Could my monitor problem be the motherboard?

[squirrel15]

My acer P191w monitor isnt working. I finally build my computer and I turned it on for the very first time, I got the monitor from my brother who never had any problems with the monitor before. Here is my build:
Thermaltake V9 case
Gigabyte 890gx mobo
Gskill 1600 cas 7 ripjaws ram
Antec truepower 750w PSU
ATI (xfx) 5850 (stock not overclocked)
Seagate barracuda hard drive
LG cd dvd writer
AMD 955 BE CPU

My monitor turns on fine, it says "ACER" then it says "no signal" about 4 seconds later. Both the mobo and monitor have a DVI cables/ports. My computer turns on fine, all the fans and PSU works too. I looked all over the internet and have tried the power cool down with the monitor (unplugging monitor and holding down the power button), I've tried unplugging and blowing in the cables and making sure theres not bend wires or anything and plugged them back in and still nothing. I have read that it could be the motherboard. Any ideas as to whats wrong and how I can fix it would help greatly. Thanks.

 

[bilbat]

You probably should have assembled the 'bare bones' out of the case, just to test, before whacking it all together... Sounds like time for a 'strip-down'...

Mind you, there are two ways to do this: you can do it either in or out of the case. The advantages and drawbacks:in the case is easier and faster, but will not find case-related problems, like shorts from extra, mispositioned standoffs, or ground plane problems; out of the case takes longer, and you may run into 'reach' problems - power supply cables and front panel power switch headers may not be long enough; for the power supply, it's usually just a matter of removing four screws to temorarily relocate it; for the power switch, you can just do this (carefully):

You only need to short the pins momentarily - that's all the power switch does...Out of the case also affords you an easy opportunity to 'flip' the board to check your heatsink/fan attachment setup, to be sure all the pins are fully seated, locked, and not cracked... If you do the out of the case, you need to lay the board on a non-conductive surface: the box the MOBO came in is ideal; but - the foam pad it came with, and the bag it was in are not - being 'antistat', they are somewhat conductive, and may induce problems...

Another item worth mention at this point is case speakers: if you haven't got one - get one!
http://www.cwc-group.com/casp.html
A lot of people operate under the misaprehension that the 'diagnostic beeps' should come through the speakers attached to their sound-card/chip - not so! Your three hundred dollar Altec-Lansings won't do you any good here - you have to have a case speaker attached to the front panel header, and, often by this point, it's the only diagnostic info you'll have to go on...

The standard 'strip-down':

Power down at PSU switch
remove everything except
CPU and heatsink/fan (check carefully that the fan retaining pins are fully inserted, completely locked, and not cracked)
one stick of RAM, in slot closest to CPU
video card and monitor connector (if more than one PCIe slot, again, in slot closest to CPU)
all power plugs - 20+4 or 24, 2x2 or 2x4 ATX power, graphics card power
case speaker and power switch connectors
keyboard (don't need a mouse at this point)
place jumper on RST_CMOS pins
remove jumper from RST_CMOS pins
power up at PSU switch
power up by depressing case power switch (or shorting the 'power' pins...)
If you get video, enter BIOS with <DEL> (may need a <TAB> to get to POST screen, if 'splash' screen is enabled)
Select and execute "Load Optimized Defaults" - save and exit, reboot
power down
reinsert other components, one at a time, testing each time after addition...

 

[squirrel15]

Ill give it a try! Thanks for the help. I know its not the monitor now because I hooked it up to a friends laptop and it works. But I'll unplug the things you told me and follow the instructions. I should comment back soon. Thanks again.

 

[squirrel15]

Im sorry, what do you mean by "short the pins"? And do I NEED a case speaker to do this stuff?

 

[jedimasterben]

It's best to have a speaker in it, that way you can listen for any POST beeps.

 

[squirrel15]

What do the beeps tell you?

 

[bilbat]

I'm a little confused, as the only GB 890 based MOBO I'm aware of is the GA-890GPA-UD3H; anyway, this is from its manual (page 108):

Q: What do the beeps emitted during the POST mean?
A: The following Award BIOS beep code descriptions may help you identify possible computer problems.
(For reference only.)
1 short: System boots successfully
2 short: CMOS setting error
1 long, 1 short: Memory or motherboard error
1 long, 2 short: Monitor or graphics card error
1 long, 3 short: Keyboard error
1 long, 9 short: BIOS ROM error
Continuous long beeps: Graphics card not inserted properly
Continuous short beeps: Power error

You can do the strip-down first - it may work with just the MOBO, one stick of RAM, video, and power supply; if it still doesn't, the 'beep codes' are pretty much all you've got to work with - at that point, the speaker is really good to have! (The shipping is likely more than the speaker - might be a good idea to order it anyway - that way, if you need it, it'll be on its way!

 

[squirrel15]

I tried it without the beep tones and it did not work with just the Mobo, 1 stick of ram, the video card and the power supply. I need to get a case speaker I guess. Any other suggestions I can do without the case speaker for now?

 

[bilbat]

Well, son, you got one problem here that I see, and don't know what to tell you about... (Hope you don't mind me callin' you 'son' - I hadn't ought to be so familiar, but I 've got myself into the habit and I can't seem to shake it - anybody that don't have a long white beard and arthritis is 'son' to me [:bilbat:6] ) You seem to have gotten yourself the fastest, newest, hottest, well - everything! Along with that comes a bunch 'o 'new-tech grief' [:bilbat:3] ! Far as I know, that's the very first board sporting the brand-spankin'-new 890 chipset, and no one has any experience with it (yet - but we're, I bet, gonna get some now! [:bilbat:5] !) The BIOS is new - written, I'm betting, according to AMD 'pseudo-code' examples in the release docs - and nobody (to grab the biggest piece of that 'new-stuff' market share they could bite off) had time to 'diddle around' for a month or two with it, to see how and with what it works [:bilbat:1]

The very first thing we're going to do, once we get it booting stably with one DIMM, is to flash the latest BIOS release (I was surprised there already is one! ), as it was released a mere twenty-four days after the 'shipped' BIOS; and you're going to want to bookmark the BIOS release page for the board, and get good at flashing, 'cause I'll bet there's a new BIOS every month 'till, say, August...

The procedure I listed is 'from the can' - it's pretty generic. I hadn't had a chance to read the 890 manual, and I have a couple suggestions:

First, try it without the vidcard first, while it's out in the open (I'm assuming you took it out of the case - if you haven't - do so now - it will eliminate, as I mentioned, the possibility of shorts in the mounting hardware); by default, the on-board video is enabled, set up in a 'minimally intrusive' mode, and should be configured to work either VGA or DVI connectors...

If you still have trouble, try shifting the single DIMM from slot DDR3_1 (the blue one, closest to the CPU), to slot DDR3_3 (the white one, also closest to the CPU); the reason I suggest this is that there is some confusion here between documents; Gigabyte says to use the channels closest to the CPU if not populating all four; AMD, on the other hand, in their 'Unleash the Dragon' tuning guide,
http://game.amd.com/us-en/content/pdf/AMD_Dragon_AM3_AM2_Performance_Tuning_Guide.pdf
says to use the farthest channels probably worth a try both ways. Again, be sure to complete the 'unpowered' CMOS reset each time, before testing each time... You should also, if no results, try the other DIMM, in case you just happened to get a bad one...

And, I have a few questions:

You say your fans are powering on... Do they stay on, or do they sort of cycle, on, and then off, and then on again? What about the front panel power LED? Is it staying on, or is it, too, cycling? Power supply fan(s)? Are they coming up, and staying up? Are you sure your DVI cable ends are 'seating' properly when you plug 'em in? If they aren't going in fully, or seem to 'rock' in place - there are a few different 'flavors' of DVI cable end...

Don't worry too much, and don't be in a hurry - we'll get this puppy working, it sounds like she'll scream, and you'll have a long, enjoyable time with her - just gotta hang in there through the 'teething' period

 

[squirrel15]

Thanks, I guess I dont mind you calling me son. lol When the fans are plugged in they stay on and the all the fan leds work. I'm pretty sure the psu fan stays on, its hard to feel because the case has a dust filter but its definitely not turning off and on. And the cable to the monitor isnt a DVI (sorry) its a VGA. The front panel lights work too (power and some red light that flashes too).

I'm just getting worked up because I researched and waited for a long time and earned the money and now it doesnt work! I ordered everything through newegg or ewiz and I hope I dont have to RMA anything because my roommates through out a lot of the boxes and stuff. :/

I do appreciate the help bilbat and I will try the things you told me.

 

[squirrel15]

I tried it once and no luck. I clicked on your link but it didnt work. And what do you mean by 'unpowered CMOS'? Do you mean taking out the little round battery? I'm gonna try the other ram now and try different slots.

 

[bilbat]

'unpowered CMOS'

Nah - you don't have to pull the battery - just make sure the PSU switch is off when you jumper the CMOS_RST pins (and you only have to do that momentarily) - if there's no switch on the PSU, pull the plug... Yeah - I know it's frustrating - but I often think computers were put on the earth simply to test our patience! (But then I realize - they're actually here as solid proof of Murphy's Laws!! )

Oh - and shoot the roommate! (...well, maybe not - read this one:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/271719-30-advice
..at least he didn't dump bong water in your rig!! [:bilbat:5] )

 

[squirrel15]

It works! It asked for the OS but Im afraid to go any farther without any advice.

 

[bilbat]

Boot it again; 'peck' at the <DEL> key like a little woodpecker during the boot to get into the BIOS; on the top right (second item) of the menus, you'll see an item called "Load Optimized Defaults"; select this, do the load, when it's complete (it'll sort of 'flash' the screen); then do an <F10> 'save & exit'; on the reboot, power down; power off once again; If your DIMM worked in the blue slot, add you other DIMM to the other blue slot - if it worked in the white slot, add your other DIMM to the other white slot; power back up & see if it's 'still cookin'? If it is - pop a beer, and congratulate yourself...

I now we're getting to the 'exciting part', but if it's OK on your end, I'm pretty much at the end of my day, here... (I'm a manic deoressive, and if I don't sleep on a solid, predictable schedule, in a day or two I'm walking on the ceiling, wearing a tin-foil hat! ) Don't know what time zone you're in, but if you're not ready to quit yet, here's a project to get a jump on tomorrow:

Download this:
http://www.memtest.org/download/4.00/memtest86+-4.00.iso.zip
it'll 'unzip' to an ISO file; 'burn' the .iso to a CD, using Roxio, or Nero, or whatever you've got (if your at a seven machine the 'burner' is built-in; just right click on the iso, do 'open with', and select 'windoze disk image burner'); if you don't have anything to do the 'burn', this is free:
http://www.freeisoburner.com/
What this will give you is a bootable, comprehensive memory tester, that will allow us to check your memory (and, more importantly, your memory set-up) to make sure it's all solid, and we aren't going to get any unpleasant surprises, either burning the latest BIOS, or installing the OS (BTW - what OS are you intending to use?)

 

[squirrel15]

The OS is installing now. I got a little ahead of myself. I'm using windows 7 64 bit. Can I still turn it off and reboot and get into the BIOS like you said?

 

[squirrel15]

Great, I downloaded the OS before going into the BIOS, I did go into the BIOS and did what you said but there was no 'flash' but I still save and exited. I was able to go on the internet on my computer and everything, the resolution looked a little weird but it can be fixed. I shut it down then tried to add the extra ram and the video card but now it wont even turn on. I tried unplugging everything and replugging and just having the motherboard, psu, and ram in and it still wont work.

This is DEFINITELY testing my patience.

 

[bilbat]

This is DEFINITELY testing my patience.

...and finding it lacking :lol: ...

I likely should have explained better...

The thing we did with the single DIMM, and nothing else attached, was to simply get it running, at all, any way possible, so we'd have a 'chance' to make it 'smarter'... If you can't get into the BIOS, you have your hands tied. Once you can - the purpose of the "Load Optimized" is to run a block of BIOS code that 'finds' what's connected to the system, 'reads' what it is, and how it's connected, and then tries to make adjustments to itself based on these findings. In your RAM, on each DIMM, there is a little 'bank' of tables called an SPD (it stands for 'serial presence detect' - which, of course, makes no sense that I've ever been able to figure out!); this 'table' contains the 'settings' for running the RAM; and it contains several entries, for various speeds it is capable of... In addition to these 'primary' entries, most hi-performance RAM has another table, that contains the settings for 'full blast'; hopefully, if these tables are set up correctly for your processor/BIOS, it 'reads' that first DIMM we put in, optimizes itself, and then we should be able to add the second DIMM, and it should 'just work'!

Here's where the patience comes in: you 'threw' some pieces at it, and it quit working... Why? Well, we don't really know (and can't know, doing it that way); is one of the DIMMs simply bad? Is it not setting up for the DIMMs correctly? Is the vidcard bad? Does it maybe simply require some BIOS adjustments, to get the 'external' vidcard working? Maybe the vidcard just doesn't 'like' that particular slot? We can't answer any of those questions without adding, and testing, one single thing at a time! I realize you've got a pile of money sitting there; I realize you've been 'tracking shipments', twice a day for a week, I realize you're excited - but you gotta calm down! [:bilbat:7] I blame the computer media for a lot of this problem - they often illustrate a 'build' in a couple pages, and make it seem like you can just 'dump' your pile of parts into a heap, and it will magically 'transform' itself into a hi-po computer - but, IT AIN'T SO!! The higher the performance level of the parts you select, the 'newer to the market' they are - the more difficult and painstaking you can expect the 'integration' to be - and that's exactly what we're trying to do here - integrate! Every sub-system (RAM, PCIe, Video, drives, OS) wants to be fine-tuned to each other; if you don't take the time to do this properly, now, you've pretty much wasted your money on that monster pile of parts Then, there's another thing. Electronics suffer from a problem known as 'infant mortality'; not only is it possible to get a bad part 'out of the box' (which means you will need to identify that bad part...), even from very good suppliers/manufacturers; but, if something electronic is going to fail, most often it's going to fail in either the first few hours, or the first few weeks - and the more 'stuff' you have, the more likely you will face one of these problems. The skillset you learn integrating the system, will serve you well for its entire life, as you'll understand the process/procedure for troubleshooting - for isolating a symptom down to a cause...

OK - lecture done - I hope I didn't offend Post when you're ready to continue, and I'll try to walk you through this in the most direct, but also thorough manner I know how - and I've been doing this for roughly twenty-seven years [:bilbat:6]

 

[squirrel15]

Haha, I'm ready. The funny thing is when I threw everything together for the first time, everything worked but the monitor didnt. Thats probably why I got worked up because it wont even turn on now. But yes, I'm ready to start as your young apprentice.....Master lol (little starwars for ya.)

 

[bilbat]

OK - thing we want to do now, is get back to the state it was in when you did get a decent start-up; disconnect the drives, one DIMM, no vidcard, and 'fiddle' with DIMMs/slots 'till you get a successfull POST (power on self test...) Is it still 'out of the case'?

 

[squirrel15]

No, I'm testing everything in the case.

 

[squirrel15]

Ok, I got it to work. It says "Disk boot failure" which means I need to hook up the cd driver right?

 

[bilbat]

Well, it's ever so much easier to 'twiddle' with sticks of RAM when it's 'out', but - if it was 'in' when you got the good boots, it pretty much eliminates the possibility of a 'case short' problem... So, can you get it back to the 'successful POST' state by moving RAM around, or have you tried both sticks in the slot one of them was working in, and still get no POST?

 

[squirrel15]

Well its working now. I have one DIMM in right now in the DDR3_3 slot. And it says "Disk boot failure."

 

[squirrel15]

I'm in the BIOS right now. What do i do now?

 

[bilbat]

OK, now pull that DIMM (powered down, of course ), and substitute the other, in the same slot - what we want to discover is whether each DIMM will work at all - maybe a bad one...