Computer booting up but no display on monitor? Possible dead graphics card?

[Haopeng Lin]

My computer boots up and my mouse and keyboard light up but it shows no display on the monitor. There's a little beep when I start and I've had a graphics card failure before and it's been fixed a while ago. Any way to fix this or possibly check if it's a dead graphics card?

 

[Joshua Martin]

Have you double checked if any PCIe power cables are loose? Have you tried the integrated graphics to see if that works?
Posting system specs always helps too.

 

[Haopeng Lin]

I got this computer as a gift so I'm not much of a computer guy. The computer is an Alienware X51. Nvidia GeForce GTX 760 card. Intel i7 4770 - 3.40ghz.

 

[Joshua Martin]

Try and plug your monitor into the integrated graphics port on the back of the PC and see if it boots?
You'll need to make sure that the power cable are correctly connected to the GPU as well.

 

[Haopeng Lin]

It's currently connected with a VGA if that changes anything.

 

[Joshua Martin]

It's currently connected with a VGA if that changes anything.

Ok, so there should be multiple spots to connect your monitor on the back of your PC.
The one closest to the audio jacks, USB ports and networks jacks will be the integrated graphics (most likely VGA).
Farther down (probably middle way) will be the GTX 760 ports (more than likely it has 3 or 4 DVI, HDMI, or Display Port).

Which of those are you connected to now?
Posting a picture would help.

 

[Haopeng Lin]

I connected using the VGa and haven't used the HDMI

 

[Haopeng Lin]

http://imgur.com/Yo6h1x1

 

[theunliked]

Can you take a picture of the whole rear of the computer?

 

[Joshua Martin]

http://imgur.com/Yo6h1x1

Take a picture of the whole rear of the PC.
Also, the picture you took doesn't have any VGA ports. Those are DVI-I, DVI-D, HDMI, and Display Port connections.

 

[Haopeng Lin]

http://imgur.com/IYF6XEG

 

[theunliked]

http://imgur.com/IYF6XEG

OK, plug the HDMI cable into the slot next to the USB ports. Plug the other end into the monitor and boot the PC up.

 

[Haopeng Lin]

My monitor doesn't accept HDMI. Which is why I used the other cable is the in the first place.

 

[Haopeng Lin]

Also the fans turn on instantly and are extremely loud.

 

[Haopeng Lin]

The only thing I notice is one beep.

 

[Eightbald]

My monitor doesn't accept HDMI. Which is why I used the other cable is the in the first place.

.
As Joshua said your PC doesn't have any VGA ports, those shown are HDMI, DVI and display port. If you are trying to connect a VGA monitor to one of these ports you will need an adapter (I currently have a DVI to VGA on my PC). Can you show a picture of how the monitor is currently connected to the PC - are you using an adapter of any kind?
Thanks

 

[Haopeng Lin]

I think it's the DVI cable then, but it's the top one in the pictures. My monitor is kind of old and takes VGA and DVI I guess. I don't think that has anything to do with fans running loud right?

 

[Eightbald]

I think it's the DVI cable then, but it's the top one in the pictures. My monitor is kind of old and takes VGA and DVI I guess. I don't think that has anything to do with fans running loud right?

which fans are loud? is it the GPU fans, case fans or CPU fan? You mentioned that you've had graphics card problems in the past and had them fixed - is that referring to this particular card, if so, when was the last time it functioned correctly?
If this is the first time using this card I would open the case and check that it is seated in the mobo correctly (after turning the power off and unplugging the power cord, safety first 🙂), then I would check that any cabling to and from the card is connected properly. once you are happy everything is connected I would boot up and try again.
Do you have a spare graphics card you could try?

 

[Haopeng Lin]

This is a replacement card I got with the warranty and I don't have a spare graphics card. I didn't check which fan but I just hear the fan. It's an Nvidia GeForce GTX 760

 

[Haopeng Lin]

Someone told me it might be a motherboard problem, any way to check this?

 

[BenClark98]

I don't know how much this will help but my son has been having similar problems.
Using a monitor connected to either VGA or DVI, the PC will boot, beep and then sit at a black screen with a mouse cursor only.
One thing I discovered, is if you connect an HDMI monitor (leave the VGA or DVI monitor connected, very important) then when you turn on the PC, it will now boot normally. Both monitors will work.
Now here is the weird part, if you un-plug the HDMI, the VGA or DVI monitor will go dead.
Plug the HDMI back in, both monitors come back.
We called Alienware support and they say we need to uninstall the NVidia drivers and install the latest ones from their web site.
If you click the 'System Scan' option, it will report that you don't have any NVidia hardware installed.
If you manually enter the NVidia information, it will give you a download. When you try to install the drivers, it tells you that your NVidia hardware is incompatible with the drivers.
We are running Windows 10 Pro x64 and tried those drivers, along with Win 8.1 drivers just for fun. They don't work.
My son is happy for now because Windows 10 has a NVidia driver that seems to work and he has a TV which accepts HDMI so he just plugs that in when he plays, still using the VGA monitor.
We will be calling Alienware support again. :-(
Hope this shines a little light on the issue, although it doesn't fix it.
Just a note: We also re-installed Windows 8.1 and Windows 7, both of them have the same issue, so its not the OS. Also, Alienware admitted that it's a design flaw in the hardware that causes this and the allusive drivers will supposedly fix it.