Video Input dropping randomly - CPU setting problem

[RhysAndrews]

Hi all,
There's a machine at work which is playing up - unfortunately, it's fairly vital as it's connected to a serial printer used to print tickets for late students.

A staff member came in this morning and found the screen printing "No video input found". The computer was still on and it was working fine yesterday afternoon before she left.

I took it back to the office and had a little fiddle, and eventually it showed a signal - but it had automatically gone into the BIOS reporting that "During the last boot-up your system hung for an improper CPU speed". I restarted, and the machine booted up fine.

I returned it to its original location and after a few more restarts, got the signal going again. The staff member has sinced used it for about an hour, and she said it just switched off again while she was using it. The computer was still on, but video input was no longer there.

I would say it's a CPU or Motherboard issue (somehow I don't think it's a video card problem), but I'm not sure if there's anything else I can test before I replace a component. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Rhys Andrews

 

[Legodude522]

No way to be certain but I would test the following.

-Hard drive test
-Memory test or swamp with known good memory and see if problem persists.
-Video might be going bad. I've seen onboad video die before and had to use a PCI or AGP card in it's place. Try a video card to see if the problem persists.
-Maybe it's a bad PSU. Try another PSU. I made this last since it would be the most annoying to swap out.

I think bad CPU is very unlikely. But on that note, check to make sure the fans aren't clogged.

This CD might help - UMCD

 

[RhysAndrews]

Thanks mate,
I reckon it's the motherboard - potentially just the onboard gfx, but I think if it had a CPU 'stability' message, it could be some other controllers too.

I will try and find a video card that I can use and report back. Thanks!

-Rhys