Besides a faulty video card

[Horse with no Name]

Why would a computer not boot up--you can hear it boot up, but there is nothing on the monitor.
The monitor has been checked and the new video card has been checked.
Any ideas?

[evlbstrd]

1. What kind of monitor?

It could be dead.

[Horse with no Name]

2. I checked the monitor with another computer

it works.

[evlbstrd]

3. Can you borrow a known good card?

[Horse with no Name]

7. I checked this video card on another computer too

It is good.
The computer quit working and I just put it aside til I found another video card.
I finally found a card, and it boots up--you can hear it.
But even with the new card it does the same thing.
I wasn't sure if something else could cause a blank screen.

[dave502d]

4. Can you get in the Bios?n/t

[Horse with no Name]

9. No--I can't see anything on the screen. nt

[dave502d]

11. Try and hold the Del key why you boot. n/t

[Horse with no Name]

14. I just tried this and it didn't work. nt

[Justin54B20L]

5. Power supply rails, or AGP/PCI slot problems on the MB.

[dave502d]

6. Do you get any beeps. n/t

[Horse with no Name]

10. Yes I get beeps.

When I boot it up.

[dave502d]

How many beeps and the count,like 2 beeps than one beep. n/t

[Horse with no Name]

16. Ack.

I just booted it up again...and didn't get any beeps at all.
What does this mean?

[dave502d]

20. Memory or video card. n/t

[WillyT]

8. Have You Tried Booting From A DOS Floppy (Win 98 Start-up) ???

Or even a Operating System CD???

You get absolutely nothing on the screen at any time during boot-up???

:shrug:

[Horse with no Name]

13. What do I need to do?

Which would be better?
I have all of different OS.
It has 98 on it now.

[dave502d]

15. XP and you can do a upgrade so you don't lose your files.n/t

[Horse with no Name]

17. It doesn't matter if I lose anything on it.

Will try.

[dave502d]

18. What is your computer.n/t

[Horse with no Name]

21. It is an old homemade jobby.

What I want it for isn't for internet access--but to just put some games on for my granddaughter.
It still has memory sticks of 8.:)
It ONLY has 32 of memory.
Which would be the best OS to put on it?
I don't think it will hold XP.
I have all of the OS except 3.1 and Millenium.
Right now--it is just coming up on the monitor the memory test--not sure what I did to get that.
But it hasn't moved past that.
Will it be possible to fix this computer for the purpose I need it?
Thanks.

[dave502d]

23. XP won't work, you got to have 64 bit of Memory and a P2 and above.n/t

[WillyT]

25. With 32 Memory, 98 May Be The Top End For That Box !!!

And your gonna need more Mem for better gaming anywho.

Unless of course, they're really old games.

:shrug:

[dave502d]

26. You can try and hold one of these keys.Esc,F1,F2 or Del why it boots.n/t

[WillyT]

22. Just See If You Can Boot From The Floppy First !!!

With the PC off, put in the 98 Start-up disk, turn on the PC, and see if anything at all appears on the screen.

The only thing you have to worry about with Win2000, or XP is that your PC is not so old as to not handle them.

I believe that the CDs will do an inventory of your system before installing, in order to determine if your hardware is compatible.

:hi:

[Feron]

12. I always found this forum helpful

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/hwhelp

There are a variety of things that could be the culprit.

When it happened to me, my motherboard and a stick of RAM were fried because my power supply was dying and throwing out wacky voltages. However, your case could be as simple as having bad video drivers.

[Shipwack]

19. Some of the less obvious thinks to check...

Does the motherboard have built in video? If so, try removing the vid card and seeing if the built in video somehow got enabled (if so, change setting in BIOS or the motherboard jumper for the video selection)

Are the memory chips and PCI cards in securely? Try removing and re-inserting them.

This may sound odd, but try swapping the keyboard. You can also check it by turning it upside down and shaking it to remove dirt and such. Sometimes crud in there will make the computer act erratically.

Last resort: Remove -everything- (including hard drives)except for the video card and one memory stick. Keep adding things until you stop getting a display.

[ebayfool]

29. Those are good ideas - if a built-in video card is set via bios & the

comp was unplugged (likely) w/low battery, it could have went to factory settings - likely would include enabling the built-in video. PC Chips taught me that lesson a long time ago (damn near pulled all my hair out)!

[karlrschneider]

24. Sounds like a fried M/B. You can try to clear the CMOS memory,

look for a 3 pin jumper near the battery, unplug the machine (I assume it's an ATX), move the jumper to the other side for a minute or so, then put it back in the original place & try to reboot. Video drivers have nothing to do with seeing the initial POST video, the BIOS will handle that without even any OS up & running. Also try disconnecting & removing EVERYTHING (drives & cards) except the vid card...see if anything shows up. You should normally get one and only beep as it starts up. Also could be gunk on the CPU pins...what form factor (or CPU is in the box?) I would try removing & reinserting that also.

[ebayfool]

27. I've had that happen on a few occasions, for different reasons.

Easiest to check - try a known working power cord for the monitor, I've had 3 or 4 go bad over the years.

Some cards &/or monitors get wonky if they aren't turned on in a specific sequence. Try turning off everything & unplugging from the wall, wait a few & then plug it all back in. We have 1 comp that the monitor won't power up on unless the computer is 'switched' on first, & another that wants the monitor to be turned on before the comp!

Double check that the video card is seated firmly & properly in it's slot, & if you have any open slots you might try switching it to one of them to see what happens.

I'm not an expert, I just work all the different possibilities till I trip over a solution! But it works well enough to have built computers from parts, scraps & pieces for comps for 6 of us in our family. The site linked by someone above this is a very good source for ideas & info, btw.

[lectrobyte]

28. no beeps and nothing on the screen usually means power

supply, motherboard or CPU. If memory is bad, or video is bad, you should still hear some beeps.

[tkmorris]

30. It could be a lot of things.

You say you can hear it "boot". What exactly do you hear? I assume you hear the fan on the power supply kick on, and perhaps the hard drive spins up. I would want to try to get into the BIOS first, this is done by tapping the appropriate hotkeys while the computer is booting. Different manufacturers have different hotkeys though, you might check here to see if yours is listed. http://www.cyberwalker.net/faqs/reinstall-reformat-winxp/enter-BIOS.html You likely won't get into that, because if you could you'd probably have seen something on the monitor when trying to boot normally, if only for a second. If that doesn't work I would check all connections inside the case, particularly the motherboard connections from the power supply. There should be 2 of those, a large white plug at the edge of the board most likely, and a 4 pin connector somewhere in the center. I would reseat the RAM sticks, especially if there is only one. Reseat any PCI cards, these would include sound cards, network cards, and so on. I would then try to power it up and see what happens.

If that doesn't work I would remove or disable anything not needed to make the computer post. All it needs to power on and display the BIOS (or at least an error message) is the motherboard, power supply, RAM, and video of some sort. If you have onboard video I might try that, thereby going around the video card. That could get hairy though so maybe not.

Be careful in there. Static discharge can destroy some of the more sensitive chips.

[Horse with no Name]

31. Thanks to everyone for your help.

Maximum frustration...minimal results.
Will have to play with it tomorrow.
Appreciate the great help.
:grouphug: