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]

Originally Posted by mlcraggs Now let's see what grief it can give me now.

Hopefully not too much more... 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.