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desktop PC starts but monitor says "no signal"

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terio

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Posted December 23, 2012 at 8:40PM

When I turn on Packard bell imedia PC it seems to start. Windows logo comes on and it looks as if it is going to start screen, then it goes off and monitor says "no signal". Could the fact that power was switched off at socket by mistake have any bearing on this problem? Could this have damaged something? Monitor and cable work perfectly on other computer. Thanks.

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woodchip

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Posted December 23, 2012 at 8:55PM

psu = power supply, on its way out or its overheating and shutting down to save the cpu from blowing.

how old is the pc, cpu fan heat matrix may be blocked with gunk

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terio

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Posted December 23, 2012 at 9:32PM

PC is about 10 years old. Is there any way to check power PSU. I will have to look up what that looks like. I have never needed to look inside!

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nickf

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Posted December 23, 2012 at 10:14PM

eeek ! Your PC will be FULL of dust and crud . You should open it up and clean it every 3 months !! PSU will be a square box , with a fan intake facing out of the PC and lots of power cables out of it . Make sure PC is disconnected from wall socket BEFORE opening up .

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Fruit Bat /\0/\

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Posted December 23, 2012 at 10:32PM

then it goes off and monitor says "no signal" Could the fact that power was switched off at socket by mistake have any bearing on this problem?

Taking these two things together I would forget the overheat due to dust etc. and say that you have corrupted a windows file by switching off while HDD still writing to drive.

At 10 yrs old I assume XP? Do you have a XP CD sounds like you need to do a repair.

BUT FIRST lets try tapping F8 as it first starts - select Last Known Good Configuration from the menu - see if it then boots OK.

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terio

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Posted December 24, 2012 at 7:24AM

Thanks Nick and Fruitbat, I will try suggestions later and get back.

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terio

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Posted December 31, 2012 at 3:31PM

I have XP. I have tried the f8 and last known good config. No difference. I have opened computer, not too much dust.

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Fruit Bat /\0/\

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Posted December 31, 2012 at 4:00PM

If the computer is running and the monitor is showing same message I thing you are going to have to do a repair install

From the F8 menu can you boot into safemode?

If not then

Repair XP by install over the top of existing system

  1. Boot the computer using the XP CD. You may need to change the boot order in the system BIOS so the CD boots before the hard drive. Check your system documentation for steps to access the BIOS and change the boot order.

  2. When you see the "Welcome To Setup" screen, you will see This portion of the Setup program prepares Microsoft Windows XP to run on your computer:

To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.

To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R.

To quit Setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.

  1. Press Enter to start the Windows Setup.

To setup Windows XP now and Repair Install , press ENTER.

DO NOT choose "To repair a Windows XP installation using the Recovery Console, press R", (you Do Not want to load Recovery Console).

  1. Accept the License Agreement and Windows will search for existing Windows installations.

  2. Select the XP installation you want to repair from the list and press R to start the repair.

  3. Setup will copy the necessary files to the hard drive and reboot.

Do not press any key to boot from CD when the message appears.

Setup will continue as if it were doing a clean install, but your applications and settings will remain intact.

Repair XP http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

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terio

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Posted December 31, 2012 at 7:11PM

Although I have genuine XP, computer came ready loaded. I have no CD or any other recovery equipment. Can I download anything to the laptop I am using?

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Fruit Bat /\0/\

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Posted December 31, 2012 at 8:06PM

Can you get it to boot in safe mode?

Does it have a floppy drive? see here

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terio

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Posted January 1, 2013 at 1:41PM

It will not boot in safe mode. It does have a floppy drive.

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