PC monitor says 'No signal' - help!

pixiechick99

Hi there,
My PC was working fine last night...went to put it on today and the monitor comes on, then says 'No signal' and goes into standby. I've tried another monitor and another cable, but same problem.
I'm now worried myPC has had it, its a few years old now but has loads of photos on that i've not saved to disk yet..and some college work I did over the weekend and haven't saved to memory stick or printed yet..arghh.
Does anyone have any ideas? I'm not very technical so would PC World be able to sort it?!!

Thanks...

isofa

Assuming you can hear the PC running and the ticking of the hard disc as it loads the system? If so then it's likely to be a graphics card failure rather than the whole PC.

If you hear nothing and nothing comes on when you try and start it up, it could be the power supply in the PC (or even something as simple as the fuse!)

Joe_Bloggs

It sounds as if you have no output from your video card. If the video card is a 'slot in type' then it may have been levered out of its slot by the thick video cable. See if you open the case and can push the card back into the slot from the top of the card.
PS perhaps you can quote the model number of your PC if it has one. Also what other activity does the PC do when you switch on.
J_B.
Like what isofa said.

pixiechick99

Hi there,
Thanks for those quick replies.
The PC is a Packard Bell imedia H1509 - it is over 3years old but runs well, still quick and haven't had a problem in ages.
When the power goes on the PC sounds normal, there is no initial beep though, but apart from that you can hear it working and light on asnormal.
I'm not sure about the video card..as I said, not very technical! I've studiedthe back of PC, all looks normal, do I need to open the back to access video card?
Sorry if I sound daft...I really appreciate the help. I'm just in a flap as I need my college work asap!!

Joe_Bloggs

This site was very informative. It does appear that it is a Nvidia 6200 slot in type video adapter card. I have also known computers fail to boot from duff keyboards and mice. In effect any problematic peripheral can drag down the whole system. Sometimes it can be instructive to eliminate what you don't need and add them back one by one.
J_B.
PS (I hope my embedded links work.)
On further reading it may also have a different video card and an on board video adapter as well. When in doubt a visual inspection to identify the likely offending parts is the way to go.
J_B.

Classy_Chick06

My monitor also does this and i find if i leave it a while after switching it on at the plug (about 5-10 mins) before i press the button on the tower it usually boots up fine.

matty2767

if the graphics card isnt seated properly you should get a series of beeps when you attempt to boot.

pixiechick99

I've had a look inside, pushed the video card intoplace but still no joy. I'm not sure what else I can do so will have to pay PC World to have a go..! I just need the work on it soon, how really annoying!!
Thanks for the help...

pixiechick99

matty2767 wrote: »

if the graphics card isnt seated properly you should get a series of beeps when you attempt to boot.

no beeps at all....

pixiechick99

TorrestheGreat wrote: »

You have removed the PC from the mains havent you, for like 30 seconds? Then tried a restart

Yes, disconnected everything, left it off, plugged all back in, still no signal to monitor.
Thanks

Joe_Bloggs

The work in question is on a hard drive inside the computer. You could access this hard drive with another PC and retrieve the information you require. This must be done in a responsible manner so that the different PC can still access the other drives necessary for its normal operation. Transferring the drive to an external drive caddy in an other alternative.
If I was trying to fix a similar problem then I would have removed all cables from all drives as they are not required to verify that the system can POST.(power on self test). You don't need the keyboard or mouse as there is no operating system to respond to it.
My ancient motherboard will flash LEDs according to what it finds wrong. It will even report these errors in 6 Channel surround sound.
J_B.