monitor not receiving signal

[mlcraggs]

Greetings, all.

I tried my very first build today. I followed the tutorial at this site very slowly and carefully. It has been a painful but rewarding process, but I've hit a road block.

When I booted up for the first time the monitor did not receive a signal. Everything seemed to be running fine. Everything is spinning like it should, but the monitor just says it does not detect a signal.

I went through the "run outside the box" test and the same thing happens. Furthermore, I tested the monitor on another system and it works fine.

Here are the components:

Asus P5GDC Deluxe Intel 915P Chipset DDR/DDR 2 w/8-Ch Audio,IEEE 1394a,GB Lan,PCI-E X1, PCI-E X16

Intel Pentium 4 505, 2.66 GHz, 1MB L2, 533 MHz FSB, Socket LGA775

Western Digital Caviar SATA II (WD1600JS) 160GB 7200RPM 8MB Buffer

512MB PC4200 DDR2 533MHz 240-pin Unbuffered DIMM

AOpen F2705 17" LCD (Black) 12ms 450:1 260 cd/m2 1280x1024 D-Sub

BenQ DQ60 DVD+R 16x8x16 DVD-R 16x6x16 DL 8x/4x IDE DVD Writer (Black)

Bytecc MCK-8800 Wireless Multimedia Pro Keyboard W/Optical Moused PS/2

PowerColor ATI Radeon X550 256MB GDDR/128 Bit DVI/Tv-Out/CRT PCI-Express Video Card

Antec SLK2650 BQE (black) with SmartPower 350 Watt ATX Power Supply

I tried the search and couldn't find anything.

Has this happened to anyone before>

[danman2005]

Have you checked the video card in another computer? If the card works in another computer, try a diffrent slot if you can.

[mlcraggs]

Sadly, I can't try it on another computer (the only reason I could test the monitor was because I hooked it up to my laptop as a second monitor). Also, I can't try another slot.

Is there any other way I can evaluate the video card to see if it is the problem? Or is the only way to try it in another slot/system?

[thefultonhow]

That board should have Voice POST; plug some speakers into the green audio jack on the back and see what it says to you. If it doesn't say anything, try taking the RAM and/or video card out and booting with the speakers attached.

[kodmaster]

http://www.7volts.com/troubleshooting.htm

[mlcraggs]

I tried the Voice POST thing and nothing happened.

Judging by the 7volts.com page it looks like I have an unusable motherboard. Does this sound about right?

I don't want to go buy a new one without knowing for sure and don't have another system to try it on. Is there anyway I can check?

[glc]

Don't *buy* a new motherboard - Asus boards have a 3 year warranty.

[mlcraggs]

Ah, good point. My head is frazzled from the past couple of days. I'm not thinking straight.

But is there anyway I can check if it is the motherboard that's messed up? It seems like the signs are pointing to a screwed up motherboard but is there any way to know for sure? Any physical signs of a fried board?

[kodmaster]

yes if any of the capicitors are not flat on the top (they look like batteries)

[glc]

Let it run for 5 minutes, then feel the side of the heatsink. If it's warm, the CPU is most likely okay.

[gary_hendricks]

I think the best way is check on another PC. If the video card works, then it could be your video card that is faulty.

[mlcraggs]

Well, the computer is running now. I had to get a new power supply.

Now when I boot it up I can't get into the BIOS. It says to press Delete while the system is booting up. I do, and it doesn't the key stroke. So a few screens flash by, with more text than I can read, and finishes on a screen that says to reboot.

You guys have been great, but I think your work is done. I think I'm going to toss this thing out the window.

[thefultonhow]

I notice you have a wireless keyboard -- try plugging in a plain-jane wired PS2 keyboard and see whether you can get into the BIOS using that. If it's booting, you're almost there... don't give up yet. :)

[mlcraggs]

I am using a PS/2 keyboard. I was just cut and pasting the invoice up there.

Actually, it's a USB keyboard connecting through a USB-to-PS/2 converted. Would that have any effect on it being recognized?

[thefultonhow]

I've had bad luck with USB-to-PS2 converters in the past. First of all, you can't use one meant for a mouse with a keyboard (the ones for mice are green) and secondly, even when you get one for a keyboard, it doesn't always work. If you don't have an actual PS2 keyboard available, try plugging the USB keyboard directly into a USB port and see if you can get into the BIOS that way.

[mlcraggs]

That was it. I went to the store and asked for a PS/2 keyboard and they said they only had USB but would give me a converted. I thought that would work.

But I plugged it into the USB and got to the BIOS. THank you, thank you, thank you thefultonhow.

Now let's see what grief it can give me now.

[thefultonhow]

Now let's see what grief it can give me now.

Hopefully not too much more... :cool: If all of your hardware (hard drive, full amount of memory, etc.) is recognized, you should basically be home free.

[mlcraggs]

And now it's overheating... I think. A CPU temperature of 101 celsius and a fan speed of 2500 doesn't sound normal, does it?

Ah well, I'll worry about that later. For now it's off for the weekend.

Thanks again, everyone.

[thefultonhow]

Make sure you've got the heatsink mounted properly. A lot of people have trouble getting those four retention pins in properly.