still got a black screen.
4. I tried using an analog converter plug and still black screen.
5. The card comes with 2 digital connectors and of course, I have tried both of them several times with no result. I even tried the analog converter on both connectors several times with no luck.


The fan on the graphics card (ATi Sapphire HD 3850) does spin, so it is getting power.

So, if it is not the graphics card, what else could it be? The problem now is that I can't do much software troubleshooting, because I can't see anything on the screen.

Before I sent the old graphics card back, I was able to get a connection via the analog converter plug, but now nothing works.

When I turn on the PC, all of the lights and fans are operational, but I do not hear the various beeps that I used to hear. I suspect, That I have turned it off and on so many times, that now it is trying to come up in safe mode, but am not sure.

I have thought about trying to connect the video cable to the motherboard, but I don't see a video connector on the mother board. The mother board is an Asus PAC800 Deluxe. It seems to have a parallel and serial port but no video port.

I know it is an old PC, but since I recently spent hundreds of dollars replacing various parts to make it run better, which it was, I really don't want to give up.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You very much,

Margie
 
There is no onboard video for your board so you are out of luck there.

Have you tried to reset cmos?
Do you have an old pci video card to install and try?
Have you tried to start it up with no video card installed to see if it beeps at you for no video card installed?
 
Thanks for the suggestions, but I think I solved my problem. I noticed that there was another power connector coming from my power supply that was identical to the one that was plugged into my graphics card. So, I just switched them just for something else to try and lo and behold, the PC booted up and the monitor came to life. I have now rebooted several times and each time the monitor made connection, so I have to conclude that the one power connector went bad, although the fan turned on my card so it's still a bit of a puzzle.

Anyway, I hope this weird solution can help someone else with a similar problem.

Thank you to all who stopped by to read about my problem and gave it some thought.

Margie
 
I would check your video cards power requirements and then check your power supply and make sure that they meet or exceed the requirements of the graphics card. Powered video cards require a certain amperage on the 12 volt rail and if your power supply does not meet that requirement, it could cause problems. In other words, just because your power supply meets the wattage requirements of your video card, that doesnt mean it necessarily meets the amperage requirements. Also, overclocking video cards will raise their power requirements, so if intending to overclock, make sure you have power to spare. I am, by no means, an expert on the subject, though, so I'd suggest researching anything I tell you, as it might not be 100% accurate. Just a thought to help prevent any future problems, though.
 
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