Hey guys, I've been having this problem for months, it's really got me foxed. Specs: CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 (not overclocked) Motherboard: Asus P5Q Pro RAM: 2GB OCZ DDR2-1066 Graphics card: Gainward NVIDIA GTX 260 OS: Windows XP (32 bit) SP2 My computer ran fine for over a year after I built it, then without any apparent major change in configuration, this problem started. When I first boot, nine times out of ten, the monitor picks up no input. The monitor light just flashes as if the monitor is unplugged (of course, it isn't). Apart from that, there's no indication that the system isn't booting normally. Pressing buttons on the monitor still brings up a sign saying 'test OK'. After what seems to be an initial decisive few seconds at the start of boot, if it does pick up input, it then runs fine with no other issues until I shut it down again. I've replaced the VGA cable and VGA-DVI converter that I use to connect my monitor and I've tried switching out the graphics card with one that is known to work in other systems, and the problem still persists. The next stage I'm considering is buying a new motherboard, but it's a bit of an expense and hassle, so I thought I'd see if anybody had any other ideas first.
I have had similar issues. Which have been solved by checking the ram. 1) Make sure its seated ok 2) Try running with one stick of ram, and if no joy, swap it over. 3) You can also try using different slots Swapping out the ram, and checking it was all seated ok sorted the problem for me.
I would try another monitor if possible. Perhaps borrow from a friend? You've tried the card, cable and converter. It's worth testing all items in the video category, including the monitor.
Going by what you've said it would be worth checking with another monitor as Pl4lax says. It's possible that the pcie slot is dodgy of cousre, which would mean a new board. Just make sure every things plugged in nice and snugly and give the cable a wiggle on the connections as it might be one thats 1 has come slightly loose.
Thanks for your advice guys. I've tried a different monitor in the past, and today I tried all the stuff with the RAM that bdigital suggested, all to no avail. I've also taken out the graphics card and reinstalled it several times in the past - occassionally it seems to make a difference for a few days, but degenerates back to the old state quickly. I think given everything else I've tried, that really suggests it's time for a new motherboard, doesn't it? I think I'll try putting the RAM in someone else's computer first, just to be certain it's not that, but if that all works then I'll just have to install a new motherboard. I really can't think of anything else it would be. How annoying.
The fact that it gets better when you re-seat your gfx card, but then degenerates gives me the impression that the connection is not quite what it should be and it is getting loose over time? Just a thought.
You could run memtest on your system (a free program) that will test your ram for you. That would save you taking it out and fitting it in another machine. Also go into your bios at startup and select PC Health - Leave it going and monitor the CPU temps and system temps for a while. Post back what it is running at.
I don't see what the temps have to do with a screen not getting any input? must be beyond me. Anyways, do you happen to have another PCI-e slot you can put the card in? If so you could try that, and see if it works properly there
Bartaggio, if the temperature on the graphics card is too hot, or the cooler isnt doing its job properly then the card can get damaged and break, usually they have a automatic reset though to prevent you frying your card..but still.
bdigital, thanks for your advice, I've run memtest now and it reported 0 errors. Which does't really help me isolate the problem, but it does mean I won't have to switch the RAM out to someone else's system, which is helpful. I don't think the problem stems from the graphics card being damaged by overheating. I don't remember precisely what the temps are, but I checked fairly recently and everything is running satisfactorily low as it has been since I first built it. Also, if it was damage in the graphics card, then replacing it with a graphics card known to work in other systems would fix the problem - which it doesn't. I'm somewhat reticent to check this, since once I try to shut down or restart, I can be there for hours trying to get it to boot again (which is really my problem), so checking bios is no insignificant task. But I'm pretty confident that's not an issue. I do have another PCI-E slot, and switching it round makes no difference (apart from the same thing as reseating it in the same slot - the possibility of slightly better performance for a few days but which quickly degenerates). This is what's really mystified me about this problem. It doesn't seem to be anything that it should be.
If you have tested the memory and you have tried a different card, then pretty much the only thing left that it could be is the motherboard itself it seems. Is there an onboard port you can try? (I presume if there was you would have tried it by now....but it doesn't hurt to make sure)
