Windows 7 - Black Screen Boot Up - Error Sound

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Gigi55

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Hello,

I got this problem and I need help please.. thank you in advance.
I open the pc in the morning like I do every day and in the past 4-5 days I get this type of problems:

- I boot up the PC and its just a black screen, no bios image no nothing just black screen and monitor power button is like on and off flashing like its not plugged in or something

- there are no beeps or nothing strange from the case hardware in the boot up, it all looks normal

- once the pc entered desktop I hear from the speakers the default Win 7 load out noise and then I keep herring this error like noise over and over, like "dudum dudum dudum dudum" type of thing that you sometimes hear from Windows 7

- in order for me to get rid of this problem I need to restart my PC.. after the restart all is normal and good an no problems I can see the bios, the load, the desktop, no more error sounds etc all is normal

- in a day I manage to get rid of this problem by plugging and unplugging the monitor a few times o_O and I didn't need no restart... strange

- no I'm no PC tech guy.. I'm limited on resources and I only have this PC, no other PC, no other monitor, no other extra hardware parts or stuff like that.. so I need to know what are the limited actions that I can take before this crashes on me 100% and I would need to go find me a PC service repair

- so far I tried to uninstall the video card and update to the latest video driver and I'm planning on formatting my pc and putting a new fresh Win 7 copy... but I don't think that will do much I suspect it's the video plugin, signal or the monitor power up connection

- oh I also went to bios and loaded fail proof defaults / open the PC case and pushed on the ram / video card to make sure there fixed in spot and they were rock solid

- this happens just when I start the PC up in the morning, after I handle the problem everything is good and I can restart or use the PC 24/7 and no other problems or any other strange behavior

- I'm using Win 7 64 bit / AMD X4 630 @ 3.0 Ghz / ATI AMD HIS HD 5670 / 1 Tera HDD / power supply 400 or 450 W I forgot sorry / MSI mainboard I forgot the type, maybe C-45 or something with Military Class component XD I can look it up if its important and I have 3 Giga of ram.. 1 stick of 2 and 1 of 1 (in my activities there are very very rare moment when I get over the 3 Giga ram limit) I know its strange but this was my budget PC from a few years ago and I wanted the x 4 processor and the video card and the HDD and I had to cut from the RAM.. since I don't game that much or mess around with high end games or applications.

So guys anything else that you need to know ? any advice on my situation or something, anything will be appreciated.
 
Solution
V
The device connect sound you are hearing is likely the monitor connecting as a device.
I would say your issue is in one of four components:
- Graphics card
- Monitor
- DVI cable
- Power supply

Does your motherboard have video connections for onboard graphics? If so, remove the graphics card and test with the onboard graphics.
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C12Friedman

C12Friedman

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The noise you hear seems to be the noise of a USB device connecting and disconnecting. If it is the keyboard that is acting up, that can cause strange things to occur. Check all of your USB connections to ensure none have become loose as a first step here. I'll suggest trying to borrow a wired keyboard and mouse, if any other USB peripherals are attached to the computer, leave those disconnected for now.
 
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Gigi55

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Hmh I don't know about that... I mean I never had problems with mouse and keyboard and I'm thinking my problem is with video card / monitor link / power supply to monitor or to video card... one of these.

Its strange that I can fix it with a restart or that if I play with the cable of the monitor I can make it display things again... will try to play with it more the next morning when I open the PC up for the first time of the day.

I don't know what to say more.. any ideas will be welcomed, I will "play around" with the PC in the morning once I do the first boot of the day and encounter my problem once again.
 
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Gigi55

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^ Hey I found the sound in Win 7:

Control Panel - Hardware and Sound - Sound

Here go to the Sound Tab: Windows Default - Device Connect - and here you can click Test below to hear it

I think thats the sound Device Connect sound. Maybe I can take a print screen and try to save the print before restart all done on a black monitor o_O just to see maybe any error or pop out that can point me in the right direction but how the heck can I save that print screen... eh I don't know :(

 
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C12Friedman

C12Friedman

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something that may cause that behavior (there really aren't many) is when the power supply starts delivering wonky power from it's 5v rail (USB uses 5v)

The device connect sound refers to USB devices confirming my suspicion. The thing to do now is isolate the USB device that is malfunctioning. Often when the controller circuit goes bad inside the device an indication is the connect/disconnect sound for no apparent reason. It will not get better on it's own. The reason I'm focusing first on the USB peripherals is they are less expensive and easier to change than a PSU so I'm hoping one of them is the issue. I'll also suggest checking the USB headers on the motherboard to ensure the cable(s) have not become loose from there (if using the front panel ports at all)
 
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Gigi55

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Ok action for this day so far:

- I opened up the case up
- reseated the video card in its slot
- reseated the ram
- and about the USB I also changed where I plug them, picked a different slot from the back to connect it
- I made sure that I unplug my monitor power and plug it back good, same basically with everything that is connected to the pc or the monitor and made sure there 100% good in there slots
- pushed a few times on the on off power from the monitor before booting up the PC

Result:
- black screen in boot up.. no bios image, no image in boot up nothing... but like the other time my speakers got the Win 7 start sound, again I was in the desktop... and after a few seconds again in that all pitch black I started to hear that "device connect" sound over and over and over and over... and just in between devices connect sounds even a "device disconnect" sound here and there.. all the while my monitor is black and blinking on and off like in standby / not connected to anything status

Funny enough this time after 5 minutes the sounds stopped and the monitor from the blinking on and off decided to come to life and show my Desktop - "we got life"... this time with no restart / no cable play in the back of the monitor.
In the moment of the sound device connect saga I did a print screen but to my surprise nothing on the print screen of value I didn't get to see any error or pop up. :(

And the last bit of info.. this time with no restart my icons were moved.. my desktop icons were a bit split up and not the way I normally have them not the way I left them last night, they had like a space between half the icons, something similar to how when you install video card drivers it screws up with the resolution a bit and moves / make some spaces between icons. (but of course I didn't do no install and my Catalyst drivers are still there in place like I left them)

So what do you guys and girls think ?
Help me out Obi One Friedman!
Pls welp tomshardware community :(
 
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C12Friedman

C12Friedman

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There is a free program, USBLogView that will report what USB device is connecting/disconnecting. I am sort of worried here because your description of events leads me more and more to believe the PSU may the culprit here. Indulge me please, what is the make and model of your PSU? How old is it? Are your keyboard and mouse the same age?
 
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Gigi55

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My PSU is I think just about 3 years old and this is the model:

Sirtec - High Power Element PLUS 400W
http://www.highpower-tech.com/ID/product_page.php?class=20100527154213&id=20100530203201#product

My mouse is 3-4 years old and my keyboard is 2 years old. (one I connect in USB and the other in the PS/2 )

Also would it be hard to replace the PSU ? can a noob like me do it... or I need to go to a service ? :( (never done this before)

PS: I took a wild shot and maybe the device connect can be my monitor ? so I went to the Samsung site and downloaded and installed a "driver" for my monitor model maybe that would help me ? (Samsung SyncMaster 2233BW Monitor Driver 1.0)




 
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C12Friedman

C12Friedman

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Although I'd be surprised if it is the monitor it can't hurt to have the latest driver (and you just never know). I'm really focusing on that mouse now - I rarely have mice last that long (I'm assuming the mouse is USB while the keyboard is PS/2). See what that USB program says, see if it agrees with my conclusion. Or you can try booting up without the mouse connected, see if you don't get loaded into windows without the noises
I've lost focus on the Sirtec built PSU, since Sirtec-High Power (although rare to find legitimate reviews for) does have some very nicely rated PSU's and they do their own design and manufacturing (though not completely ruled out at this point)
 
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Gigi55

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Maybe silly question but..

Ok I got the USB program you told me, now question how do I open this program at the first load of my PC since my monitor will be black / have no display ?

I clicked the option inside the program as "Put Icon on Tray" + "Start As Hidden" but when I did a computer restart it wasn't in the tray (seem the go to tray option is just for when you open the program).. so I need to open the .exe for it to record the USB ?
 
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Gigi55

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I'm connected with DVI (white color) I don't have VGA on my video card.

This is the model:
http://www.hisdigital.com/un/product2-531.shtml
(I got DVI / HDMI / Display Port and my monitor can handle DVI and VGA only)

And yes I do have it installed latest up to date AMD Catalyst Display driver version 14.9 from AMD site.

 
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C12Friedman

C12Friedman

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I've been considering this problem a bit (trying to think like an electron). Some things to try; 1) cleaning out the USB ports with canned air, 2) disconnecting all USB devices, 3) disabling USB ports through BIOS (do this one at a time), 4) Wiggle the DVI cable (to try to isolate if it's the issue), 5) See what USBLogView says.
I may be a while before next response, I'm finding this a little tricky to research (can you tell?)
 
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Gigi55

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Ok man thanks, means a lot that you are trying to help me out here, I got other views on this topic but seems other people aren't so quick to jump in and try to help (maybe its one of the "if I don't know for sure I better not say nothing" type of situation).

I also got a friend of mine that is "certified" in this PC stuff and his also trying to help me out and even he is scratching his head a bit on this one. (well considering that this is not an easy fix since I don't have the spare parts around to just switch them up and find the faulty one plus I'm a noob like he would say XD)

Each day will try before the initial boot up - one of those options and update the situation here.

Also still this USB Log program how do I make it run at startup so he can record me the problems when the monitor is black and making the sounds.. cause from what I can see it only logs things when you access the .exe and have the problem running right ?

Also please other Toms Hardware forum guys around... feel free to chip in with ideas, help me out please so I can handle this pesky problem before it brakes down one me for good. :(
 
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Tpced

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Having read things so far I should probably point out that it would be best to figure out a way to re-create the problem.
Being able to check one thing only/per day is going to take a long time to figure out what's going on.
-Power off the PC
-Unplug it
-Press and hold the power button, couple of times (give it 30 min rest, just to be sure it's completely drained of power)
-Plug it on, and start the PC, see if this will re-create the same problem.

I haven't heard of a case like this before...
Try pulling out everything out of your PC and boot it like that, sure you'll hear beeps because of missing hardware, but the point is to see whether the monitor will turn on.
Leave only the monitor cable (and power cord ofc) and unplug everything else.
From inside the PC remove:
-RAM (swap it if you have multiple sticks, If not, let the RAM stay)
-Disk Drives
-Floppy Drive (if you still use one)
-Hard Disk
The point is to get the monitor on, the PC won't get past POST, but it doesn't matter right now...

I'm leaning towards the PSU* though. Having no spare parts makes this that much difficult to troubleshoot...
 
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Gigi55

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Hello, thanks for the input, I appreciate it.

Ok I just did this test with exactly like you said and the result is a normal boot up no black screen and no sounds and no problems just normal 100% working computer and monitor.

So no luck in recreating the scenario using this tactic.

Hmh seems that the PC or Monitor or PSU or Video card (cause I don't know what is causing my problem) doesn't like to be cold/underpowered for extended period of time ? (8-9 hours) that's the only way to recreate it so far.
 
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Gigi55

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Ok update of the day:

- did point 1
- did point 2
- did point 5
- special mention point 4

Result:

- only thing in my PC on USB is just a mouse so I unplugged it and the problem was there same like always at the first boot of the day

- same stuff, black monitor with the power of the monitor blinking on and off like his not connected to anything (same like you open the Monitor before you power up the PC)

- loaded to windows, got the loading sound, and then the sounds started again and again and again like I told you you guys so far

- using keyboard I manage to open that USB Log program while the sounds were still active

- all this was about 2-3 minutes of time then I decided to close the monitor from the Monitor Power Button and guess what... the sounds in my speakers of that device connect thing over and over have stopped

- then I turned on the Monitor and the sounds started once again o_O

- then decided to go under the desk to do the nr.4 on the list, fondle the DVI cable a bit

- but this is why the special mention*** cause it was already like 5-6 minutes of PC active and hot... then the sounds came to a stop and the display appeared but result here is inconclusive was it the DVI cable movement or was it just to many minutes and the PC/MONITOR handled the problem by itself like I said it happened in that day when I let it be for 6-7 minutes to "do his thing completely"

- about the USB Log didn't see no activity, when the Monitor came to life I had the USB Log program in my tray and it didn't record nothing, then I took another different mouse and plugged it in my USB frontal ports and then it recorded it instantly, did the same thing when I unplugged it and plug my normal default preferred day to day mouse in the back USB ports

- and last same strange situation with my icons, they were again moved around, similar to how you install video card drivers you get that small resolution in the middle of the install operation for a few seconds then everything goes to normal but in that process your icons have moved around a bit to fit the old / new screen display better

So my suspicion, I think it's the Monitor or (+) DVI cable or (+) Monitor Power cord ? One of those or a combination of them ?

Should I go out and buy some new DVI cable or Monitor Power cord ? can that solve my problems ? or is it the video card ? or the PSU ?

Whats next guys ?
Again thank you in advance.
 
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Gigi55

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Today:

- Before the day boot up I disconnected the DVI cable from Monitor and the power cable from Monitor

- I put them back in then booted up the PC, this time I also got the Windows loading sound but no other sounds, no more dudum dudum etc sounds just a black screen, started to fondle the DVI cable and no change.. waited a bit and no change, went on an off on the Monitor Power Button and no change

- Then restarted the computer and I got the image back.. (also no desktop icons moved this time)

What the heck is happening here :(
 
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cst1992

cst1992

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This is a good idea. Sometimes the graphics card malfunctions because some component on it is dying(like a capacitor).
Try to obtain another graphics card and see if it works out. I know you don't have any spare parts, but ruling things out is of importance.
The problem here is, we haven't narrowed anything down yet.
Also @C12Friedman, the thing is that the sounds that OP mentioned aren't limited to USB, but to all hardware. It's basically hardware connect/disconnect.
 
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cst1992

cst1992

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@OP one thing you'll have to tell me is that which exact sounds you're getting. Go to control panel -> Hardware and Sound -> Change System sounds. Test the sounds and tell which of the ones you're getting. Are you getting the connect and disconnect sounds alternatively or the Device Failed to connect sound?
Also, if it's your PC that is turning on and off after a few seconds, then the fault is in the power supply. Sometimes the solderings on old power supplies melt causing the circuitry to malfunction and cause this problem.
 
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nukemaster

nukemaster

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This post is somewhat long so I may have missed some things.

1. The sound windows makes is NOT related to USB in anyway. Connect a DVI/HDMI/DP monitor you will get the sound. You will also get it with an E-SATA drive. It is actually a connect sound.

2. I am first going to recommend changing the video cable you are using. Unlike analog VGA that had very basic detection abilities, DVI/HDMI/DP detect much differently. To this point, I have connected a HDMI TV to my system and as soon as it is turned on I will get the same sound as the TV connects.

Over and over disconnects would seem to indicate some kind of cable issue(older versions of Windows did not check for device connection/disconnection like they do now).

The fact that it happens before the OS loads(you have it in the bios) means it is NOT a windows problem of any kind(this includes drivers). The fact that you make it to Windows also supports the thought that the computer is functional and the issue lays in either the video card/cable or in a third an much less likely place, the monitor it self

Your power supply is not great, but your system is not power hungry either.

If you do not have another DVI cable and your screen has a VGA in(and most that do come with a cable), you can use an adapter you may be able to get without any issues. This connects from the DVI-I port to a VGA port. Most video cards come with one as well. HDMI is another option, but you may have some interesting side effects(but they are easy to fix and will not stop the system from displaying video).
 
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