Member Avatar for jus learnin

My monitor is not receiving a signal after a power surge during a thunderstorm.
Both Monitor and cpu were plugged into ups.
Have power to both monitor and cpu. Cpu has both red and green solid(not blinking) lights.
Have tried another monitor and still not getting signal.
System is a clone. Running XP

Have been advised to try switching video card with another and if that doesn't work - do the same thing with mother board and then power supply.

Is this the right way(sequence) to troubleshoot this problem ?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by iceproductions

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Thread contributors such as , , and touched on monitor checks, add-in cards, POST beeps and grounding. The checklist below expands those ideas into a practical, low-cost sequence that isolates the fault without needless part‑swapping, and adds safety and data‑preservation notes often missed in short replies.

  1. Verify the display subsystem first: confirm the monitor’s OSD works and try a different known‑good cable and input.
  2. Minimal boot for POST: disconnect everything nonessential (drives, extra PCI cards, USB devices), leave 1 stick of RAM, CPU, PSU and motherboard. Fit a system speaker to the MB header to catch BIOS beep codes. Reseat RAM and power connectors. A lack of POST/beeps usually means the board or PSU failed.
  3. Visual and PSU checks: look for burnt parts, smell, bulging capacitors. If available, swap in a known‑good PSU or measure rail voltages with a multimeter before replacing other parts.
  4. Video card isolation: if the board has an expansion slot, try a cheap, compatible add‑in video card to see if onboard video or the motherboard chipset is bad. AGP is a dedicated older graphics slot; PCI is a general expansion slot—cards are physically different and not interchangeable. Many motherboards let BIOS select primary video; if BIOS is reachable, set “Primary Display” or disable “Onboard VGA.” If no screen, some boards use a jumper to force onboard off.
  5. If POST still fails, use a POST diagnostic card or professional bench testing. Grounding oddities (as @ryanweb noted) can sometimes be diagnosed by testing the board outside the case on an insulating surface.

Cautions and data notes: always unplug and discharge the system before probing. Hard drives are usually OK when a motherboard is replaced, but verify BIOS detects them and back up important data immediately after recovery. For future protection, a true surge‑protecting UPS or whole‑house surge device is recommended.

Recommended Answers

All 12 Replies

Member Avatar for DuncanIdaho

Does your monitor have Onscreen Display? If that works, I'd bet there's nothing wrong with your monitor. Your short list looks about right to me. Good luck, hope you find the problem. :)

Member Avatar for jus learnin

Yes, the monitor has onscreen display. I also didn't realize that my video port was connected to the motherboard, it's not a separate card. Does this mean that the motherboard would need to be changed in order to correct the problem ?

Member Avatar for caperjack

Yes, the monitor has onscreen display. I also didn't realize that my video port was connected to the motherboard, it's not a separate card. Does this mean that the motherboard would need to be changed in order to correct the problem ?

Motherboard ,with onboard video can also have an AGP video slot to upgrade the video to something better.You can also add a PCI video card ,You could look around for a old 2meg PCI card [a bout 5 bucks ] just to troubleshoot computer.,The onboard video will need to be disabled to do either of these .

If you have onboard video ,it could be that you toasted the Board ,or just the video chip .

Member Avatar for qt 3.14159

Do the fans run when you turn it on? Do you get any beeps when you turn it on? Does anything happen at all? Any other clues to what could be causing the problem?

Member Avatar for jus learnin

What's the difference between AGP and PCI ?
How do I disable the onboard video.
I'll look for an old PCI card. Thanks

Member Avatar for jus learnin

Yes the fans run, but there are no beeps.
Nothing else happening that I can see or hear.

Member Avatar for Catweazle

Take your system to a repair shop to have it checked. It sounds very much like the internal components have been damaged, and you will need to have it checked to find out what needs to be replaced.

Member Avatar for jus learnin

Sounds good. Will take it in today ?
thanks

Member Avatar for jus learnin

Just got my system back. The mother board was fried. They replaced it. Everything's working fine now. Thanks for the help.

Member Avatar for ryanweb

I have actually had this problem a couple of times, and each time what i had to do was remove everything from the computer case (motherboard and everything connected to it). then put an antistatic bag underneath the mb and see if you are getting a signal. If you are than remove the bag and place one screw in at a time do determine if it is a ground problem. Amazingly this has worked everytime i have lost a video signal due to a power surge; i guess it just resets or something. Anyways i hope this helps anybody else with this problem.

Thanks,
Ryan

Member Avatar for iceproductions

Just got my system back. The mother board was fried. They replaced it. Everything's working fine now. Thanks for the help.

how much was it to replace the motherboard, and did you loose any information/files etc in the process?

Member Avatar for iceproductions

can you please explain in detail to a novice computer user please???

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