Re: Video card (?) failure

From: Mark Tangard (Mark_at_RemoveThisToReply_Tangard.com)
Date: 07/09/04 

Date: Fri, 09 Jul 2004 12:36:03 -0700

Hi Nathan,

I'd pretty much assumed it was the card, =except= that my old PC's
analog monitor, plugged into the analog jack on the same card, works.

I know very little about the mechanics of this. Is it possible for only
*part* of a card to fail?

TIA,
Mark 

--
Mark Tangard
"Life is nothing if you're not obsessed." --John Waters
Nathan McNulty wrote:
> 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
>>>>> |
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>