Can't see anything on my screen

[mmilitia9]

Hi guys, I went to a friends house to fix his computer because his computer isn't showing anything on the screen.

I mean, literally. There isn't anything to see. I plugged it into 2 different monitors. I've plugged it into the video card(Geforce Ultra 2) and the integrated graphics card. Still, nothing.

I don't even see any white text in the beginning of a cold bootup. I can't see any of the "Hit, F2 to see Setup". Nothing!

I'm thinking it could be bad ram? (But wouldn't it show scrambled screen and look funny).
What could be the issue?

He has a 2.1 Ghz pent 4, 512 ram, nvidia geforce ultra 2, win xp..

thanks for the help in advance,

-nick

 

[Atomic Rooster]

Does it make any beeps on start up?

Was the computer having any problems before this started?

 

[Rudster8161]

probably the motherboard\ram. see if either one of his sticks of ram will work by itself. if they dont then its probably the motherboard.

i would suggest him planning a new build, that thing is ANCIENT.

 

[mmilitia9]

No beeps.

Yes, When he was booted into XP.. He had shades of gray/black on some of his windows and desktop. Sometimes it'd be shaded gray/black and sometimes not.

 

[Rudster8161]

have you tried a different monitor cord?

 

[Atomic Rooster]

Well then, it could be a bad monitor, video card or even PSU. Do you have another monitor and/or video card you can try?

 

[mmilitia9]

The PSU(Power Supply Unit)?

That has to be working fine. It turns on perfectly fine.

Video card could be a possibility... but how can I switch to the integrated graphics? I don't even see any words while booting the machine up..

I already tried 2 monitors.

What else could I possibly do to get it working?

 

[T-Man]

What do you mean it starts up perfectly fine? Do you hear the start up beeps and can you hear the os loading? Are your fans working?

 

[Atomic Rooster]

Just because the PSU starts, it doesn't necessarily mean it's operating properly.

To use the onboard video, just remove the video card, connect the monitor to the onboard video connector, and reboot.