Black screen when booting from windows 7

SoildSnake · 1 Jul 2010 at 18:37

My Specs:

Intel Quad Core Q6600, LGAA775, 2.4GHZ, 8MB L2 Cache, 1066MHZ, (1.35V Max)
OCZ Reaper HPC, DDR2, 2 X 2GB
BFG, 8800 GT OC, GDDR3 512, PCI Express 16X
A-Bit, NFORCE 680i SLI, IN9 32X-Max

I used to have XPSP3 installed. When i installed windows 7 ultimate i often get a black screen when i power on or restart the sytems; no bios or anything on the screen; with the GPU fans going at full speed. Sometimes it will boot up even if it is plugged out over night or restarting; it is very tempermental. When it happens i have to clear the CMOS in order to boot

I have tried using different RAM sticks, 2x2GB bought after the PC was built, i have cleared the CMOS with the MB power connectors out, changed the battery and tried only connecting my monitor as opposed to the TV as well. All these things work sometimes and then when i restart or shutdown or power off the PC eventually the black screen reappears so i have not found the right solution.

Someone said that the issue is with the mobo; especally since it is 680 chipset which is old and is prone to issues like this? I am considering buying a new mobo but dont want to buy it and the issue remains. If i do get a new mobo; whould the fact that it is ICH10 Chipset resolve the issue and would it be compatible with all my otehr hardware

Does anyone have any experince with this or could reccomend what to do next? Thanks for the help

SoildSnake · 2 Jul 2010 at 12:32

Please can i get some advice on this issue; in summery i usually get a black screen when i boot; no bios comes up and i end up ususally having to clear the cmos to boot succesfully

J.B · 2 Jul 2010 at 12:51

It could well be the mobo, that would explain all the problems. Could possibly be the PSU too.

Personally Id try discnnecting everything that isnt essential. So unplug the HDDs, the optical drives, remove and PCI components (obviously leave the GFX in if you dont have onboard) unplug all the USB devices etc and see what happens then.

Seasaw · 2 Jul 2010 at 13:57

SoildSnake said:
Please can i get some advice on this issue; in summery i usually get a black screen when i boot; no bios comes up and i end up ususally having to clear the cmos to boot succesfully

I know this might sound stupid but you dont have a 2nd monitor hooked up. I once updated my drivers for my card and it switched both my monitors around so that windows was booting up on the secondary but the primary monitor stayed blank. When i turned my secondary one, voila! I could see everything again and it was a simple case of changing the settings in ccc once I got into desktop.

SoildSnake · 3 Jul 2010 at 17:48

SoildSnake · 4 Jul 2010 at 19:09

In summery i usually have to restart, discharge CMOS data or clear the cmos to boot into windows otherwise a get a black screen

I Usually get BIOS code FF; which means it boots or 26; which means something to do with DIMM slots and/or PCI. Abit suggest swapping graphics cards but i dont havbe a spare

1) I heard that this issue could be becasue of the fault in the chipset 680i when it comes to using 8GB of RAM, though i have tried only using 4GB and the issue remains, which is why new motherboards dont use this type? If so would getting a new mobo resolve the issue?

2) Also one time it booted and i heard the windows login sound but there was still a black screen; does this make it more definitave that it is or is not the mobo, GPU or RAM? I also got errors when running memtest, though these could be false posatives, plus i get freezes when in windows which may suggest a faulty GPU. With these things in mind is replacing the mobo first the right way to go?

3) Is this a software or hardware issue? I ask becasue I once or twice got a black screen, when win7 was updating while actully in windows

Any comments on any or all of these questions will be appreciated; thanks