Use onboard video instead of video card?

[Disillusion]

I'm working on this old Compaq and I can't get any video output. The video card is like an older AGP interfaced Nvidia TNT2 or something. It has onboard video but it's not working either. Is there anything special I need to do to get onboard video working? I took the video card out and plugged the cable into the onboard and the monitor still isn't getting any signal.

 

[baronvongogo]

You need to go into the BIOS and make sure onboard video is enabled.

 

[Disillusion]

There's no video signal, so I can't see anything. I've tried reseting the CMOS.

 

[baronvongogo]

doh! my bad hmm bad monitor maybe? could try lending one and testing.

normally here in work its either a monitor or graphics card thats dead. On occassion its the motherboard but its rare.

 

[OatesyX]

ive seen before that a computer will turn on but show no video when theres something wrong with the ram, try swapping the slots its in or replacing it

 

[Disillusion]

I think the mobo is toast. I tried a different video card that I know works and still no luck.

 

[FlashDude]

To get the onboard to work again, If it has been manually disabled in the bios, all you need to do is reset the cmos and/or pull the battery. You have the same old no post problem, everyone thinks this is a video problem but it isn't.

Its pretty simple to see if the motherboard is good or not. You just plug the mobo power supply connectors in and start it up (with nothing else hooked up, video cards, ram, hdd's etc) If it doesn't beep like a mofo at you then the board is NFG. alot of people make this mistake and think its the video card but they don't know that if the video card was bad the motherboard would beep at you. (if the internal speaker is hooked up.

 

[Disillusion]

To get the onboard to work again, If it has been manually disabled in the bios, all you need to do is reset the cmos and/or pull the battery. You have the same old no post problem, everyone thinks this is a video problem but it isn't.

Yeah, I have already narrowed it down to the motherboard. It has no speaker nor a place to even hook one up.

Yeah, I just took the mobo out and noticed a bunch of capacitors leaking and/or bulging out.

 

[Dup84]

If you're repairing computers often, you should get a post-code PCI/ISA card for troubleshooting board problem!

After you've tested everything just ask me a can give you one or two unconventional maner to revive your dead board