No signal between graphics card and monitor anymore.

[xocrglive]

Hi all,

I just put the new PC together last week and initially everything was working fine, no over heating, no blue screens, all the drivers installed correctly, etc. Then Windows did updates. At least, I feel like that is when I started having issues.

Here's the link to my build, if it doesn't show up right or work, I'll list the parts at the bottom too.
http://pcpartpicker.com/user/xoSevenZins/saved/BQJTwP

I first noticed I was unable to let the computer sleep/hibernate. It couldn't get a signal to the monitor upon wake up. Restarted and the display came up fine, no changes made.

Then I had my first blue screen. Unfortunately, I can't find the logs but I remember it mention something with the display, or the display drivers, caused the crash. So I went into the NVIDIA GeForce Experience configurations and updated drivers. Successful update, went on using the PC for another day or two.

On Christmas, I returned to use it after a sleep/hibernate (not the first since that issue) and it couldn't get a signal again. I restarted, nothing. I fiddled with the cables between the graphics card and the monitor, maybe unplugged them and plugged them back in, then viola! Display worked again after the next restart. And it caused no issues when I came back to the PC later that evening.

But this morning, I couldn't get the display to come on after any troubleshooting. I think it was in a sleep mode again, and after trying to use a DVI instead of the HDMI, VGA too, nothing would get the display to work between the graphics card & monitor.

I don't know all the variable with using the motherboard graphics, but I did run into a few configurations where even that did not get a signal to the monitor.

Currently, because of the holidays I'm sure, I can't get a hold of any technical support for the graphics card, so I've removed it completely. This has been the only way I was able to get a signal to the monitor (only with a DVI cable connected to the motherboard; HDMI didn't work this way even with the graphics card removed). My concern is, with it set up this way, I still am unable to even start the Battle.net Desktop Application (I didn't expect that, and didn't have time to research why this is), so I suppose the motherboard/CPU are not meant to be used as the main display?

I am able to see BIOS now (phew!) and I've read in a few places I'll probably have to make some changes in there, maybe wipe all the software for the graphics card and start with a fresh slate, etc. Before I do all that, I wanted to see what people might say here. I'm just not that familiar with doing work in BIOS.

So, what suggestions might you have for more ways to troubleshoot the issue? What damage (if any) can this current and limited set up cause to my system? Does it sound like the damage is already done?

In case the link above did not work, here is a list of the build I am using...

Motherboard: ASUS Z97-A LGA1150
CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0Gz - BX80646I74790K
PSU: Corsair CXM Series CX500M 500W 80 Plus Bronze
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1600
Graphics Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB - 02G-P4-3751-KR
Boot SSD: Crucial MX100 256GB SSD
2nd HHD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM
Monitor: Acer H6 Series 5ms LED Backlit LCD Monitor - H236HLbid (?)
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium (OEM) 64 bit

 

[Darkbreeze]

That Corsair CX PSU does not support the sleep states of the Haswell CPUs. You need a PSU that supports the Haswell sleep states or you will have sleep issues when trying to resume. Plus, the CX series PSUs suck and are meant for mainstream and office machines, not high end or gaming rigs.

You can't trust in the GeForce Exp to correctly ascertain the correct driver versions. Manually verify you have the most recent version here, and install if necessary.

http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us


GPU drivers have nothing at all to do with being able to see a display on the screen prior to windows beginning to load drivers. The POST and BIOS screens should be visible regardless that NO drivers were installed AT ALL, so that part at least, is likely to be hardware, not driver related. Still, make sure they are the most recent version.

In the BIOS, make sure the PCIe adapter is selected as the primary graphics adapter. Take your side panel off your case, with the power off, and make absolutely certain that the cable coming from the PSU to the GPU is FULLY seated. Even remove and reinsert it making sure there are no bits of plastic or anything else contaminating the socket or connector.

Make sure both motherboard power plugs are fully seated. Make sure all RAM is fully seated. Make sure the GPU is fully seated and locked in place. I'd suggest even removing the GPU and checking the slot and teeth on the GPU for anything that doesn't look right. Clean the teeth on the GPU with a lint free cloth and isopropyl alcohol. Sometimes the teeth just don't make good contact for some reason.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Try turning off all C-states in the BIOS. This might help temporarily until you can get a suitable PSU. I recommend getting a Tier 2B or higher unit with a model number listed at 2B or higher here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-1804779/power-supply-unit-tier-list.html

Some info on the Haswell sleep states:

http://techreport.com/review/24897/the-big-haswell-psu-compatibility-list