9800 Pro Issue

SquirrelKing · Mar 4, 2006, 06:11 AM

Hi all, I believe I have an issue with my 9800 Pro, but I'm not precisely sure if it is the cause of my problems. I recent rebuilt an old computer of mine so that it would be useful to my parents, it has an nforce2 motherboard, a 2700XP AMD processor, and a radeon 9800 Pro, and 1 gig of ram. It worked completely fine before I left to college. I tested games on it, movies, music, the works. About two weeks ago I get a call from my parents saying that the screen went completely black, but that the computer was still on.

I'm assuming what happened is that video output from the graphics card cut out. I have taken a look at the computer myself, and have assured myself that the computer does start, but nothing shows up on the monitor. I tried re-installing the card, swapping ram in case that was the problem, tightening cables, but nothing worked. The fan on the Radeon still spins up, so it's not dead entirely. I'm really not sure what else to do here.

Tomorrow I should be able to test another video card inside the computer, so I will see for sure whether it is just a video issue or not. In addition, the Radeon does have two video outputs, but one requires that I have a dongle in order to hook it up to the monitor. Is there a chance that this output would work, even though the other doesn't seem to? And if it ends up that this isn't a problem with the video card than what else could it be? My other primary concern is that it could be the CPU, but would the computer even start if that was the case? When starting the computer, after seeing nothing displayed on the monitor, I have to hold the power button a few seconds in order for the computer to turn off, which implies to me that it does seem to be starting up into windows.

Anyways, any thoughts or help would be nice. My parents really need the upgrade and they were enjoying it until all of this garbage happened. Sorry for the long post and I hope to see some comments tomorrow.

H3X4D3C1M4L · Mar 4, 2006, 12:18 PM

Could be the monitor.

Also just because you have to hold the power button doesn't mean it doesn't get into Windows. Listen to the hard drive and see if it sounds like its really busy after the system would've POSTed. What I'd do is turn it on, wait 3 minutes, then press the power button once then hit the U key (its the hotkey for shutdown once the standby/restart menu comes up).

Failing that, try another video card

Rasta Monsta · Mar 4, 2006, 12:35 PM

My money is on the monitor. Many of them seem to die suddenly after 3-4 years.

rasta

SquirrelKing · Mar 4, 2006, 08:54 PM

It is not the monitor. I tried it on our old system and the monitor works just fine. I tried a few other things, such as trying the second video output, but that didn't work either. I noticed that when I start the computer neither the keyboard lights up, nor does the mouse, even though they are connected. I noticed that they usually do when a computer starts properly. This leads me to believe that the problem is not the videocard. For some reason all outputs are not working.

My thought is that it is either the motherboard or the CPU. I hope it isn't the CPU. I do have a spare motherboard of the same model, so I'm going to try swapping that out first. Any opinions?

H3X4D3C1M4L · Mar 4, 2006, 08:59 PM

Fried BIOS?

SquirrelKing · Mar 5, 2006, 06:53 AM

Well, after trying to mess with the motherboard and getting no results I switched to my other Nforce 2, but I still have the same problem. The computer starts, but there is nothing there. I've come to the conclusion that my problem is indeed the processor. I can think of nothing else except for that. There is no reason why two motherboards should have the same exact problems. The second motherboard I tried had a built-in video card, so I tried that as well, but had the same results as my Radeon 9800.

So, the good news is that my Radeon isn't messed up. The bad news is that my processor is. I suppose it's time to order a replacement, but I'll wait on it for a while to make sure with absolute certainty that it is not anything else.

H3X4D3C1M4L · Mar 5, 2006, 12:25 PM

How did it die though, did it get insulated or shorted?

SquirrelKing · Mar 5, 2006, 03:01 PM

The unfortunate part is that I wasn't there for the death. It doesn't make much sense to me why it would, but than I've never really had something like this happen before. I know it was kept cool fairly well and had been functioning fine for almost three years. About midway through the CPUs life (if it is truly dead) the computer did start to let off a high-pitched whine. At first I thought it could be the hard-drive or PSU, but it turned out to be neither after I tested the computer with different ones. It wasn't the fans either, so I've assumed it must have been the CPU, which leads me to believe that it has been slowly dying for some time now and just eventually gave out.

I'm not sure if that's a plausible scenario, but that's the best idea I've got. Anyways, after looking around I found equivalent CPUs for about 140$, which isn't too bad considering they're probably no longer manufactured.

As a side note, could the PSU have caused any of these problems? That is the one component I didn't try to switch out, but I figured that since the computer turns on and all the components appear to light up that it wasn't necessary to swap it.

H3X4D3C1M4L · Mar 6, 2006, 10:11 AM

Well unless the PC was unstable before in an extremely bad way I don't see how it'd have caused the CPU to die.

fritzie · Mar 6, 2006, 10:57 AM

the computer wouldnt turn on if the proceser is burnt swap out the proceser try it in another box sounds like the mother board may have gotten some dust or cat hair in it
wich will short it out,if the system will turn on and run but no post sound it could be the bios
i recently had this problem with a iwill board
test the cpu
harddrives
memory
sounds like it is time for a new mother board

g35x · Mar 6, 2006, 12:59 PM

he said he tried a new motherboard...not good chances that both mobos arent working....my bet would be the harddrive....well actually if it was the harddrive the motherboard screen would still show up on startup and he could get in to bios huh??? cant be the psu since he says the computer turns on.....cant be the 9800 since on-board dosent work either.....shouldent be the cpu otherwise i dont think the computer would turn on........i really cant think of anything

SquirrelKing · Mar 7, 2006, 01:30 AM

Isn't there still a chance that the PSU will still power up the motherboard and fans without a fully functional CPU? I really can't think of anything else, but I'm present with the dilemna of having to get a replacement part and if it isn't the CPU but I buy one than that'll be a kick in the wallet I can't afford.

g35x · Mar 7, 2006, 11:15 AM

well it sounds like the most likely cause of the problem is the cpu....unless the powersupply not toatally but 1/2 died and can only power up some of the things in the case (dont know if that is possible tho....)

H3X4D3C1M4L · Mar 7, 2006, 08:32 PM

I'm betting on the CPU too you've isolated all the other things well enough