No screen at all, no splash. no signal

Howdy
Turned off the system 2 nites ago and next morning I power up and the green power light goes on but I don't get a red flash from the HD but the HD starts spinning and fans run a short beep at the start as normal but I get no screen at all or keyboard control. The keyboard lights flash once on powerup but the num lock and others won't light when I press them.
intel D915GVWB
P4
2gb Ram
XP home

Tried attaching a different monitor and keyboard to no avail.
Tried reseating the RAM no avail
Tried a new cmos battery and it ran for a day then the next day I get the no screen signal again.
Tried a new video card today. No avail
Tried a different power supply no avail
My flat screen says no signal.
I get no splash screen or anything at all. I hoped the new video card would have done something but noooooooooo:cry

Am I looking at getting a new motherboard?
Thanks
Eddie

 

Just in case it is a corrupt driver causing the problem does it boot into Safe Mode?

 

Sounds like everything boots but nothing at all on the screen. Can't even see safe mode. monitor says no signal.

 

OK the fact that you say it POSTs correctly and gives a single beep means that the PC per se is booting correctly and the fact that you've tried a different video card and you're getting a no signal message on the monitor could very well mean the cable between the monitor and the PC has a fault. Unplug the end from the PC and check the none of the pins are bent and if the monitor end is removeable then check that too.

When you tried a different monitor was that with its own cable or the same cable used with the original monitor?

 

I tried different cables also. No help.
I ended up ordering a new motherboard and will try installing it.
I talked with the guy that built my system and he said that if I replaced the CMOS battery and the system worked for a while then went out it means the mother or CPU is usually toast.
I'll take mine with butter please! I'll find out when the new board gets here.
Thanks
Eddie

 

Good luck. Let us know how it turns out.

 

Got the new motherboard in today. When I pulled the P4 out there's some grey stuff on the outside of the top. Is this regular stuff for insulation or anything?

I put everything back together and hit the power button. 1st few tries I get the intel screen for about 10 secs and the system shuts itself off. Realized I had swapped bays for the hard drive so I changed the connector to the right port.
Next tries it got to the XP screen and shut off. At least I get a screen now.

Got a cpu thermal event message on boot.
Well the cpu fan wasn't locked down all the way!
Locked it down and will see what happens now.
Tx
Eddie

 

The gray stuff should be thermal grease, which helps conduct heat from the CPU to the heat sink. If you've never seen this before then I'm guessing you've never manually replaced a motherboard. If that's the case your new problems could be quite a few different things if you didn't hook something up correctly.

You should also look at putting a new coat of grease on the CPU, instructions should come on the pack. Also make sure that the motherboard is fitted exactly correct and none of it is touching metal from the case, as it could short it out.

Others might be able to point out something more specific though. It sounds like it's overheating but inadequate thermal grease shouldn't cause it to overheat that quickly as long as the fan is on properly.

 

Thanks for the info on the grease.
The fan was not seated properly.
Now everythings works right.
I never replaced the motherboard before, just replaced other items and stuff.
I'm somewhat tech inclined and was sure to label everything on the old one and the connecting wires so I didn't forget what I had to do

Nice to have my system back. I was using an old compaq <yeauuuucK!!!!> in the down time.

I appreciate everyone's help here.

 

Sweet, glad to hear it. :-D

 

Well it is a moot point, but based upon all the items you ruled out I would guess either you had a memory problem that interfered with your video signal (not likely since you got the single long beep) -- but it would have been interesting to pull all but one stick. Test. Repeat with another stick, in a different slot. Test.

I suspect your Northbridge went bad or the voltage to it dropped below a level it could run at (since you replaced the PSU the latter is unlikely unless a trace went bad).

I suppose the last item I might have tried would be to nuke the CMOS settings and go back to a optimal or safe default (if you got a video screen back to enter the BIOS). I doubt you had much overclocking on a i915. If you did, over time sometimes the dust and aging will actually boost voltages until the equipment gets unstable, and backing down performance settings can restore them.

 

im having the same problem shut my computer down and on restart the keyboard flashes once then nothing(the caps and number lock light dont work either)and the monitor does nothing except give a no signal for a second then goes blank.

please tell me its not the mother board.

im running a hp pavillion m8020n with a nvidia 8600gtoc video card

any help would be great

 

Welcome to the forums biti, but please start a new thread of your own rather than hijack someone elses. Thanks,

 

ok i will do that from now on thank you.
the problem was my video card.