Question Cannot get video signal from old PC

[pointtopoint]

I've acquired an old PC system that I know little or nothing about. It powers up okay, and the BIOS gives a single beep. I've been through the sticky at the start of this forum.

I've connected two separate working monitors to the two DVI ports on the graphics card. In one case, I used a DVI to SVGA adapter, and in the other, a DVI to HDMI adapter. I couldn't get a signal in either case.

The onboard SVGA port seems to be a male rather than female connector, and I don't know why that is.

Does anyone have a suggestion for what I might do with the system next to try and get a video signal and find out more about it? Any help would be great, thanks.

 

[TerryLaze]

The onboard SVGA port seems to be a male rather than female connector, and I don't know why that is.

That's because that's a serial port.
Have you tried those adaptors before? You sure they are working with your monitor?
A single beep means it booted normally if you connect speakers and it has an OS installed you could check if it reaches desktop because you would hear the startup sound.

 

[pointtopoint]

Okay. It now powers up, but there is no single beep and no signal to a working monitor, despite trying several different cables.

If I remove the two RAM sticks, it powers up and gives three long beeps. If I replace them, it goes back to silence, no video signal and it may or may not recognise the keyboard.

Is this likely a problem with the RAM sticks and one or both of them needing to be replaced?

Thanks.