Troubleshoot my problem please

maj · 27 May 2011 at 17:08

I've recently started getting a problem where the monitor will suddenly loose the signal from my pc. It only seems to happen when I've turned my pc on for the first time that day, and I can be logged into Windows for anywhere between 30 seconds to a minute before the monitor looses the signal and goes into standby mode (blue power light turns to orange) and only way I can get the monitor to display again is by restarting my pc.

It doesn't happen every day either, sometimes I can go a week or so without getting the problem and there is nothing in the Event Viewer at the time the problem happens either. It just seems to be completely random.

My specs are in my sig, and the monitor and GPU were used in my old system without any problems. The monitor is connected to my 470 by a VGA cable with a DVI adapter (card is DVI but monitor only has VGA) and am using the latest Nvidia drivers.

Things I have tried:
Swearing at the monitor

Things I haven't tried:
Different GPU (have a 8800GT collecting dust be want to avoid having to take my pc apart if possible)
Different Monitor (don't have spare)
BIOS update (can't see it being a BIOS issues since I use a dedicated graphic card)
Rolling back Nvidia driver.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Buchanan0204 · 27 May 2011 at 17:13

I realise this isn't the most practical answer. However, it's quite clear your gaming with a card like that. You would benefit greatly from a new monitor, especially if it only has an analogue connection. They can be had for under £110 for a full 1080p monitor these days with digital connections of course.

If that's not an option, then try connecting the cable into one of the other dvi connectors. The 470 is dual dvi isn't it?

Plec · 27 May 2011 at 17:14

Try a different cable - and adapter.

ANd if that doesn't work the 8800.

rgritchie · 27 May 2011 at 17:15

Had a similar issue with an HDTV I was using as a monitor. A couple of weeks later it failed completely and I had to get a new one. Problem never came back so for me it must have been the monitor

maj · 27 May 2011 at 17:36

Buchanan0204 said:
I realise this isn't the most practical answer. However, it's quite clear your gaming with a card like that. You would benefit greatly from a new monitor, especially if it only has an analogue connection. They can be had for under £110 for a full 1080p monitor these days with digital connections of course.

If that's not an option, then try connecting the cable into one of the other dvi connectors. The 470 is dual dvi isn't it?

The monitor is an AcerX243W with a resolution of 1920 x 1200. Whilst I know its old-tech in that it has analogue connections, I got it for free so can't complain too much about it. I'm a bit hesitant in rushing out and buying a new monitor as the problem could still be there after splashing the cash (although I would then have a nice monitor to brag about

).

Yeah it has dual-dvi and a mini-hdmi connector. I'll try using the other one for a bit to see if it helps things.

Plec said:
Try a different cable - and adapter.

ANd if that doesn't work the 8800.

Worth a try I suppose. Although if I buy a new monitor, I won't be needing a VGA cable anymore.

rgritchie said:
Had a similar issue with an HDTV I was using as a monitor. A couple of weeks later it failed completely and I had to get a new one. Problem never came back so for me it must have been the monitor

Two votes for the monitor being the problem then

Buchanan0204 · 28 May 2011 at 00:30

I should have added. I've seen instances of this on a minor scale, where the monitor cuts out after the windows loading screen and then comes back on when the logon screen appears, if there's no password it reappears when the desktop is there.

Changing the cable will make no difference. If the cable was the issue it wouldn't work at all. Some monitors are slow at coming on and miss the POST screen all together. It's not auto switching sources at all is it?

maj · 28 May 2011 at 01:51

Well in my case, the monitor displays everything fine up from the initial POST to the login screen. I login and then sometimes the monitor cuts out.

As for auto switching sources I'm not sure. The only input option the monitor has is one vga port so I'd be suprised if it was trying to detect other inputs. It happened at 7:30am yesterday but was on my way to work so didn't get a chance to make a note of what message (if any) appears when the monitor cuts out. Will keep an eye out for when it next happens.

GaryH-21 · 28 May 2011 at 02:03

I would have thought if it was a monitor problem, it would happen every time.

Have you tried booting in safe mode? (Although this will be a pain in the bside as it doesn't happen all the time!)

Is the fan on the graphics card caked with dust? Could possibly be it's not spinning up right at first and heating up - but then again, that's a total guess

maj · 28 May 2011 at 02:27

GaryH-21 said:
I would have thought if it was a monitor problem, it would happen every time.

Have you tried booting in safe mode? (Although this will be a pain in the bside as it doesn't happen all the time!)

Is the fan on the graphics card caked with dust? Could possibly be it's not spinning up right at first and heating up - but then again, that's a total guess

Not tried safe mode yet no. Although as you say, it may not be too useful as it happens randomly at different times and different days.

I'll have a look inside the case tomorrow for dust on the graphic card fan. However the fact that my pc isn't rebooting due to heat issues (I can play games for hours with no problems) I'd be suprised if dust on the fan is the reason.

Thanks for the suggestions though

Plec · 28 May 2011 at 10:02

I would try swapping out the gfx card as it's a quick and simple test. And if it doesn't work you've at least ruled out one of the component suspects in your troubleshooting.