Silentwolf

Hey all,

I've had a GeForce 8800 GTS 320 MB for over a year now, and had great use out of it. I've had no problems up until now, actually.

The nvidia card has been running on an XFX nForce 650i Ultra board. It takes up a PCI-e slot and has always had great performance.

Anyway, today I bought myself a gigabit ethernet adaptor, because my previous network card bit the dust. In order to get enough room to fit it into a PCI slot, I had to take out the 8800. Unscrewed it, got it out without issue. Put the new network card in, then put the graphics card back into its original spot.

This seemed a simple enough operation. I put the side of the case back on and turned it on... and the computer appeared to boot up... HDD light and plenty of activity, the DVD drive would open and close etc... but the monitor, when I turned it on, sprung to life briefly, displayed 'No Signal' and went into standby.

Alright, so something was wrong. I cracked open the case and took the network card back out, effectively restoring the system to how it was previously. Booted it... same problem. No signal.

So I thought somehow - much to my alarm - maybe I had somehow fried the gfx card. I use one of those weird anti-static wristbands, but my entire case is steel anyway, so generally static shouldn't be an issue. Nevertheless, I examined my card in detail.

For all intents and purposes, it appears to still be working. The fan on it is still spinning. I took out the auxillary power supply and started it up, and the alarm beeping went off to let me know it wasn't getting the power it needed. It SEEMS to be alive. Yet... the monitor receives no signal.

Next thoughts were monitor problem or cord problem. Yet, the monitor seems to work, just receives no signal. I switched DVI cords and still got nothing. Using a couple of converters I tried a makeshift VGA connection but no luck. There's no onboard display adaptor on the nForce 650i, so without my GeForce, I have no way of hooking a monitor up to it.

Lacking another computer to test the card in, or another device to test in the PCI-e slot in case somehow I'd broken that, I decided to clear the CMOS and re-sit the RAM, check all the power plugs, etc. All of this was to no avail. The only difference it made was after removing and replacing the CMOS battery, the computer no longer fully boots. I suspect that it's booting insofar as to reach a confirmation screen because the CMOS has been reset.

But the problem I'm having here is that everything appears to be working correctly. The hard drives are alive. The DVD drive is fine. All the cords are plugged in properly. Heck even the new network card, which I put back in there, is responding fine to having an rj45 plugged into it. The GeForce has its fan spinning as it would normally and squeals if aux power is taken away. Everything is going as it would normally... apart from the fact that the monitor isn't receiving any signal whatsoever from the computer.

Thinking perhaps that the DVI socket I was plugged into the gfx card was the problem, I tried plugging into the second DVI, but no luck.

Please, anyone, any suggestions or thoughts would be most welcome.

Thanks in advance. The poor laptop I'm using now keeps overheating, there's no way I can keep using it for what I need. I'm hoping not to have to replace anything... but really, I need a quick fix if I can get it.

~Wolfie

dai

what power supply
brand
wattage

check you have plugged any aux power plugs back in

do you get a screen in safe mode

Silentwolf

The powersupply is a Thermaltake Toughpower 750W. All the aux power plugs have been plugged back in.

The monitor is an Acer widescreen... something or other. The only thing I get when I turn it on is 'Acer' flashes, then it says 'No Signal' and goes into standby. That's all I get.

dai

have you tried safe mode
do you see the bios

Silentwolf

Re: Dai

While I'm fairly sure my system is booting, without a monitor, I'm incapable of seeing anything. I can't access the BIOS, I can't access Safe Mode - the monitor doesn't receive any kind of signal from the card, it doesn't display anything at all. I'm assuming the system is alive based on HDD activity and from everything appearing to work inside the case.

I can't do anything because I can't see.

Re: Colourscheme101

Yeah, your scenario does sound similar. Functioning card, up to date drivers, working computer - but no signal picked up by the monitor. It's a very frustrating situation, especially because you can't do anything without the ability to see!

dai

try another psu in it

Silentwolf

I would, but I don't have another psu available. The only way I could do that was if I actually went out and bought one.

dai

can you check yours with a multi meter

try the card in another computer

Silentwolf

What's a multi-meter?

I don't have another computer I can check it in, but tomorrow I'm going to take it into a repair place. They should be able to do the tests - other computer, other psu etc. - that are needed to at least diagnose the problem.

I'll report back to this thread any changes to or results from my situation.

Silentwolf

This issue has been resolved. It seems a replacement motherboard at an unfortunate but apparently inevitable cost has fixed it. Not the way I had hoped it would go, but that's life. Thanks for your help, though.

dai

glad you have it sorted and thanks for posting back you resolution