Re: Video card (?) failure

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

Date: Fri, 09 Jul 2004 12:54:06 -0700

Hmm, that's a good question. Can you try the DVI-VGA convertor that
came with the monitor to see if the monitor works in the VGA jack? You
may need to check on a BIOS update or contact Dell about this issue.
Also, did you get a chance to clear the CMOS? That was really
important. Hope everything works out, keep us posted and I'll keep
trying to help.

Nathan McNulty

Mark Tangard wrote:

> 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
>>>>>> |
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>
>