Re: Video card (?) failure

From: Nathan McNulty (525676_at_betaweb.com)
Date: 07/09/04 

Date: Fri, 09 Jul 2004 00:49:26 -0700

No POST, but the monitor displays the No Signal Detected when you unplug
it. Sounds like a video card problem. There are two possibilities that
I can think of. First is that the BIOS needs to be reset. There may be
some setting that was adjusted or isn't working right. You will need to
clear the CMOS for this. You may have to read your User Manual to find
how to clear the CMOS, there may be a nice little button that says it
right on it, or you can remove that little flat battery on the
motherboard for about 15 seconds and then put it back in. Hopefully that
fixes the problem. It will cause the BIOS to load the default settings.
The other possibility isn't so nice. It may be that your video card has
gone. It may be relaying the electricity which is why the monitor still
gets a signal, but it may not be able to render anything out. If you
have a spare video card, you can plug it in and see if that works. Also,
try plugging the monitor into another computer and see if it works.
Hopefully you have an extra or a friend has one you can take it to :)

Nathan McNulty

Mark Tangard wrote:

> Nathan-
>
> I don't.
>
> Mark
>
> Nathan McNulty wrote:
>
>> Just curious where you "read" that. Dell has, up until recently, been
>> only rebadging other companies LCD Displays. I have three Dell
>> displays and they are all great quality. I even have the LCD in
>> question here and I have to say it is the best LCD monitor I have ever
>> owned or seen. This thing's response time is excellent and nothing
>> looks better than gaming in 1600x1200. What can happen though is if
>> the refresh rate is set outside of the monitor's capabilities, you can
>> get a black screen. Also, if the resolution is set too low.
>>
>> I do have one question, and this is huge. Do you see the POST screen
>> (the startup where it shows the Dell logo)?
>>
>> Nathan McNulty
>>
>> Yves Leclerc wrote:
>>
>>> I read somewahere that DELL's LCD flat-panel could have a problem
>>> where the
>>> display completely shutdowns down the video display. I believe it
>>> stated
>>> that there is a problem with the Plug and Play firmware in the panel.
>>>
>>>
>>> "Jim Macklin" <p51mustang[threeX12]@xxxhotmail.calm> wrote in message
>>> news:uDCppqOZEHA.3752@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl...
>>>
>>>> Boot to safe mode and reset the video resolution to the
>>>> default for the LCD, do it with the old monitor if
>>>> necessary. Check device manager to be sure that all the
>>>> display settings are "standard" because my guess is that
>>>> your rugrat was trying to tweak the display to a higher
>>>> resolution or refresh rate for his new game. It isn't
>>>> supported and the card fails at boot up.
>>>>
>>>> Send cash. BTW, on a 6 month old Dell, they probably have
>>>> service at your home/business.
>>>>
>>>> 128 MB video is plenty for a mission critical business
>>>> computer, but your 6 year old wants a flat screen 21 inch
>>>> CRT and a 256 MB of VRAM, for the best 1600x1200 at 120 fps.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
>>>> But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> "Mark Tangard" <Mark@RemoveThisToReply_Tangard.com> wrote in
>>>> message news:ueHSLhOZEHA.1652@TK2MSFTNGP09.phx.gbl...
>>>> | Hi gang. I eat software for breakfast, but many
>>>> 6-year-olds grasp
>>>> | hardware issues (esp. video) better than I ever will, so
>>>> please bear
>>>> | with me if what follows sounds uninformed or even
>>>> hilarious.
>>>> |
>>>> | We have have a 6-month-old Dell running WinXP Pro with
>>>> Dell's 20-inch
>>>> | 2001FP flat-panel monitor and a 128MB NVidia GeForce 5200
>>>> graphics card.
>>>> | No big problems til yesterday morn, when the display
>>>> showed absolutely
>>>> | nothing (i.e., black screen) at bootup.
>>>> |
>>>> | No funny noises. No games in use. No other unusually
>>>> video-intensive
>>>> | apps. The monitor's power light is now amber. Not 100%
>>>> sure but I
>>>> | think it was green before yesterday. No programs recently
>>>> installed or
>>>> | uninstalled. No mishandling or problematic environmental
>>>> exposures.
>>>> | Gobs of HD space and 1GB of RAM. Everything has worked
>>>> well since
>>>> | January. Last night's shutdown was proper and uneventful,
>>>> as are
>>>> | virtually all here. The system doesn't hang at these
>>>> bootups (inserted
>>>> | music CDs play just fine.); you just can't see anything.
>>>> |
>>>> | Followed Dell's troubleshooting steps. With the monitor
>>>> disconnected we
>>>> | get the expectable floating colored boxes. On
>>>> reconnecting it, bootups
>>>> | return to the empty black screens. Connecting an older
>>>> analog monitor
>>>> | works fine in all senses (except the claustrophobia, of
>>>> course) and in
>>>> | that situation, Device Manager says the card is working
>>>> properly ... I
>>>> | guess at least the part of it the older monitor can see
>>>> is.
>>>> |
>>>> | Dell's troubleshooting guide asserts the monitor is fine
>>>> and says the
>>>> | problem lies in the controller or (their words) "the
>>>> computer system."
>>>> | I just love detailed explanations, duh.
>>>> |
>>>> | This is a mission-critical machine and sees a LOT of use.
>>>> I use it
>>>> | hours open day, so sending the whole system back to Dell,
>>>> which I expect
>>>> | is what they'll want for warranty service, is my last
>>>> resort and at this
>>>> | moment has all the appeal of the dry heaves. To my
>>>> exhausted brain the
>>>> | next logical choice is resignedly buying a new card.
>>>> Questions:
>>>> |
>>>> | - Can I pretty well assume this is a sick video card?
>>>> | - Is 128MB "enough" for this whale-sized monitor?
>>>> | (Occasionally a menu will persist after being
>>>> dismissed)
>>>> | - Anyone hear of recurring problems with this card?
>>>> | - Is the widely sold NVidia 5200 "Ultra" a different
>>>> (better?) card?
>>>> | - Is there another NG whose regulars are likely to know
>>>> what's up?
>>>> |
>>>> | Whoever helps fix this deserves a statue. Pls specify
>>>> stone or bronze.
>>>> |
>>>> | --
>>>> | Mark Tangard
>>>> | "Life is nothing if you're not obsessed." --John Waters
>>>> |
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>

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