Question hdmi signal lost

[galahad1313_13]

I've read many articles and have yet to get a definite answer as to the possible issue and resolution in my case. I've had some problem now for over 1-2 months but it's sporadic. I could go weeks without it happening then days where It's constantly shutting down my monitor with that message. If it was the hdmi patch cord I'd think it would happen more frequently or maybe I'm wrong. I can leave my computer on for hrs with no issue like today yet play a game and 10-15 mins the monitor shuts down with that message. I had my pc in the shop and apparently everything checked out fine.....I didn't quiz the techie as i should have about HOW he tested everything as it continued to happen after he brought it back the same day he returned it lol. then I went over 1 1/2 weeks without incident. The odd part that I've not seen mentioned anywhere is that after I shut the pc down and reboot, I get that 4 note chime that usually indicates that the pc has identified a new component.....which is rather odd. I've not yet tried a new patch cord but I've re-seated my gpu on multiple occasions and nothing. Still goes in spurts. I'm beginning to think that my gpu is simply getting old and is overheating perhaps(it's a radeon (R-200 series)card. Rather long in the tooth no doubt. Today it's Lotro, i log in, play for a few mins and during a cinematic part of the game boom! happens again, system idles for 1 hr after reboot, no problems, i play a different game, boom! happens again after 10 mins. sigh I'll still try the patch cord switch but I really fear it's my gpu as mentioned already.

 

[Mind Games]

I'm beginning to think that my gpu is simply getting old and is overheating perhaps(it's a radeon (R-200 series)card. Rather long in the tooth no doubt. Today it's Lotro, i log in, play for a few mins and during a cinematic part of the game boom! happens again, system idles for 1 hr after reboot, no problems, i play a different game, boom! happens again after 10 mins. sigh I'll still try the patch cord switch but I really fear it's my gpu as mentioned already.

Kudos for the troubleshooting you've done, I understand wanting to hope that its cable related and you did the due diligence in verifying connectivity and reseating components. I gather from the information you provided that this is a little bit older of a machine and as such this means dust, its very possible you could salvage your GPU by using compressed air and ensuring the vents are clean on the card (if the model has a case over it) if not and it looks pretty clean then you are experiencing an issue with a faulty GPU that may or may not be overheating to cause this issue. I'd ensure you are running the most up-to-date drivers on your components by searching online and getting the drivers from trusted websites, and ensure there is a decent airflow within the machine. You could further test the overheating issue by cold starting the machine (after it has been off for an hour or two) and immediately booting into a game. You'll need to time how long it takes before it shuts off during cinematic events. The longer your machine stays on, the hotter that card will get (well above room temperature is common for older cards), after your machine powers down the first time power it on again and time it again, if the time gets shorter you have a heating issue, if the time stays the same you have a hardware issue or overall an issue with that graphics card, both could potentially demand a replacement, but overheating is more manageable so I'd like for you to be able to save that money if you can and not just tell you to get a new card. There are also several tools online that let you view the temperature of your internal components, but I don't see your card or motherboard having that feature built into them if they are older so you probably wouldn't see any temps to report.


Any further issues let me know.

 

[galahad1313_13]

Kudos for the troubleshooting you've done, I understand wanting to hope that its cable related and you did the due diligence in verifying connectivity and reseating components. I gather from the information you provided that this is a little bit older of a machine and as such this means dust, its very possible you could salvage your GPU by using compressed air and ensuring the vents are clean on the card (if the model has a case over it) if not and it looks pretty clean then you are experiencing an issue with a faulty GPU that may or may not be overheating to cause this issue. I'd ensure you are running the most up-to-date drivers on your components by searching online and getting the drivers from trusted websites, and ensure there is a decent airflow within the machine. You could further test the overheating issue by cold starting the machine (after it has been off for an hour or two) and immediately booting into a game. You'll need to time how long it takes before it shuts off during cinematic events. The longer your machine stays on, the hotter that card will get (well above room temperature is common for older cards), after your machine powers down the first time power it on again and time it again, if the time gets shorter you have a heating issue, if the time stays the same you have a hardware issue or overall an issue with that graphics card, both could potentially demand a replacement, but overheating is more manageable so I'd like for you to be able to save that money if you can and not just tell you to get a new card. There are also several tools online that let you view the temperature of your internal components, but I don't see your card or motherboard having that feature built into them if they are older so you probably wouldn't see any temps to report.


Any further issues let me know.

Bit of an update. Later on in the day yesterday I booted up, let it sit there for an hr then tried a different game with the same results only this time I couldn't reboot at all. The monitor stayed black even as the computer seemed to be booting up. Worse this morning the computer wouldn't even turn on at 1st and after several attempts it finally started and shut itself off???? Could I be barking up the wrong tree and it's the power supply after all??? Would make sense as the gpu would require more power when it plays a game compared to just sitting idly or if I'm playing a graphic light game like hoyle cards which ran fine. If there's not enough power to draw on could it affect the gpu to shut down the monitor???/ Or am I just talking nonsense.

 

[Mind Games]

That's highly possible that its the PSU. With systems its a long process of elimination, sometimes you get lucky and narrow it down to a few core components and ultimately a single one (sometimes many). I recommend trying a different power supply or cable if possible.