Bad monitor or video card?

ilia28

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I recently upgraded my computer (new CPU i7, new motherboard, new RAM 8gb, PSU 700W) and EVGA GTX 570 SC. I have old 22" Chimei monitor (1650x1050) that only has DVI and VGA slots. My old computer was Core 2 Duo with 8600 GTS 512mb that was connected to monitor through DVI. After upgrading to the new computer, DVI to DVI from GTX 570 didn't work (no signal on monitor, not even POST screen), so I tried VGA adapter (included with gtx 570) and it worked. Then I was moving computer and disconnected all the cables. After connecting cables back, turned on the computer, saw the POST image, went to BIOS (took like 10 seconds), and while in BIOS monitor went blank with "no signal". After that it doesn't turn on at all not through VGA nor DVI. It does load the windows in the background though. Then I tried my old 8600 GTS and it works!! So i thought maybe GTX 570 went bad. So I got another card to test, ATI 5770, and no input works on that card at all (DVI, VGA, DiaplyPort toDVI, hdmi-todvi), screen is blank.
However when I connect my SONY 60" rear projection TV through dvi-to-hdmi it works on both GTX 570 and ATI 5770 and my old 8600 GTS.
I'm not sure what to do. My monitor works only on old cards like 8600GTS? Can new cards be incompatible with my monitor or monitor incompatible with new cards (it's weird because they work with my old 60" TV)? Is my monitor bad, or I got 2 bad new videocards at the same time?) I don't have another monitor to test.
Thanks
 

Pallimud

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After you moved the computer, did you ever try the 8600GTS again? It could be that the ports in the monitor are faulty, either badly manufactured in the beginning or just wore/got loose from moving around a lot.

I couldn't imagine a graphics card not "recognizing" a monitor. The card just sends signals, doesn't need to know what it is sending to. The monitor doesn't care who gives it the signals, it just takes them and blindly shows them on the screen. So long as your connections are all working, you should be getting visual.
 

ilia28

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Thanks for reply. That's what I thought too that it shouldn't care. However every time I insert my old 8600 GTS, monitor works perfectly on DVI connection. Insert back GTX 570 and connect to monitor through the same DVI cable - no signal. Connect GTX 570 to old SONY XSRD projection TV - it works perfectly. The same behavior was with ATI 5770. It's like my monitor got used to old 8600GTS and refuses to work with other cards.
 

Pallimud

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Boot your computer into safe mode and see if the monitor works.

If it does, the problem is the newer cards are setting the refresh rate/resolution too high for your monitor and you get a no signal.
 

ilia28

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I can't boot it into safe, because there's "no signal message" on the monitor all the time since I press power button on PC (computer works in background though, loads windows etc.)
 

Pallimud

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Have you tried pressing F8 when booting? If not then you can still get to it without seeing your monitor. Plus you have your projector which you can use....

If you do F8, wait until the computer beeps and then press the down arrow and then hit enter, should work. Although I suggest just pluggin in both your projector and your monitor then booting the system, one of them will display enough to get to safe mode by pressing F8.
 

ilia28

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I will try what you have said. However, doesn't monitor work on lowest refresh rate/resoluton during POST? And also once when I bought the GTX 570 and connected it through DVI-.VGA adapeter, it worked for 5 sec (while in BIOS, NOT during Win 7 load) and then it just turned off and never back again.
 

Pallimud

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If it still doesn't work, then plug in both your projector and your monitor, this way you can get into windows and see what you are doing.

Then try this:

Go into: Control Panel>Device Manager>Monitors

Right click on the Non PNP monitor and "Scan for hardware changes".

If that doesn't work, try this:

While the computer is running, unplug the power and dvi cord from the monitor and wait 5 minutes. Plug them both back in and see if the system recognizes it.

If both those don't work then I'm not really sure...
 

ilia28

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Nothing seems to work. Tried to enter safe mode, no success. Only works through DVI on my old 8600 GTS. Maybe I'm not getting signal through DVI on GTX 570 because my monitor is not HDCP compliant and VGA port (that worked once for 10 seconds) just died (because VGA doesn't work on old 8600 GTS either? I tried running 2 cards in my machine and they work, so i decided to buy 3rd monitor to hookup to GTX 570. But the question now is will it work or not? I've heard that to run 3 monitors (1 being my tv) you need 2 GTX 570 cards in SLI... Will 1 GTX 570 (running monitor and tv) and 1 8600 GTS (running old monitor) be able to run 3 monitors at the same time or the only option is to have 2 GTX 570 cards?