ASRock MSA770DE - Suddenly, video output is not detected

[dr_mikeymike]

Hello everyone.

I am working on a home build computer with a:
Ultra LSP 550W PSU
ASRock M3A770DE mobo
2x2 GB RAM
Sapphire Radeon 6850 HD graphics card
AMD Phenom II 955 processor

Here is my issue:

Having just built my first computer, I power it on and it boots up. However, I accidentally placed the mobo disk in the drive instead of my OS disk. It asks me if I want to create a SATA(?) diskette Y/N, and I find out that my keyboard does not work (this might sound ridiculous, but it's actually an apple keyboard that I placed in the USB drive just to experiment, I suppose that it shouldn't surprise me that it didn't work).

So I pressed the reset button, and my computer resets...

However:

Now, nothing shows up on my monitor. It says that 'video output' is not discovered, as though it was not hooked up right. I have no idea as to what to do right now, as nothing is different. Why, all of the sudden, is there no video output on my monitor?

 

[mosox]

Try resetting the CMOS. Power off, take out the battery for a while and put it back.
http://i.imgur.com/gGMqF.gif
Disconnect and reconnect the video card and make sure to connect to the PSU the supplementary power connectors on it.

 

[dr_mikeymike]

I tried that with no luck. I also tried breadboarding the thing with little success. The fact that there is no video built into the mobo makes this especially frustrating.

 

[jsc]

When you breadboarded with just the PSU, motherboard, and CPU & HSF; what were the results?

If you do not have a system speaker plugged into the motherboard, you really need one.

When you turned the PC on, you should have heard a series of beeps indiating missing memory from the system speaker. Silence indicates a problem (in the most likely order) with the PSU, motherboard, or CPU.

 

[dr_mikeymike]

Hi jsc,

When I breadboarded with the PSU, mobo, CPU/HSF, and the connections for the power switch, all I heard was silence. For what its worth, when everything is plugged in, all of the fans, lights, and sounds of the DVD and HDD are going strong, leading me to think that its not the PSU. As to how to differentiate between a processor and a mobo problem, I do not know.

 

[photonboy]

Can you see the monitor if you remove the KEYBOARD before booting?

Otherwise I'm afraid you're going to have to start swapping parts (get a windows keyboard first), starting with:

1) monitor (or hook a different computer up to your monitor to test the monitor)
2) graphics card

*Recheck all cable connections first.

**When you finally boot to Windows be aware there exists unofficial drivers for ensuring an Apple keyboard works with Windows 7. Obviously that's a non-issue. I can't remember the name but Google's your friend.

 

[dr_mikeymike]

Hi photon.

Sadly, I cannot see the monitor with the keyboard off. At the present, I'm trying to get a friend to come over so we can do some part swapping.

 

[photonboy]

Your immediate problem is not keyboard related because you would still see the bootup process etc on your monitor.

You should unhook everything (hard drives, DVD, fans except CPU, other PCI cards) that is not necessary to test the video output. I think the minimum is:

1) CPU (and fan)
2) RAM
3) graphics card

If you see boot-up starting, then your problem is an issue with an installed peripheral so start adding components back one or two at a time.

If it does NOT start then your problem is obviously with the existing components:
1) monitor
2) motherboard
3) CPU (make sure fan is spinning)
4) RAM
5) Power Supply

Usually it's easy to test the monitor with another computer. Let's assume it works. Basically we're down to swapping parts.

*We can test RAM by using just one stick (see motherboard manual for which slot to use in single-stick mode). If it still doesn't work, try a second stick (likely both sticks aren't an issue).

At this point you need to try a different Power Supply. you won't need one as good as you're existing one. Look for one that's say 400W or greater and has sufficient Current (Amps) on the 12V lines to support your graphics card. I think a 400W with a minimum of 20Amps on the 12V lines would be adequate for this task but that's a rough estimate.

Summary:
- it's about swapping parts, but in the most logical order
- always use the MINIMUM configuration needed to test a problem
- the EASIEST things to check are swapping the MONITOR and the GRAPHICS CARD

 

[photonboy]

FYI, I can find no relationship between what you did and having no video output.

Apple keyboard for Windows info:
http://www.alvinpoh.com/how-to-remap-keyboard-keys-in-windows-such-as-the-with-apple-keyboard/

(I think people who installed Bootcamp files had problems as that code was meant for Apple computer specifically to enable the keyboard to work with Windows in a dual-boot mode.)