Very Computer

by **Kevin the Drumm** » Fri, 26 Aug 2005 04:19:36

n 28 July 2005 at 9:31, Frank Luedke

> Kevin the Drummer schrieb:
> > Hi, I have a bizarre problem. Every other time I boot my system the
> > monitor stays off. When I boot my system the monitor is on, but has
> > gone into power saving mode. Booting used to work just fine all the
> > time. The problem appeared within the last two months. What could
> > cause this?

> Can be a broken graphic card, but I guess that your configuration
> settings are wrong. When you configured a too high resolution
> or frequency your monitor will switch off to preserve damage.

> Change your settings, it could help.

I did that. It didn't help. I'm not sure how it would. Half of the
time the monitor turns on as the BIOS is starting its job. The other
half of the time the monitor stays off. Any other thoughts?

Thanks...

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Show Windows & Gates to the exit door.
Unless otherwise noted, the statements herein reflect my personal
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by **Duane Evenso** » Fri, 26 Aug 2005 08:41:39

> n 28 July 2005 at 9:31, Frank Luedke

>>Kevin the Drummer schrieb:

>>>Hi, I have a bizarre problem. Every other time I boot my system the
>>>monitor stays off. When I boot my system the monitor is on, but has
>>>gone into power saving mode. Booting used to work just fine all the
>>>time. The problem appeared within the last two months. What could
>>>cause this?

>> Can be a broken graphic card, but I guess that your configuration
>> settings are wrong. When you configured a too high resolution
>> or frequency your monitor will switch off to preserve damage.

>> Change your settings, it could help.

> I did that. It didn't help. I'm not sure how it would. Half of the
> time the monitor turns on as the BIOS is starting its job. The other
> half of the time the monitor stays off. Any other thoughts?

> Thanks...

If this happens before linux starts, then it is your BIOS/hardware.
1. Check your BIOS settings, sometimes you can set your video mode there.
2. Borrow a friend's monitor. See if the problem is repeatable that way.
If not, then the problem is a bad monitor (usually cheaper than a new card).
3. Try a different video card. If the problem persists, then the problem
is further up the pipe.
4. At this point the problem must either be in your motherboard, BIOS
firmware, or your power supply. You could try flashing in a new firmware.
5. Test the power supply with a multimeter. If the problem is
intermittent, it could be troublesome to track down, but usually by the
time its screwing around with your system, the voltages are way off.
6. The last possibility is your motherboard, probably your northbridge.
Consider upgrading at the same time if you are going to replace the
motherboard.
Yes, the power supply does go bad. Unless it just stops, its usually a
long and difficult road finding this problem -- I know this from
experience! It's often a plugin card or hard drive that starts behaving
badly first.

BTW
Did you check your cable, I have an extension data cable to my monitor
that sometimes cones unplugged. :)

by **Kevin the Drumm** » Fri, 26 Aug 2005 09:12:54

> >>Kevin the Drummer schrieb:

> >>>Hi, I have a bizarre problem. Every other time I boot my system the
> >>>monitor stays off. When I boot my system the monitor is on, but has
> >>>gone into power saving mode. Booting used to work just fine all the
> >>>time. The problem appeared within the last two months. What could
> >>>cause this?
[snip]
> If this happens before linux starts, then it is your BIOS/hardware.
> 1. Check your BIOS settings, sometimes you can set your video mode there.
> 2. Borrow a friend's monitor. See if the problem is repeatable that way.
> If not, then the problem is a bad monitor (usually cheaper than a new card).

I have another monitor myself which I can try. I bought the problematic
monitor used anyway.

Quote:> 3. Try a different video card. If the problem persists, then the problem
> is further up the pipe.

The ATI Radeon card is only 1 year old.

Quote:> 4. At this point the problem must either be in your motherboard, BIOS
> firmware, or your power supply. You could try flashing in a new firmware.

I flashed the firmware about 1 year ago. The problem only started in
the last few months.

Quote:> 5. Test the power supply with a multimeter. If the problem is
> intermittent, it could be troublesome to track down, but usually by the
> time its screwing around with your system, the voltages are way off.

I looked at those with LM sensors, and they were good a while ago. It's
worth checking again tho. The power supply is fairly new, again about 1
year old.

Quote:> 6. The last possibility is your motherboard, probably your northbridge.
> Consider upgrading at the same time if you are going to replace the
> motherboard.

The motherboard is new enough that I'm not ready to upgrade yet.

Quote:> Yes, the power supply does go bad. Unless it just stops, its usually a
> long and difficult road finding this problem -- I know this from
> experience! It's often a plugin card or hard drive that starts behaving
> badly first.

Ouch.

Quote:> BTW
> Did you check your cable, I have an extension data cable to my monitor
> that sometimes cones unplugged. :)

Good suggestion. I'll check that.

Thanks....

--
PLEASE post a SUMMARY of the answer(s) to your question(s)!
Show Windows & Gates to the exit door.
Unless otherwise noted, the statements herein reflect my personal
opinions and not those of any organization with which I may be affiliated.

by **Unru** » Sun, 28 Aug 2005 05:10:34

>> >>Kevin the Drummer schrieb:

>> >>>Hi, I have a bizarre problem. Every other time I boot my system the
>> >>>monitor stays off. When I boot my system the monitor is on, but has
>> >>>gone into power saving mode. Booting used to work just fine all the
>> >>>time. The problem appeared within the last two months. What could
>> >>>cause this?
>[snip]
>> If this happens before linux starts, then it is your BIOS/hardware.
>> 1. Check your BIOS settings, sometimes you can set your video mode there.
>> 2. Borrow a friend's monitor. See if the problem is repeatable that way.
>> If not, then the problem is a bad monitor (usually cheaper than a new card).
>I have another monitor myself which I can try. I bought the problematic
>monitor used anyway.
>> 3. Try a different video card. If the problem persists, then the problem
>> is further up the pipe.
>The ATI Radeon card is only 1 year old.

??? So what. Failures in electonics is high initially, drops off as time
goes along until it starts to rise again after a few years. Ie, new things
are more likely to fail that older things.

Very Computer

Monitor off at boot up

Monitor off at boot up

Monitor off at boot up

Monitor off at boot up

Monitor off at boot up