I've got an ancient dell (manufactured with Win98 but I installed XP on it, thats how old it is) and lately I've had problems with the display. When I boot up (or attempt to anyway) I see nothing on the screen. The monitor detects that its plugged into something because if you unplug it, it'll say "check cable". If its plugged in, and the computer is off, the LED light will blink. If it's plugged in and the comp is on, normally it would be solid. Now when I turn it on, it blinks as if the comp is off and I get nothing. All of the hardware is stock (except for a dvd-drive, sound card, and a new hard drive which has been working ever since I got them). I never installed a new graphics card, I use the one that is built into the motherboard's chipset which I assume is now broken. So.. that being said, does anyone have any ideas? Oh and I know its not the monitor because I've tried two others and they both do the same thing.
2007-01-17 11:48:14 · 4 answers · asked by prejudged_fire 3 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Other - Hardware
To the one who suggested safe mode.. I get NO display lol. I can't get into the BIOS to set it to safe mode.
I guess I'll buy a cheap pci graphics card in the mean time. I'm in the process of building a computer right now I just need something to hold me over. Thanks for all the responses guys
2007-01-17 12:37:09 · update #1
It sounds as if you have it diagnosed properly; bad graphics on the MB. You can get a graphics card at any computer store. Get an AGP if your MB has an AGP slot, otherwise you can get PCI cards. Don't spend a lot on a graphics card because the rest of your PC is not up to the performance of the better cards.
2007-01-17 11:54:30 · answer #1 · answered by Aldo the Apache 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
try a pci video card and see if that works it should, I work on them all the time, I have a few in stock right now if you would like to buy a good used one, they are $20.00 + s/h. Please email me and let me know if you would like to buy one! I doesnt matter if you use the onboard or a pci video card the system will detect any monitor thats plugged up to it. Hope this helped! PS. You can get in contact with me by the website I have created!
http://www.lcr.mysite.com
Matthew
land_computer_repair@yahoo.com
mland@charter.net
2007-01-17 11:56:47 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Have you tried booting in Safe Mode to see if it is a driver problem?
If you get a display then try reinstaling the video driver or use an updated one.
2007-01-17 12:10:05 · answer #3 · answered by Shawn H 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It looks like your on-board video interface is broken. You need to buy a new video card and plug it into your motherboard.
2007-01-17 12:40:45 · answer #4 · answered by roadwarrior 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋