I'm exhausted on this. Determined to get this solved! I'm not a super-deep tech guy, but I have always managed to fix my own computer issues (since 1985 btw) by googling the issue and with the help of others.
Specs:
Windows 7- 64 bit, 16 gig RAM, Intel® Core™ i7-2600 quad-core processor with Turbo-Boost [up to 3.8GHz, 8MB cache]; Viewsonic displays (running dual), 3GB DDR3 NVIDIA GeForce GT 440 [DVI, HDMI, VGA]
Motherboard: IPIs8-CH2 "Chicago".
Original Problem:
My desktop displays went dark. (I use dual display setup... 2 - 1 through vga, 1 through DVI) This happened about a month or so ago after a Windows update. At that time, repeated boots brought me back to the screen and I did a host of things: several virus/trojan/malware scans, checkdisk, checked the GPU temps (normal)... and then everything ran normally up until 3 days ago. The GPU looked fine at the time according to fairly low temps. All has been running normally. I'm a photographer and do heavy work in Photoshop and because of my blogging, tend to keep lots of tabs open in my browser. All ran normally... up until 3 days ago...
Current Problem:
Both monitors show "no signal" and are black. I've tested on another computer... Monitors are both fine. Cables too. The PC seems fine otherwise... while the displays were black, I could occasionally hear the Windows start-up music. Good news (pc not dead), but still black displays.
Here's what I tried so far:
Pulled the cmos battery to reset.
Shorted the cmos battery to reset.
several keyboard routines to reset.
Swapped video card to one I had bought a while ago and never used. Still black.
Swapped video card for NEW card I bought at Best Buy. Still black.
Finally realized there were DVI ports (covered from view by black plastic tabs) and managed to boot and can see the desktop. Immediately updated the BIOS. The BIOS installed fine. I checked its settings... all looks OK.
OK... so at least I can see, but I can't work at this crappy, distorted resolution from the integrated video.
Seeing that the PC can at least boot normally into Windows was comforting, but of course, BUT the onboard graphics makes everything run slow--lagging screen updates and out of proportion image.
I re-tested by reinstalling my original graphics card... and then the brand new one, but nothing. Still won't display.... shows "No signal" just before going black. The drives and fans run, I'll even hear the Windows music.
After this, I removed the ram (4 boards) one by one, booted... still black. So, it's nothing to do with RAM it seems. I then checked all cable connectors, pressing cards, power cables, etc. Nothing. .... Oh, and BTW, I cleaned the inside of the machine like crazy. It wasn't all that dusty, but I blew out everything. It's a clean machine.
What next? I know the PC works... but can't get the video signal to the monitors.
I've GOOGLED like crazy and watched dozens of Youtube videos, but at this point, I have no idea what to try next, although I'm suspecting that something (a bad Windows update... which I did just before all this happened) might have changed some registry values--which I would need help in checking. I'm not afraid to go into the registry, but just need someone who REALLY KNOWS what keys to check.
I'd hate to lose this machine... it's a powerhouse for my Pshop work. Please help so I don't have to cave in and bring it to a shop or (gulp) the Geek squad!
Help... please.
UPDATE 12/3/18:
More info on my problem.
Today I managed to download the Nvidia driver... it installed on the drive, but doesnt show up in programs. Also, when I booted with the Nvida plugged into the PCI-E slot, the monitor still came up black (no signal) within a few seconds.
I also noticed that even though the card is plugged firmly into the PCI-E clot, the fan on the card isn't running.
Next, I just just found this info when checking out the system in the Windows 7 Action center:
Description
A problem with your video hardware caused Windows to stop working correctly.
Problem signature
Problem Event Name: LiveKernelEvent
OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.256.48
Locale ID: 1033
Files that help describe the problem
WD-20181128-0034.dmp
sysdata.xml
WERInternalMetadata.xml
View a temporary copy of these files
Warning: If a virus or other security threat caused the problem, opening a copy of the files could harm your computer.
Extra information about the problem
BCCode: 117
BCP1: FFFFFA801F802420
BCP2: FFFFF8800F42AE14
BCP3: 0000000000000000
BCP4: 0000000000000000
OS Version: 6_1_7601
Service Pack: 1_0
Product: 256_1
Performance Information and Tools
Component Details Subscore Base score Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2600 CPU @ 3.40GHz 7.6 1.0 Determined by lowest subscore Memory (RAM) 16.0 GB 7.6 Graphics 1.0 Gaming graphics Not detected 1.0 Primary hard disk 1153GB Free (1851GB Total) 5.9 Windows 7 Professional
System
Manufacturer Hewlett-Packard Model h8-1070t Total amount of system memory 16.0 GB RAM System type 64-bit operating system Number of processor cores 4 Storage
Total size of hard disk(s) 4192 GB Disk partition (C
1153 GB Free (1851 GB Total) Disk partition (D 1 GB Free (12 GB Total) Disk partition (E 1400 GB Free (1863 GB Total) Disk partition (F 352 GB Free (466 GB Total) Media drive (G CD/DVD Graphics
Total available graphics memory Not detected Dedicated graphics memory 0 MB Dedicated system memory 0 MB Shared system memory 0 MB Display adapter driver version 6.1.7600.16385 Primary monitor resolution 1280x1024 DirectX version DirectX 8 or earlier Network
Network Adapter Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
Specs:
Windows 7- 64 bit, 16 gig RAM, Intel® Core™ i7-2600 quad-core processor with Turbo-Boost [up to 3.8GHz, 8MB cache]; Viewsonic displays (running dual), 3GB DDR3 NVIDIA GeForce GT 440 [DVI, HDMI, VGA]
Motherboard: IPIs8-CH2 "Chicago".
Original Problem:
My desktop displays went dark. (I use dual display setup... 2 - 1 through vga, 1 through DVI) This happened about a month or so ago after a Windows update. At that time, repeated boots brought me back to the screen and I did a host of things: several virus/trojan/malware scans, checkdisk, checked the GPU temps (normal)... and then everything ran normally up until 3 days ago. The GPU looked fine at the time according to fairly low temps. All has been running normally. I'm a photographer and do heavy work in Photoshop and because of my blogging, tend to keep lots of tabs open in my browser. All ran normally... up until 3 days ago...
Current Problem:
Both monitors show "no signal" and are black. I've tested on another computer... Monitors are both fine. Cables too. The PC seems fine otherwise... while the displays were black, I could occasionally hear the Windows start-up music. Good news (pc not dead), but still black displays.
Here's what I tried so far:
Pulled the cmos battery to reset.
Shorted the cmos battery to reset.
several keyboard routines to reset.
Swapped video card to one I had bought a while ago and never used. Still black.
Swapped video card for NEW card I bought at Best Buy. Still black.
Finally realized there were DVI ports (covered from view by black plastic tabs) and managed to boot and can see the desktop. Immediately updated the BIOS. The BIOS installed fine. I checked its settings... all looks OK.
OK... so at least I can see, but I can't work at this crappy, distorted resolution from the integrated video.
Seeing that the PC can at least boot normally into Windows was comforting, but of course, BUT the onboard graphics makes everything run slow--lagging screen updates and out of proportion image.
I re-tested by reinstalling my original graphics card... and then the brand new one, but nothing. Still won't display.... shows "No signal" just before going black. The drives and fans run, I'll even hear the Windows music.
After this, I removed the ram (4 boards) one by one, booted... still black. So, it's nothing to do with RAM it seems. I then checked all cable connectors, pressing cards, power cables, etc. Nothing. .... Oh, and BTW, I cleaned the inside of the machine like crazy. It wasn't all that dusty, but I blew out everything. It's a clean machine.
What next? I know the PC works... but can't get the video signal to the monitors.
I've GOOGLED like crazy and watched dozens of Youtube videos, but at this point, I have no idea what to try next, although I'm suspecting that something (a bad Windows update... which I did just before all this happened) might have changed some registry values--which I would need help in checking. I'm not afraid to go into the registry, but just need someone who REALLY KNOWS what keys to check.
I'd hate to lose this machine... it's a powerhouse for my Pshop work. Please help so I don't have to cave in and bring it to a shop or (gulp) the Geek squad!
Help... please.
UPDATE 12/3/18:
More info on my problem.
Today I managed to download the Nvidia driver... it installed on the drive, but doesnt show up in programs. Also, when I booted with the Nvida plugged into the PCI-E slot, the monitor still came up black (no signal) within a few seconds.
I also noticed that even though the card is plugged firmly into the PCI-E clot, the fan on the card isn't running.
Next, I just just found this info when checking out the system in the Windows 7 Action center:
Description
A problem with your video hardware caused Windows to stop working correctly.
Problem signature
Problem Event Name: LiveKernelEvent
OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.256.48
Locale ID: 1033
Files that help describe the problem
WD-20181128-0034.dmp
sysdata.xml
WERInternalMetadata.xml
View a temporary copy of these files
Warning: If a virus or other security threat caused the problem, opening a copy of the files could harm your computer.
Extra information about the problem
BCCode: 117
BCP1: FFFFFA801F802420
BCP2: FFFFF8800F42AE14
BCP3: 0000000000000000
BCP4: 0000000000000000
OS Version: 6_1_7601
Service Pack: 1_0
Product: 256_1
Performance Information and Tools
Component Details Subscore Base score Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2600 CPU @ 3.40GHz 7.6 1.0 Determined by lowest subscore Memory (RAM) 16.0 GB 7.6 Graphics 1.0 Gaming graphics Not detected 1.0 Primary hard disk 1153GB Free (1851GB Total) 5.9 Windows 7 Professional
System
Manufacturer Hewlett-Packard Model h8-1070t Total amount of system memory 16.0 GB RAM System type 64-bit operating system Number of processor cores 4 Storage
Total size of hard disk(s) 4192 GB Disk partition (C
1153 GB Free (1851 GB Total) Disk partition (D 1 GB Free (12 GB Total) Disk partition (E 1400 GB Free (1863 GB Total) Disk partition (F 352 GB Free (466 GB Total) Media drive (G CD/DVD Graphics Total available graphics memory Not detected Dedicated graphics memory 0 MB Dedicated system memory 0 MB Shared system memory 0 MB Display adapter driver version 6.1.7600.16385 Primary monitor resolution 1280x1024 DirectX version DirectX 8 or earlier Network
Network Adapter Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
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