PC Doesn't Pick Up Monitor After Windows Update

Discussion in 'Software' started by Mikal, Feb 17, 2011.

  1. Mikal

    Mikal Private E-2

    Hey, last night my PC finished a windows update (running Vista) and when I went to bed I let it install and then shut down. I turned my PC on today and it seems to boot fine (as in I can hear it boot) but my monitor doesn't have any picture, the power button just keeps flashing. (It's a Samsung monitor if that matters).

    I've unplugged the monitor from the PC and on the monitor it says that there is no signal and to check the cable, so there does seem to be some sort of connection but there is something stopping it from functioning correctly. I've tried restarting, turning power off but I don't know where to go from here.

    So just to re-iterate my point, there is a connection between the monitor and the PC but there is no visual display on the monitor, and all this happened after a Windows Update.

    If anyone has any advice that would be great, thanks.

    p.s. apologies if this should be in the hardware forum, just it happened after the windows update, rather than spontaneous, which is why I put it here.

    p.p.s. I have tried a different monitor, too.
     
  2. Baxter Stockman

    Baxter Stockman Private First Class

    Do you see the BIOS screen info during boot?

    Does the video cut out right as it is about to let you log in?
     
  3. Mikal

    Mikal Private E-2

    I see nothing at all. Its as if there is no monitor, even though it is connected.
     
  4. Baxter Stockman

    Baxter Stockman Private First Class

    Are you plugged into a seperate graphics card or is it a part of the motherboard?
     
  5. Mikal

    Mikal Private E-2

    I'm not sure to be honest, I assume whatever is standard. It's just it was fine yesterday and not today after I did an update. So nothing has been changed/knocked/moved about, so I'm not sure why it's not producing any display.
     
  6. Baxter Stockman

    Baxter Stockman Private First Class

    Are you sure the computer is booting?
    With no BIOS screen it doesn't sound like a driver issue.
     
  7. Mikal

    Mikal Private E-2

    It sounds like it's booting, but in all honesty I don't know what's happening or what's causing the problem. I don't know how to approach it. It just started after a windows update.
     
  8. The Shadow

    The Shadow Specialist

    Eliminate the probable, then the possible and whatever is left has to be the problem.

    It could be something as simple as a bad CMOS battery on your motherboard. Or even a bad ac to DC power supply.

    Knowing all the spec's on your PC would be beneficial to anyone trying to help you.

    If your PC is even booting to the BIOS, then you'll see the bios messages on your monitor. It sounds to me like your fans and hard drive motors are starting, but the motherboard is not booting at all.

    I was once given a little HP computer that appeared to be totally DEAD.
    I pulled out the CMOS battery and checked it and it was really BAD.
    (anything below 3.0 volts is considered BAD)
    I went out to the nearest drug store and picked up a new battery and went back and installed it and lo and behold, the little PC came back to life and ran as good as new.
    I didn't have the heart to tell the person that I fixed their old PC with a $3 battery.

    Give us more information about your PC. Eh?

    Cheers Mate!
    Shadow :)
     
  9. sach2

    sach2 Major Geek Extraordinaire

    Do you see anything on the monitor if you tap F8 immediately after turning on the PC?
     
  10. Caliban

    Caliban I don't need no steenkin' title!

    Since the problem occurred immediately after a Windows update, I'll follow up on sach2's question: if in fact you do reach the Advanced Boot Options screen after pressing <F8> upon startup, then use the arrow keys to highlight Last Known Good Configuration, and then press ENTER. Windows will then resume starting normally.

    If your computer has more than one operating system installed, use the arrow keys to highlight the operating system that you want to start by using Last Known Good Configuration, and then press ENTER. Windows will then resume starting normally.

    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Using-Last-Known-Good-Configuration
     
  11. Mikal

    Mikal Private E-2

    Unfortunately no luck with the F8 either. Tried a couple keyboards as well just in case. Just don't know why it would stop working after an update.

    It does feel like my monitor is waiting for some sort of signal from my PC.

    Thanks for the suggestions so far, throw anymore my way if you can think of any. Cheers.
     
  12. Baxter Stockman

    Baxter Stockman Private First Class

    Have you tried changing the CMOS battery? Its like an oversize watch battery.
     
  13. sach2

    sach2 Major Geek Extraordinaire

    I'm uncertain but since it correctly states no signal when not connected to the PC that implies it is getting some type of signal when it is connected to the PC. Unfortunately, it doesn't like the signal. That you can't see anything before Windows loads the display drivers is troublesome.

    Does your monitor have an Auto Adjust button (on the hopes that it is just a coincidence about the update)? http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...d=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&source=www.google.com
     
  14. Caliban

    Caliban I don't need no steenkin' title!

    What's the make and model # of your machine (please include any Service Tag #s), and the Vista version and Service Pack #?

    To follow up on the other suggestions:

    If this is a desktop, then power down and unplug the machine, use good anti-static protocols, and locate and remove the CMOS battery for several minutes (if you have access to a multimeter, then follow Asus' suggestion about checking the voltage). Reinstall the battery, power up and see if your symptoms have changed.

    If not, try rebooting and accessing your BIOS by tapping <F1>, <F2>, <F12>, <Ctrl>, <Del>, etc. upon startup - if you can furnish the make and model # of your machine, we should be able to tell you the exact key used to access BIOS.

    Edit: oops - sorry, guys - didn't see y'all lurking there.
     
  15. Mikal

    Mikal Private E-2

    Baxter Stockman: I haven't tried changing that. Can't say I know much about it. Is it easy enough to do if I search for some sort of guide?

    sach2: Yeah my monitor does have an auto adjust button which doesn't do anything. When I press the 'menu' button it comes up in the top corner has "TEST GOOD" and when I press another button (looks like a box with an arrow in) it comes up saying about check signal cable, but when I press it again it goes back to nothing, as if waiting for the PC signal again.

    Caliban: My machine is a custom build from PC Specialist, but i'm running Windows Vista Ultimate and the latest service pack (apologies for the poor info, I don't think to check some of these things!)

    I will have a go at the CMOS battery tomorrow and see if that helps. What sort of voltage should I be looking for also?

    Thanks again fellas.
     
  16. TimW

    TimW MajorGeeks Administrator - Jedi Malware Expert Staff Member

    Was it perhaps that same update as in this THREAD?
     
  17. Caliban

    Caliban I don't need no steenkin' title!

    Very easy, and here's a quick guide: http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000239.htm. You can also search YouTube for "CMOS Battery Replacement" for video tutorials.

    As The Shadow pointed out, most CMOS batteries are 3.0v lithiums - if it's reading below 2.9v or so, replace it. Most electronics shops, jewelry stores, and camera departments carry them.
     
  18. Mikal

    Mikal Private E-2

    In all honesty I don't know what the update was. Like them I have mine on automatic and let Windows take care of the important ones. So maybe that was the cause. Although it seems they were able to still use their monitor, even if it was barely visible.

    Caliban: Thanks for that info, will definitely try it out tomorrow and see how it goes.
     
  19. Baxter Stockman

    Baxter Stockman Private First Class

    Well, he can boot into safe mode. This guy can't.
     
  20. TimW

    TimW MajorGeeks Administrator - Jedi Malware Expert Staff Member

    I can only suggest that you make sure it isn't the monitor by hooking it up to a different computer.
     
  21. Caliban

    Caliban I don't need no steenkin' title!

    Please do. Also, after resetting or replacing the battery, do try to access your BIOS setup by trying those keys (and any others you can think of) - that's going to be a crucial step in this troubleshooting process.

    @Tim - Mikal did try another monitor, no luck. I've got a feeling the update may have been a coincidence, but we've first got to get into his setup to get a bootable Windows.
     
  22. Belladona

    Belladona Private E-2

    Hi all,

    Replying to this because exactly the same thing happened to me last week; set Windows updates to run & automatically shut down then left it to get on with it. Came to turn it on a day or so later - heard the system boot up, heard the Windows music through the speakers - but not a peep from the monitor - absolutely nothing at all - the PC DOES boot as normal but DOES NOT wake the monitor up (although the monitor does it's diagnostic test when unplugged from the PC - so it knows when it's been disconnected).

    System info;
    Dell Dimension E521 - service tag 6TZ5Y2J.
    Windows Vista Home Premium SP2.
    Graphics card - Radeon X1300/X1550

    I am using the computer in question right now by plugging the monitor into the on board video card (Nvidia GeForce 6150) instead of the Radeon card.

    MONITOR TEST - monitor is fine; I tested it on another PC and am using it now.
    GRAPHICS CARD - I tried an alternative graphics card - still nothing.
    BATTERY - removed the motherboard battery and left it out for 10 mins - no change.

    It's as if the computer can no longer see the graphics card at all - it no longer shows up in hardware manager. I'm baffled. Next thing I'm going to try is a roll back to before the Windows update.
     
  23. TimW

    TimW MajorGeeks Administrator - Jedi Malware Expert Staff Member

    Let us know if a system restore works. Yes, it's an old thread, but let's at least find out what does and doesn't work. :major
     
  24. techsent

    techsent Corporal

    Hey Mikal,

    You may want blindly try a system restore in safe mode. For this to work requires timing and assumptions that you are on the right screens.

    example:

    1. power up the computer and after a few seconds (or immediately after your hear the boot beep sound, if applicable), press the F8 key a few times.
    2. Now hopefully you're at the command prompt boot options screen. Since the First entry at the top is Repair Your Computer, you'll have to press the down arrow key once to get to the safe mode entry. Next, press enter to start safe mode. after 1 minute, you should be at the login screen.
    A. If there is no other user account on the computer and the user account does not have a password, Press enter.
    B. If there is no other user account on the computer but the user account has a password, press enter once on the keyboard, type in the password and then press enter again.
    C. If there is more than one user account on the computer, then other steps are needed.
    3. Now hopefully you've logged onto your desktop in safe mode.
    4. Next, Hold down the Windows key on the keyboard and then press the letter R. This will bring up the Run window. type in rstrui.exe and then press enter.
    5. System Restore will start up and default to restoring the Recommended Restore Point. Press enter and then press enter again.
    6. System Restore will complete and auto reboot the pc.
    7. Hopefully at this point things are viewable again.

    Please note

    when pressing enter during the steps above give it a few seconds until the next action is done. this will increase the likelyhood that you're on the right screen or dialog window.

    The steps above were done on my Windows 7 Ultimate install. Maybe someone who has Vista can adjust the steps if needed.
     
  25. Belladona

    Belladona Private E-2

    Hi again

    Windows restore did nothing for me so I'm back with more info and a possible theory...

    I have found three or four other posts from people who have experienced a very similar thing - for a couple of them it happened after a Windows update, for another it just happened after the PC was waking up from hibernation without a Windows update.

    One particular post (here: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...5-91b7be8fda87?page=1&tm=1310284579639#footer) is from a person who mentions that one of the optional Windows updates was for his on-board graphics card.

    I have also found that one of my optional updates is/was for my on-board graphics card (not sure if this was the case before the slot stopped working, but it is now). I have also found that none of the Windows updates were actually successful so I'm not convinced that the Windows updates actually caused the problem.

    When I first plugged the monitor into the on-board card I found that Windows was trying to install drivers for the 'new' hardware (the on-board video adapter) - is that because it detected that I had plugged the monitor into that socket or because the PCI-E slot was no longer working, causing it to activate/find the on-board adapter?

    My current, slightly confused theory is this; The PCI-E slot stopped working on it's own while hibernating for whatever reason (although it still has power, because the fan on the other card I tried spins and the monitor knows when it's been unplugged), causing the on-board graphics card to kick in, causing Windows to 'find' it and offer an optional update.

    To me this makes more sense than unsuccessful Windows updates killing the slot. Does that make sense to anyone?
     
  26. JohnnyMuffins

    JohnnyMuffins Private E-2

    I just got the same problem today. After MS Windows Update for vista I could no longer see my monitor no matter what I did. After about an hour of reading these forums and others I decided to try something stupid:

    Turned off my computer completely (unplugged)

    removed my video card completely

    turned my computer back on

    Turned it off,

    Placed my video card back in

    rebooted and it worked!

    It seems that it was forced to recognize the card again.

    Hope this helps someone if they ever get this problem
     
  27. michel123456

    michel123456 Private E-2

    Right. Same problem, same solution.
    My graphic card was on the motherboard. I opened the tower, installed an old obsolete graphic card, plugged the monitor on the obsolete graphic card, turned the PC on (nothing was resolved, display still black),turn the PC off, then unscrew and remove the obsolete. Finally plugging the display in the correct one (as it was in the beginning) and everything fine.
    Thank you JohnnyMuffins. You saved me today.
     

MajorGeeks.Com Menu

Downloads All In One Tweaks \ Android \ Anti-Malware \ Anti-Virus \ Appearance \ Backup \ Browsers \ CD\DVD\Blu-Ray \ Covert Ops \ Drive Utilities \ Drivers \ Graphics \ Internet Tools \ Multimedia \ Networking \ Office Tools \ PC Games \ System Tools \ Mac/Apple/Ipad Downloads

Other News: Top Downloads \ News (Tech) \ Off Base (Other Websites News) \ Way Off Base (Offbeat Stories and Pics)

Social: Facebook \ YouTube \ Twitter \ Tumblr \ Pintrest \ RSS Feeds