Monitor Stopped Working

Hello Everyone,

I had a computer that I built more than a year ago suddenly stop working. The monitor just stopped showing anything, and the light on it turned yellow. This happened after a USB game controller was connected to the system. I have since swapped around a working motherboard and CPU, and a different video card. The motherboard and CPU I swapped in were working before and after, but not with the monitor, the monitor works on a different computer, and the different video card works fine in a different computer. Can this just be a stick of memory not working any longer? I am at a loss. The only thing that is the same after swapping motherboards, cpus, video cards and monitors, is the memory. But I can't imagine why that would be the problem. Oh, and the computer boots, has full power, fans come on, and hard drives spin. Please help.

Hi christopherz and welcome to Dev Shed.

Does the machine boot fine just you can't see anything on the monitor ? Can you see the machine POST or get into the BIOS ?

Does your new motherboard have on-board video ?

Hi there and thanks for the welcome and the quick reply,

The machine seems to boot fine, but the monitor doesn't even wake up. No BIOS or anything. The monitor seems to know its hooked up to something, since its 'No Input Signal" message is gone, but the power button stays yellow. I turn it on, and it reverts to yellow a minute later. This same monitor works fine on another computer. Neither motherboard I've tried has on-board video.

Is this an CRT or TFT monitor ?

It is an LCD monitor. Connects to the video card through the standard CRT connection.

Do you get any beeps when the machine powers on ? Try running MemTest to test the memory and see if you get anything on screen then.

Also, ensure that all the components that you fitted are seated correctly, especially the CPU.

Everything is well-seated. There are no beeps when the computer is switched on. I am unsure how to run MemTest on the unit since I cannot get an image on the screen. I will try testing it in a different computer here. Can hooking up a USB Game Controller cause these issues?

It appears as though the memory was fine in the computer that won't recognize the monitor. I put the memory in another unit, and there were no problems. I swapped in a good memory card to the problem computer and it still has the same issue with the monitor. I am at a loss.

I don't see how a USB controller would cause that to happen to the monitor, especially when every component works in another machine.

Can you check the power switch on the front of your case and make sure that it isn't sticking ?

Nope, power switch isn't sticking.

Is this a problem that could be attributed to the motherboard in some way? Perhaps it shorted something when the USB Game Controller was plugged in. If that was the case, is there a way to reset the motherboard and start over? I'm wondering if somehow both motherboards are now defunct.

The motherboard is a DFI 865PE-TAG.

Did you ever have the game thingy plugged into the USB port on the new motherboard ? I was under the impression that you installed everything, switched it on and nothing would work ?

Anyway, if that was the case it wouldn't work in the other machine. Have you checked all power connections ?

Did you try removing the CMOS battery for 5 minutes and then replacing and then trying to boot ?

I believe you said you have tried a different monitor and video card...

Check for a bent over pin in the cable

have you tried a different slot-PCI/AGP ?

If the system does not post a visable display and you're positive the monitor is not the problem it has to be the bus (slot), the card, or a cable.

Something to try...remove the display adapter and boot the system without one...shut it down re-install the video card and restart the system.