I have a desktop and i went out before, but my roommate was in the room, and he said all of a sudden, the screen goes blank and all the things like music and stuff going on my computer just stopped, and the screen said no signal, yet the cpu was still on and running as if there was no cord to the display. However since all the apps i had going on just stopped im guessing it is something with the cpu. i tried everything i could think of, restarting, switching cables, etc etc, yet the screen always read that there was no signal. so im guessing something majorly fucked up with the cpu but no clue what i can do to fix it if it isnt even outputting anything.

any ideas?

4/8/2008 12:04:35 AM

It's your monitor

4/8/2008 12:20:58 AM

It's your monitor or video card. Do you get any BIOS beeps right after powering on the PC?

4/8/2008 12:25:00 AM

how would the monitor effect any type of sound coming from the cpu?

4/8/2008 12:25:14 AM

i actually have a video card i put in there myself, that was a really good one at the time (few years ago) but cant remember the name. but wouldnt changing the cable from the monitor to the video card to the monitor to the reg. slot on the back of the cpu be a difference, enough to make the monitor work?

4/8/2008 12:28:34 AM

so i just tried hooking everything up to my tv monitor and same problem. when i power on the cpu, it almost sounds like it is running nothing, loading nothing, like you would normally here.
so whats up?

4/8/2008 12:42:57 AM

Quote :

"how would the monitor effect any type of sound coming from the cpu?"

you never said anything about sound coming from the CPU, you said:

Quote :

"yet the cpu was still on and running as if there was no cord to the display."

open up the case, see if all the fans are spinning.

4/8/2008 12:59:14 AM

all fans were still spinning

4/8/2008 1:01:42 AM

^^ from the first post

Quote :

"he said all of a sudden, the screen goes blank and all the things like music and stuff going on my computer just stopped"

[Edited on April 8, 2008 at 9:25 AM. Reason : -]

4/8/2008 9:25:13 AM

I dont think its the cpu because they usually dont go bad from just normal tasks. Im guessing bad ram or bad mobo. It sounds like the power supply and video card should still be ok.

4/8/2008 10:11:50 AM

So running through the possibilities ...

If it's a RAM issue, the computer will attempt to start, but still should show a memory failure on boot, at the very least, it shouldn't affect the boot screen. You might even be lucky enough to get a beep code out of it.

If it's a CPU issue, the motherboard most likely will not post or display anything to screen and you (most definitely should) get a beep code. Note this won't be the same beep code, and if you have an OEM computer (ie Dell, e-machines, etc) you might not be able to find documentation for this beep code and should call the manufacturer. But it's still worth searching for, IF you are getting a beep code anyway. But it doesn't sound like you are.

So I'm ruling out bad RAM and CPU.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm reading your description as saying that your computer is doing nothing apart from passing nothing to the screen and spinning up the fans, is that correct?

You have a bad motherboard.

4/8/2008 10:39:03 AM

let's clear things up too. cpu does not mean computer. cpu is the processor. sounds do not come from the processor... sounds come from fans, speakers, moving parts...etc.

if all the fans are spinning, and you don't have any BIOS beep codes, and all your hard drives spin up and seems to be running normal ALL EXCEPT the video, chances are the video card, or it could be the motherboard.

next thing i would try would be to reset the BIOS using the jumper

[Edited on April 8, 2008 at 10:49 AM. Reason : .]

4/8/2008 10:42:05 AM

alright.... well before i when i was talking about sound, it was the actual sound (ie. music) coming out of my speakers...and it stopped playing the same time the screen lost display. It is an emachine and have not been getting any beeps. I just got back from the computer repair place, and after telling him what happened, he mentioned how it might be the motherboard, along with a few other things, such as even though it is booting, doesnt mean that the power supply is good, along with RAM. So im going to guess it is one of those 3 things, most likely being the mother board.
How much am i looking at to replace that?

4/8/2008 10:46:40 AM

on an e-machine? not sure you'll have to see if it's a proprietary board or not. if it's not most motherboards are $50-$90 for the parts, power supply i'd gather is most certainly a custom-size as well.... this is where google is your friend.

^and i'd doubt it's RAM, chances are it's motherboard or power supply related... since you said it doesn't sound like everything is starting up i'd rule out the video-related problems...

[Edited on April 8, 2008 at 10:52 AM. Reason : .]

4/8/2008 10:51:05 AM