No video output until welcome screen

Greetings,

This is an interesting situation. This is also the second time this has happened with the same model video card: the PNY Geforce 9800GT 1GB PCI-E.

This card twice now (two different cards) decided it was sick of displaying video output during post, and doesn't show the loading animation for Windows either. It simply says no signal until the login screen.

This happened to the first card I owned, and I had it replaced via warranty, and now this one is doing it. They both went a couple years before doing this. Once Windows loads up the card performs normally. It's just really bizarre. I put another card in (ATI), went into BIOS, verified PCI-E graphics was set to default even though there isn't an integrated controller here.

Anyway, regardless of which of the two DVI outputs I choose, regardless of removing drivers, resetting the BIOS, nothing changes this problem. I know there's a random solution somewhere out there, but I can't find it. I know that it's something to do with the card itself because when my first card did this, and I got the warranty replacement, it worked perfectly, showed the BIOS again and everything. It's as if something corrupted the firmware or something.

I am forced to replace this video card with another...I need to be able to use the BIOS, and use boot discs etc. There is something in the firmware that I believe is hosed.

Anyone have any ideas or insight?

Thanks.