Video card or?

Iam trying to help someone with their Gateway G6-266m computer.At boot i can hear the hard drive going through motions but never get a image on the screen.I checked the monitor on my unit and it works fine(video card shot?).It also seems to have an intermittent problem with the on button.Sometimes when you push the button it will turn on...other times it takes several attempts.Is there any correlation between these two problems or is this PC just one sick puppy ?
Any input is always appreciated

 

With the on/off button problem it is hard to say.

If you can get it on then leave it on all the time.

To narrow it down put your monitor on his computer, then no video check video card.

Mike

 

Hi zethz

If you have been pulling the monitor cable on and off from the video card, you may want to "pull and reseat" the card. I've been fooled more than once by a improper seated card.

 

Yes,tried their monitor on my unit and it works fine so the problem is not with the monitor.I forgot to mention in my post that there is no code beep during start up....this threw me off.Will try reseating card next.Thanxz.

 

Hi all.

That sure sounds like a memory problem. Try reseating the memory. Sounds like it doesn't post or anything. Could be the bios is gone but sounds just like a memory problem.

 

but never get a image on the screen.

Sure reads like a bad or improperly seated Video cards.

At least that is the reaction I had from a loose card.

BillyBob

 

Hi,.

Could be the video card not seated.

The hard drive spins up, no video, no beep. It beeps when the Power On Self Test (POST) runs from the BIOS. If no beep then it isn't processing the post so it never gets to where it will display on the screen. You would think it was video because nothing shows up there. It can fool you.

If the bios is set to boot from a floppy if one is inserted, insert one and boot. If the floppy light comes on after a delay of a few seconds then the post ran and it just wouldn't boot from the floppy. If the floppy light doesn't come on after a slight delay from power on then it isn't running the POST and your computer is dead and it ain't the video card. If the floppy goes through a bunch of girations then it is booting and it is probably the video card. (If the BIOS isn't set to boot from a floppy if one is present then this test won't work.)

Sounds just like a memory stick went out. I had a case similar to that a few weeks ago. Two separate memory sticks went out in the same computer a week apart. Strangest thing. ALWAYS boot from a floppy on a suspected memory problem and run a memory tester. NEVER boot from the hdd. If you do have a memory problem it could play havic with your hdd so much you might have to wipe clean and reinstall all including apps.

 

It was a memory stick that hadnt been properly seated....saw that as soon as i cracked the case open.Though i havent been playing with computers that long i have learned not to accept what might appear to be obvious.
My new problem is that now i cant get it beyond SafeMode.I checked the device manager and there isnt any highlighted problems there.The OS is Win95 so i cant check for a list of conflicts like i can in my 98SE.During attempts in normalmode it will come up to a problem file(MegaPhon\PortScan.vxd) then your prompted to hit any key to cont.and then it hangs on a blank screen with a flashing _.Have tried to locate this file in the past,never found it but was able to work around it until now.Any new suggestions?Thanxz.

 

Hi.

Yes, that type of problem is common too. You have or had a program to do with MegaPhon and it can't find one of the modules. PortScan just ain't on the system so it hangs at that point.

Try going to settings/control panel and add/remove programs and uninstall that program. Look for anything that looks like it but don't just uninstall anything. Also you might use wordpad to edit the system.ini file in the Windows directory and see if there is a line that lists the PortScan.vxd. Copy the info and where it is at on a pad someplace and delete the line and reboot. Also you might can reboot in safe mode to do the above. Otherwise you have to boot from a floppy and go in via dos.

Essentially you have to criple that program that's calling for that vxd so you can get past it.

Let us know.

 

Was able to find the PortScan.vxd file and delete but computer still hangs on a Normal boot.I was able on two occasion to accomplish reaching desktop after startup but the image was erratic or in tiles.Direction to try next?
Would just as well format and install fresh OS but not sure of what drivers would need to be installed.

 

This age computer, make sure to note all the device names so that you can find the drivers. May not even be as much fun to reinstall as you think!

So!

In safe mode run msconfig. Uncheck all startups. See if you an then get up in full mode.

If so but you still have video problems shut down to safe mode in device mgr remove the video controller and reinstall on next boot.

Have driver for video controller or download before removal.

Mike

 

Was finally able to get this PC running right before the clock struck midnight
Tried to access MSCONFIG in Safemode as suggested in reply but it wouldnt open...also tried to make the changes in Device Manager during SafeMode but it wouldnt allow either.I ended up making changes in the Advance Display Properties..example-Hardware Acceleration(lowered ),Refresh Rate(adapter default) and Monitor while still in SafeMode.Its running great now.
Hopefully this info might help someone else with a similiar problem.Thanxz to everyone for input and information.