No video after PC was shipped

Hello from a very sad Shadowhawk.

I shipped my computer across the country via UPS. When I hooked it up and turned it on, I got one long beep and two short and the monitor stayed blank. The HDD spins up, indicating a normal boot, but no video. The machine was fine when I had last used it.

I checked reseated the video card so it was in securely and tried again. Same result. I tried my boyfriend's video card (same model as mine). Same results.

I've checked the card for damage and can't see any problems with it. The mainboard looks OK. What else could be causing this?

Video card is ATI Radeon 9600 XT AGP card.

 

The motherboard manual should give you the beep code reference. That may tell you what isn't working. If you've tried an alternative video card, I doubt it is the card that is the problem.

First, are you sure the monitor is OK? Have you tried it on another PC? I appreciate this may be teaching you to **** eggs, but I am always surprised about how easily the basic things are to miss.

Then if it was me I'd pull all the daughter cards out and reseat them. Check/reseat the CPU and reseat the memory.

If that doesn't work, disconnect the CD-ROM, Hard drive and floppy drives and then see if you can get to post. If you can, reconnect the drive one at a time to see which one stops the system booting.

 

Beep codes is a good place to start.

 

I know what the beep code means. It means no video. I did try reseating the cards and tried my bf's monitor. No improvement. The machine boots, but there's no video.

 

Have you tried your video card in his machine?

Troubleshooting is outlined here. Remember it has made a trip where it could have been jostled or bumped and something is loose. For instance, your ram stick(s), your cabling.etc..

 

I tried his card in my machine. His card didn't work either, ergo it's not the card. I've been over my connections very carefully. I looked at the RAM. It's seated, and the beep code is for video, not RAM.

 

How about removing the video adapter from the device manager and let windows re install it?

 

Famous Chinese Philosopher say : "When in doubt, pull it out "
Now, that famous philosopher probably had something other than your memory modules in mind but you might be well advised to follow his logic by removing and reseating those very same modules despite the fact that you have focused solely on a Bios Beep or two in conjunction with your video card. Doubt me if you want, but I'd prefer to see you post that you removed and reseated and it still didn't work than to hear you profess that this has no bearing on your current problem. Not trying to argue, just trying to help. While you're at it, clean the contacts with a pencil eraser and a Q-Tip dipped in alcohol. Do the same thing for your video card. You may have some oxidation on a set of contacts that got just enough moisture and temperature change during transport to render you video - less.

Still no action - disconnect and re-connect every cable including power connections and molex connectors. And, worst case scenario would be -having plugged in your machine when video card wasn't fully seated and shorting out your AGP port. Doubtful that its that drastic.



edit: I see, said the blind man.

PHP:

How about removing the video adapter from the device manager and let windows re install it?

Good trick with no video. BMoore - Couldn't resist it. (All in fun, I hope)

 

Rockster

....to his deaf and dumb daughter

Must have been a brain freeze.

Shadowhawk,

Remove the battery and clear the CMOS then boot. I know it sounds dufus but it worked once for me.

 

If all else fails, put in a PCI video card as a test; maybe the mobo AGP stuff has quit. You might need to rma the mobo; still under warranty? Also, check to make sure the board itself isn't cracked.

 

Hey shadowhawk

Did you get your video problem fixed?

 

That's just it. None of the cards were seated properly when I first plugged it in and turned it on. Do you think my board's fried?

 

Thats a tough call. It would be more likely that you would toast a card or perhaps a socket, but I wouldn't want to guess. I'd follow Sparrows advice and try a PCI video card before doing much else. You can probably pick up a cheap used one at some shop for less than $10.

 

I might venture to remove or disconnect anything that was not needed to boot (even disconnect the HDD and try booting from floppy).

Sounds like it may have travelled across the country as a football.

Matt