No display on pc

[kailight]

I turn my pc on, fans whirl, lights come on, the mouse and keyboard light up, I can turn on/off NUM lock, caps etc but I get no display on my monitor. Fans on my graphics card whirl etc.

I've tried dvi and dp cables in every port, when I connect or remove the cables from my ports, the TV detects that I've connected/removed the cable and the screen displays the no signal message and states it's going to go into sleep mode every time I connect or remove the cable but I can't get a signal.

I don't have another pc I can test the graphics card in (I'm assuming a GPU issue) nor do I have access to another gpu to try (although I'm trying to get one cheap)

I have a Windows 10 pc with a Radeon HD 7950 (I think)

What do people suggest? Any ideas? I've removed all my components and cleaned them with compressed air and reseated everything, nothing works.

Is it a case of trying to source another gpu or?

 

[Greg Hook]

Does your PC have inbuilt graphics too, perhaps you could try that to see if it is a GPU issue?

 

[kailight]

Does your PC have inbuilt graphics too, perhaps you could try that to see if it is a GPU issue?

Unfortunately not, no built in GPU

 

[Zackarydoo]

I've had the dreaded black screen a few times, but it's usually down to something other than the actual GPU. Do you have any error beeps on startup? Does your motherboard have LEDs that light to show faults? Often you'll have 4, one of those being a VGA (GPU) fault. Although honestly even then it's unlikely to be a GPU fault, more like a power supply issue.

Did this just start happening out of the blue or is this a new build? Had you changed anything, etc.?

Sometimes, if no hardware fault is detected (LED or audio warning beeps) it could be that your BIOS thinks nothing is wrong, which may be down to a lack of power supply. Did you disconnect the power cables from the GPU or CPU for any reason before this problem started (and maybe forget to plug them all back in?).

 

[kailight]

I've had the dreaded black screen a few times, but it's usually down to something other than the actual GPU. Do you have any error beeps on startup? Does your motherboard have LEDs that light to show faults? Often you'll have 4, one of those being a VGA (GPU) fault. Although honestly even then it's unlikely to be a GPU fault, more like a power supply issue.

Did this just start happening out of the blue or is this a new build? Had you changed anything, etc.?

Sometimes, if no hardware fault is detected (LED or audio warning beeps) it could be that your BIOS thinks nothing is wrong, which may be down to a lack of power supply. Did you disconnect the power cables from the GPU or CPU for any reason before this problem started (and maybe forget to plug them all back in?).

So I recently built a summerhouse for an at home office and left my pc in there for about a week whilst we did the finishing touches to it like put up shelving.

Other than that, nothing changed. Lights all come on, no abnormal beeps, keyboard and mouse light up as normal.

I've taken out my ram and GPU and cleaned them with compressed air and reseated them and double checked power connections for my GPU etc and the same issue persists.

I'm convinced it's GPU as everything seems to be working (including the fans on the GPU)

I remember I have my old pc collecting moths balls in the loft so I'm going to dig it out this morning, I believe I had the state of the art 8500gt in it so I'll see if that does anything

 

[Zackarydoo]

So I recently built a summerhouse for an at home office and left my pc in there for about a week whilst we did the finishing touches to it like put up shelving.

Other than that, nothing changed. Lights all come on, no abnormal beeps, keyboard and mouse light up as normal.

I've taken out my ram and GPU and cleaned them with compressed air and reseated them and double checked power connections for my GPU etc and the same issue persists.

I'm convinced it's GPU as everything seems to be working (including the fans on the GPU)

I remember I have my old pc collecting moths balls in the loft so I'm going to dig it out this morning, I believe I had the state of the art 8500gt in it so I'll see if that does anything

I still don't think it is the GPU, hardware failures are very rare unless it's related to a power supply, as they have large capacitors that are often what fail if they're old. I could be wrong of course in your case! I would make other suggestions but re-reading your post kinda rules out anything else I can think of. Do you have your monitor set to auto-detect the input? I'm sure you do, or you change it manually when you've changed from DP to DVI.

If the GPU fans are running that's one indication that the fault isn't with the GPU, as they're controlled by the GPU's fan controller which will need the GPU's processor. I would guess that the GPU THINKS it's working. So I still think it's a power supply issue. Unfortunately changing a PSU is harder than changing anything else, so it's not easy to rule that out.

Good luck with it, sorry I can't help much.

 

[kailight]

I still don't think it is the GPU, hardware failures are very rare unless it's related to a power supply, as they have large capacitors that are often what fail if they're old. I could be wrong of course in your case! I would make other suggestions but re-reading your post kinda rules out anything else I can think of. Do you have your monitor set to auto-detect the input? I'm sure you do, or you change it manually when you've changed from DP to DVI.

If the GPU fans are running that's one indication that the fault isn't with the GPU, as they're controlled by the GPU's fan controller which will need the GPU's processor. I would guess that the GPU THINKS it's working. So I still think it's a power supply issue. Unfortunately changing a PSU is harder than changing anything else, so it's not easy to rule that out.

Good luck with it, sorry I can't help much.

My PSU went about 24 months ago so it's relatively new in comparison to the rest of the pc which is why I'm convinced it's a GPU issue.

Yeah manually changed source of two different monitors (to confirm its not the monitor)it could be my PSU not sending enough power maybe? Which is why everything is whirling but no display? I'm flailing around in the dark at the moment as I cannot for the life of me figure out what it is, everything looks fine.

On the plus side, just got the GPU out of my old PC and that doesn't require a power cable.

I guess my problem is, if it works, it may not confirm the problem as it's not using additional power from the PSU lol

 

[Zackarydoo]

My PSU went about 24 months ago so it's relatively new in comparison to the rest of the pc which is why I'm convinced it's a GPU issue.

Yeah manually changed source of two different monitors (to confirm its not the monitor)it could be my PSU not sending enough power maybe? Which is why everything is whirling but no display? I'm flailing around in the dark at the moment as I cannot for the life of me figure out what it is, everything looks fine.

On the plus side, just got the GPU out of my old PC and that doesn't require a power cable.

I guess my problem is, if it works, it may not confirm the problem as it's not using additional power from the PSU lol

My Corsair PSU failed in just under 2 years. Damn thing. It's my second Corsair PSU problem. If a capacitor is dodgy, or maybe there's a dry or cracked solder joint, it could fail at any time. Are there large temperature changes where you left it? That might also increase the chances of a problematic solder joint, due to expansion and contraction. That could affect any component but the larger solder joints inside a PSU are more susceptible.

What you suggested about the PSU not giving enough power is my thinking too, as everything appears to be working.

That must be an old GPU not to need a power supply! You're right that if this other GPU does work it may not rule out whether it's a GPU or PSU problem. Fault-finding is frustrating but I admit I enjoy it too......unless it's my own money I'm spending working through it of course.

 

[kailight]

My Corsair PSU failed in just under 2 years. Damn thing. It's my second Corsair PSU problem. If a capacitor is dodgy, or maybe there's a dry or cracked solder joint, it could fail at any time. Are there large temperature where you left it? That might also increase the chances of a problematic solder joint, due to expansion and contraction. That could affect any component but the larger solder joints inside a PSU are more susceptible.

What you suggested about the PSU not giving enough power is my thinking too, as everything appears to be working.

That must be an old GPU not to need a power supply! You're right that if this other GPU does work it may not rule out whether it's a GPU or PSU problem. Fault-finding is frustrating but I admit I enjoy it too......unless it's my own money I'm spending working through it of course.

 

[kailight]

It was an uninsulated summerhouse so "just" natural temp variations, so I guess yes as we hit a cold patch in the UK so I think it hit around zero overnight?

So, replacing the GPU has worked. My pc is now up and running but yeah, obviously not a full answer, only a partial answer.

Now to decide do I take the hit an buy a mid range GPU, 6500 XT maybe and see what happens or try and get a new PSU?!?

I was considering upgrading my GPU anyway so I might go that route and if I get no joy, then change the PSU

Haha yeah a very old pc, I think I got it to play the first crysis on max settings.

 

[Zackarydoo]

It was an uninsulated summerhouse so "just" natural temp variations, so I guess yes as we hit a cold patch in the UK so I think it hit around zero overnight?

So, replacing the GPU has worked. My pc is now up and running but yeah, obviously not a full answer, only a partial answer.

Now to decide do I take the hit an buy a mid range GPU, 6500 XT maybe and see what happens or try and get a new PSU?!?

I was considering upgrading my GPU anyway so I might go that route and if I get no joy, then change the PSU

Haha yeah a very old pc, I think I got it to play the first crysis on max settings.

Well it's working at least, so you know it's one of 2 things. Could you borrow a high enough wattage PSU from someone? If not, maybe get a PSU from somewhere that allows no-questions asked returns (a shop starting with A) then it wouldn't be too much trouble to just swap the plugs over on the motherboard and GPU without dismantling anything to see if it works. If it doesn't, assume it was the GPU and return the PSU......and I'll have to concede I was wrong. That's the worst part.

 

[kailight]

So new GPU received and fitted. PC now back to normal. I can't say it wasn't the PSU as the new 6500xt only requires one connector whereas my old GPU required two so it may be the lower draw requirements are within the capabilities of the PSU.

But it's working and for now, that's the important thing.

 

[Zackarydoo]

So new GPU received and fitted. PC now back to normal. I can't say it wasn't the PSU as the new 6500xt only requires one connector whereas my old GPU required two so it may be the lower draw requirements are within the capabilities of the PSU.

But it's working and for now, that's the important thing.

Thanks for the update, and I'm glad it's working for you. Even with your new card using just one power connector, both connect to the same output on the PSU so it does look like it's 99% likely to have been your GPU. As long as it keeps working for a few days then I'd say it's fixed.

 

[kailight]

Thanks for the update, and I'm glad it's working for you. Even with your new card using just one power connector, both connect to the same output on the PSU so it does look like it's 99% likely to have been your GPU. As long as it keeps working for a few days then I'd say it's fixed.

Running smoothly and without issue so far so looks like I've been lucky and chose the right thing to replace lol