Monitor/PC Connection Problems

NathanJoseph

Solid State Member
Messages
7
I have a HP a6037c computer. Product specs here - http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&docname=c00913686

I have used the computer for about a month now, and it has been working fine. About two weeks ago, I upgraded my power supply from the standard 250 watts, to a new 550 watt supply. The computer has been working fine with the 550 watt supply for a few weeks now.

I just purchased a Nvidia 8800 gtx video card, and turned off my system to install the card. I did not install the drivers, or disable the on-board video. (My mistake). I opened up my PC case and installed the card into my PCI-Express slot, connected the appropriate power cables, and made sure everything was snug and in place. I then connected my monitor cable to the card slot in the PC.

The computer booted up just fine, all the fans were running inside the system including the fan on the recently installed video card. But the monitor was not receiving any signal. I thought it was because I didn't install any drivers or disable the onboard video, so I shut down the system and unplugged everything, and removed the card, putting everything back to normal.

I plugged everything back in, and plugged the monitor cable back to the old slot where it used to be, and turned on the system.

Same result! No signal to the monitor at all! I have triple checked everything and made sure everything was back to normal, and the PC boots up fine, but the monitor is getting NO signal!

I attempted to then clear the BIOS settings on my motherboard, but still no luck. I can see nothing on my monitor.

PS: I tested the monitor on another PC and it's working fine.
Motherboard specs are here - http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00864946&lc=en&cc=us

What am I doing wrong? Any ideas to even get my computer back to normal? Thanks guys!
 
Yes, it takes two and I plugged in both of them. The computer isn't even connecting to the monitor WITHOUT the video card in. Even though before I attempted to install the card, it was.
 
Have you tried booting into safe mode? Oh wait, you don't even see the post screens. . .

So with the video card removed and the monitor connected to the onboard VGA port, you cleared the CMOS and still had no signal? If you used a jumper to clear the CMOS, did you remember to move it back to it's original position? If you removed the battery, you need to wait a few minutes at least before replacing it.
 
I replaced the jumper back to it's original position. And the monitor is connected to the onboard VGA port. I'm not stupid with computers by far.. but this has me completely stumped.

Like I said. The computer boots up fine, and everything appears to be in working order BUT.. no signal is being received by the monitor.
 
I wasn't implying your were stupid in any way. Just reaffirming what steps you took. We have all overlooked even the simplest things at times. :D

It's got me stumped too. Does the thing beep at all during boot up? Secondary question, does it normally beep during boot? (I'm not real familiar with the HP boot process.)

Hvae you checked to make sure all connections, cables, cards, memory, etc, are firmly seated?
 
Haha sorry, I wasn't taking offense or saying that you thought I was stupid, I was just saying that I have no idea what to do. And no, sadly it does not normally beep during boot-up. All cables are firmly plugged in and the RAM is firmly seated, everything is in place.

UPDATE:
I took everything apart, unplugged everything, and reinstalled everything, the CPU, the RAM, ect... Anyways, my computer boots up to a new HP screen that I had not seen before. (I assume this is because I reset the BIOS and cleared the CMOS.. anyways, its not my old boot-up screen. But when it leaves the info screen, it goes to the Win Xp screen loading and immediately restarts and does the same thing all over again. I tried to boot from a CD to reinstall windows, but even though CD is the first boot sequence, it never boots from it. I removed the HD from the boot sequence, and it still wouldn't boot from the CD and just got an error. I can't seem to boot from a CD even though it detects my drive just fine... so moving on. I can officially see something on the screen! It detects my RAM, HD, CD/DVD drive, ect. Any ideas of what I can do to reinstall Windows or get it to boot properly?
 
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