Video Card Crash?

Today, while I was in another room, I heard my computer make a terribly annoying buzzing sound. The sound lasted about five to seven seconds, and was over before I could get to the computer, so I couldn't tell if it was coming from the speakers or the tower itself. Now, my monitor receives no signal from my computer. Naturally, I assume this is a video card situation, but there's no reason I can think of that this would have happened. This seems to be the end in a few problems I've been having in the past few days. A couple days ago, my computer froze at the BIOS startup screen, just after the processor loaded. Earlier today, my monitor failed to receive a signal from the computer, but after a reboot, it worked fine. I haven't had the chance to try my computer with a different video card or on a different monitor, so I'm really just looking for conjectures as to what could have caused this. Specs are below. Thanks for your time.

Processor: AMD Athlon 2500+ Barton
Mobo: Epox EP-8RDA+ (nForce2 U400 chipset)
Video Card: ATI Radeon 8500 LE
120 gig WD HD
1 gig RAM

I built this computer a couple years ago, and ran into a problem last year with the video card. At that time, I was using an nVidia card, but ran into a similar problem. That was when I switch to this video card, which has been working fine for the past year. All of the fans and drives seem to be running properly, but since I have no visual output, I can't say for sure. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

Forgot to mention I'm running Windows XP Home, Professional.

 

i see your board has a P80P Diagnostic LED.I believe there should be 4 LEDS on the back side of the PC that show up in red and green LED in a cetain sequence that tell you certain problems while the system is posting.If you have the LED on the back of the PC let me know,and i can help you from there..

 

Aha, hadn't thought to look at that. It reads "CF," instead of the normal "FF."

 

Also, I've noticed that it no longer emits the standard beep when it boots up. I have a feeling that's not a good thing...

 

what code is it giving you CF? and no beep?..no post etc....?try resetting cmos,then we can go from there..

 

what code is it giving you CF? and no beep?..no post etc....?try resetting cmos,then we can go from there..QUICK QUESTION.Do you have the owners guide for your mother board? If so,see what exactly CF means,there should be a refrence page to what certain codes mean...If u need help i can try and find the Guide for you..

 

http://www.cluboc.net/reviews/motherboards/epox/ep-8rda/page2.htm

 

The manual deals with POST codes in two sections, so "CF" is discussed twice. First, in an FAQ section, it gives a list of problems: 1. BIOS chip inserted incorrectly, 2. Incorrect BIOS update version, 3. Mainboard problem, 4. Add-on card inserted incorrectly. Later, in the listing of all the codes, it reads "Test CMOS R/W Functionality." What seems to be the culprit?

 

I would 1st reset the CMOS...If you don't know how..refer to your Owners Guide,its a simple task..then we can go from there..

 

I've just completed resetting the CMOS (I removed the battery for half an hour, and reset the CMOS jumper). I still get no response from the monitor, and the tower still doesn't beep, but the POST code has changed to "C1," which is described as follows:

Detect Memory
-Auto-detection of DRAM size, type and ECC
-Auto-detection of L2 Cache (socket 7 or below)

I'm a little wary of these POST codes, though. After replacing the CMOS battery, it gave "26," to which a value is not assigned in the manual, and the first time booted after resetting the jumpers, it gave "01," which is described as "Expand the Xgroup codes locating in physical address 1000:0." I'm not sure what to make of all this.

 

wich code i it freezing on? when you system hangs what code is it giving you...i know you got more codes after cmos reset but what is it hanging on now....

 

It's hanging on C1.

 

did you check your memory sticks?

 

was about to mention memory sticks,if your able to switch them and see....I would pull the computer apart just leave the mobo cpu and memory,and see if it posts

 

I've stripped the mobo bare, leaving only the cpu, memory, and power supply, but no POST. I've also tried booting with only one of the sticks of memory, to see if one is corrupt. I talked to the tech guys at my school, and the best advice they could give was to try a different video card. But could a bad video card keep a computer from POSTing?

I'm headed home this weekend to try a spare video card out, but until then, does anyone have any other suggestions?

And thanks to everyone who's been helping me

 

it could very well keep you from posting..BUT if you want my Honest opinion..i think your main board is done...that loud buzzing noise was your cpu fan i bet...when my 1st board fried on me it made a buzz saw sound and the fan voltage jumped to 12v and then thats all she wrote..

 

Yeah, that sounds reasonable. Assuming the board is dead, how do I go about replacing it? I assume I'll need to wipe the hard drive clean to install a new motherboard, but I would really like back up my files. Do I have any options there?

 

Bump

 

not really,unless you had a RAID controller mirroring all your files...If theres nothing really important id say just wipe it clean..I mirror all my files so i never had this problem..Maybe someones else can help you with data recovery...And as for the main board being fried,look at it this way..think of all the fun you get to have building a new PC,as long as you are ok financialy,it should be a fun experence.....GL and message me if u need any tips,i dont know everything but i know enough......good day

 

I finally got the chance to swap video cards. The computer still doesn't POST, but I'm getting a signal to the monitor. It's just the readout of the video card:

NV36 P190 SKU003 VGA BIOS
Version...
Copyright...
128.0MG RAM

Assuming the motherboard did indeed commit suicide, could it have taken the old video card with it?

 

Well, on the second boot, I got no signal to the monitor. Beats me.


Also, for the hard drive, would a repair installation fix the problem if I run it right after installing the motherboard?