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Computer won't output any video signal

R

reini_

Junior Member
Hello!

I'm having a bit of a problem with my PC and hope you experts here could help me on that matter. A couple of years ago, I built my own computer, though I hardly used it in the past two years (mostly using a laptop now). Long story short, it simply stopped outputting any video signal a few weeks ago. Considering that other members of my family still use it, I thought it would be time for an upgrade anyway. So I replaced motherboard, CPU and graphics card, in the hope that this would erase the problem. But no - still nothing. I've tried a variety of screens and cables (HDMI, DVI, VGA), a different hard drive, no hard drive at all. I've also checked all the power supply's voltage outputs; everything's correct.
The screens do actually seem to notice when I power the computer up. For a brief time, they awake from energy saving mode, but quickly get back to sleep.

I'm really at the end of my knowledge as to what could possibly cause the problem. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance 🙂
 
A good start would be to unplug everything internal and external that is not needed for the computer to boot - this would include all usb connections, sound connections network cable, more than one stick of RAM, hard drive, extra usb connections, etc.

Also, don't forget to tell the monitor which input it needs to select a signal from, and don't rule out the possibility that it could be the monitor.

It would be a lot easier for us to help you if you list the parts that are in the PC right now.
 
Thanks, but I already did all that you mentioned. And I doubt it's the monitor's fault, I've already tried three different devices.

The current setup (with the old components in brackets):
CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 (i5-6something)
Graphics: Gigabyte GT 730 (Radeon HD 5450)
Motherboard: Asrock B85M Pro4 (Asus Maximus III Gene)
RAM: 2x2GB Mushkin DDR3
HDD: Western Digital Green 500GB
Power Supply: OCZ 500W
 
you have not told us about your ram speeds and at what speed you have set it to....re run through the bios setting making shure you have selected the pcie video ..if it still has a problem remove the video card and see if it boots from the internal video..reset bios to onboard video..but if you plug the monitor into the on board i think at first you will get a picture on the screen... this may be the problem...that cpu only supports 1600/1333 ram..............were the parts for the new build new or refurb also..is the fan in the power supply spinning up if you infact changed the mobo..and this point i have stated on many occasions...check your mobo stand off`s making shure you have them correct..many over look this point and wonder y their machine wont start...you will have to unscrew the mobo too check.....
 
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reini_ said:
Thanks, but I already did all that you mentioned. And I doubt it's the monitor's fault, I've already tried three different devices.

The current setup (with the old components in brackets):
CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 (i5-6something)
Graphics: Gigabyte GT 730 (Radeon HD 5450)
Motherboard: Asrock B85M Pro4 (Asus Maximus III Gene)
RAM: 2x2GB Mushkin DDR3
HDD: Western Digital Green 500GB
Power Supply: OCZ 500W
Click to expand...

OK. Is the power supply old or new? You didn't mention replacing it, but I don't see it in parentheses. OCZ is not known for reliability at all. Might be worth trying a new one.

Also, the CPU you have listed appears to be a Haswell Refresh model. These weren't officially supported on that board until BIOS 1.90. I have seen some people say the chips work on Intel 8-series boards without a BIOS update, some say they do not.

What exactly happens when you turn the computer on?
 
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phasseshifter said:
you have not told us about your ram speeds and at what speed you have set it to....re run through the bios setting making shure you have selected the pcie video ..if it still has a problem remove the video card and see if it boots from the internal video..reset bios to onboard video..but if you plug the monitor into the on board i think at first you will get a picture on the screen... this may be the problem...that cpu only supports 1600/1333 ram..............were the parts for the new build new or refurb also..is the fan in the power supply spinning up if you infact changed the mobo..and this point i have stated on many occasions...check your mobo stand off`s making shure you have them correct..many over look this point and wonder y their machine wont start...you will have to unscrew the mobo too check.....
Click to expand...

As I said, it won't output anything whatsoever. I can't even see the BIOS. The exchanged parts are new and it does seem to boot up, all the fans, including that of the power supply, run.

ketchup79 said:
OK. Is the power supply old or new? You didn't mention replacing it, but I don't see it in parentheses. OCZ is not known for reliability at all. Might be worth trying a new one.

Also, the CPU you have listed appears to be a Haswell Refresh model. These weren't officially supported on that board until BIOS 1.90. I have seen some people say the chips work on Intel 8-series boards without a BIOS update, some say they do not.

What exactly happens when you turn the computer on?
Click to expand...

Except for CPU, graphics and motherboard, everything is reused from the old build. And even if the CPU and board don't like each other, that doesn't explain why the old build would show the exact same behaviour. Also, if they don't work together, it should still show me the BIOS, right? It doesn't give me anything at all.

denis280 said:
Kind of confused?? what are the one in use right now???
Click to expand...

Those in brackets were replaced 😉
 
If the board doesn't recognize the CPU, you won't get anything on the screen. Some BIOSes, but not all, will give you a beep code.

I would still like to know exactly what is happening. Are the fans spinning? Do they start then stop? Is there no activity at all? What happened when you unplugged everything?

Edit:typo
 
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Nothing remains from your old system except for the OCZ PSU and the Muskin DDR3, and I seriously doubt that all your new hardware was defective out of the box. Mushkin is decent RAM for the price but I've had to RMA matched sets of 2 X 2GB DDR3 that were only a few weeks old because the sticks became defective. Try a different memory module if you've got one handy but I'll put my money on that OCZ being defective, if you're not even seeing POST.

.
 
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ketchup79 said:
If the board doesn't recognize the video card, you won't get anything on the screen. Some BIOSes, but not all, will give you a beep code.

I would still like to know exactly what is happening. Are the fans spinning? Do they start then stop? Is there no activity at all? What happened when you unplugged everything?
Click to expand...

It acts quite normally. All fans start spinning and continue to do so until I turn it off and there's no conceivable difference between hard drive, disk drive etc. being plugged or unplugged. As you mention it, I remember the old board used to beep everytime you turned it on. It stopped doing so when the problem occured - hence my decision to replace it...

Thanks for the advice so far guys, I guess I'll try replacing the PSU then. Although I did measure all its voltages and found them to be correct... :\
 
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