Radeon 5450 sometimes doesn't turn on monitor.

[at2u]

Using a Radeon 5450 with HDMI and DVI, 1 or the other. Same problem with each. I turn on the computer and the monitor stays black. Most times it turns on. It seems to turn on more often when its been off all night. (I unplug the AC cord from the wall at night for other reasons.) Sometimes it helps if I remove the battery and activate the power switch to discharge the capacitors. I don't have another graphic card to test. But when its on and the monitor is dark I can access its hard drive on the network so its obviously on.

 

[RLGL]

Has it ever worked right?

 

[at2u]

Yes. I said "Most times it turns on".
Sometimes it runs perfectly for months. I thought it was dust so I gave it a good cleaning and it seemed to improve but still did it occasionally so maybe not. These intermittent problems really drive you nuts....lol. If I took a hammer to it, then at least it would be consistent!

I thought it might be taxing the video card because sometimes when a few things are loading the screen blacks out but usually comes back. Sometimes not. I checked the temperature of the video card and it wasn't high at all but maybe it was brief demand. I just realized I should do some sort of video card stress test. I hesitate because it may work great for months again!

Its an old board (Asus P2B) with an Intel Core2Duo 1.8ghz with just 2gb DDR 800mhz ram that is often maxed out. Temperatures are usually pretty good - usually 35-40c for both video card and CPU. Its an open layout so there's no case to hold in the heat. Dust is my enemy I suppose.

I've replaced the ram and it continued. I should of course toss it and get a new one....maybe its mostly curiosity. I'd like to know what is causing this so I can prevent it in the future if its my fault.

 

[Jimzz]

Have you tried removing the card from the board and reinserting? After that try lowering the frequency down a few 100mhz to see if it changes. And you have the newest drivers?

 

[VirtualLarry]

Honestly, it sounds like the monitor is getting old. Have you tried uplugging the monitor, from both video input and power, pushing the power button, letting it sit for an hour, then plugging it all back in? Or tried swapping in a newer known-good-working monitor?

 

[Stuka87]

Th sounds similar to the old sleep state issue that all 5000 series cards had. But that typically only happened when the machine went to sleep, not on a fresh power up.