Black Screen on Restart

[bgkid2966]

I have an Emachines t5026 (argh) The pc is a p4 3.06GHz, 1.5gb of ram, inteld915gag mb, with onboard video. This is a frustrating video problem. I am scared to reboot for fear of no video on restart. Is my best solution to just install a video card or does anyone think there is a solution to this problem. I dont want to buy a video card just to find that it does not fix the problem. Please help!!!!!

 

[Jiggz]

You need to provide more info on the problem. Does the black screen only happens during re-start (warm boot). What about during cold boot does it display any video? What does it takes to make the system ran normally with video display?

 

[bgkid2966]

The system does this with cold or warm boot. It eventually does start up with normal video and function after a while (has been as fast as 5 minutes and as long as 3 days). Screen is completely black and monitor says no signal.

 

[bgkid2966]

Only once has it happened while pc was on. Video just stopped. Went straight to no signal. Thank you for any and all help.

Bigkid

 

[Ultralight]

Did you do anything to change your PC like downloading software, change drivers, upgrade your OS, etc.?

 

[bgkid2966]

No, I did not change anything other than a windows update.

 

[Jiggz]

You need to try troubleshooting by reducing load on the PSU. You can do this by removing all non-required peripherals and USB devices. Ran the system with only the basic peripherals like video card, a stick of ram, a hdd, an optical drive and of course the cpu + hsf. If the system boots then continue to ran the system for awhile and do heavy testing by running multiple programs and tasking. If the system is stable, the cause of the problem could be a weaken PSU. You can try adding the peripherals back one at a time until the problem shows up again. When this happens you can bet it's a PSU problem. If the problem still persists after basic configuration it could be that the mobo is bad.

 

[bgkid2966]

Is that the best way to test a psu? Is there some kind of way to bench test it? If not I will shut it down and hope it will start after I remove all of the unnecessary stuff.

Thanks for any and all help!

Bigkid

 

[Jiggz]

Of course, there is a way to bench test it using load resistors. But this is not something readily available not to mention the expensive test unit cost. Just remember where everything is inserted or connected and making sure you do not unintentionally hit other connectors which could end up being loose or disconnected, you should be fine. If you're still reluctant, try taking photo of every item you disconnect first so you can always go back on the photo to remember how it's connected and oriented. Remember always power down when connecting and disconnecting internal components.

 

[bgkid2966]

Thank you! I will try it this week.

Bigkid

 

[bgkid2966]

I have heard that emachines use a psu that is wired in a different way. If that is the case do I need to get a new psu from emachines or was I misinformed? Thank you in advance for any and all assistance with this issue.

Bigkid

 

[Jiggz]

You may been misinformed. But if you want to make sure, post a pic and we'll analyze it.

 

[bgkid2966]

Post a pic of what? The psu or the molded connectors? I will post what is needed to analyze it. Thank you

Bigkid