[steven1]

Hi eveyone, thanks for reading,
last week i turned the computer on, it got to the welcome screen and i couldnt move the mouse cursor to select my icon, so (probly really stupidly) i just unpluged the computer at the wall, thinking that if i restart it the mouse will work, when i turned the computer back on, the LEDs on the front came on, and the fan was running, but it didnt beep atall and the monitor didnt come out of sleep mode, and just displayed the message 'no signal'. What have i don? can it be fixed without opening the comp up?

Also i dont wanna open the comp up cause it still has the warranty tag on, which stops me from opening it up, i dont wanna take it off, in case its still in warranty, but i know.

Im really stressed, i'm 16, in the middle of my GCSE's, and all my coursework is on the computer, including a piece that has to be in by next week, otherwise i lose 50% of my grade, also my mum doesnt know yet, when she finds out she's gonna kill me! HELP!

P.S i have checked all the cables, and held the on button for 30 secs to drain power, but still no signal

[Dave Hybrid]

Try unplugging it out of the wall for 5 Min's and try again. This is how you drain the power out. You don't do it by holding any buttons in.

Failing that you have some hardware fault and if your not prepared to open it up then ring the company who deals with the warranty.

[steven1]

ok i've decide to open it up seen as the warranty is out on it anyway, and i've checked all the leads and the monitor works with my laptop. what should i be looking to do? and what should i definately not touch if i dont wana break my computer?

[alex]

Firstly, do as Dave has said.

Secondly, as it appears you don't know about pc's i would suggest not touching anything.

I'm concerned your boot.ini file into windows has become corrupt.

If thats the case, have you a backup disc(s)?

I may be getting ahead of myself though.

Just to aid us, can you post the make and model of your pc.

[steven1]

well i have don as dave has said, would windows being corrupt stop a signal going to the monitor? yes i have the boot up disc's and have tried them, but as the monitor is blank and seems to have no input i just esumed its a hardware problem, will try the boot up disc again tho

[Dave Hybrid]

If you are getting no picture what-so-ever than you 100% have a hardware problem.

First things to try would be an alternative graphics card. But it could be your power supply or motherboard too.

Most fixing of hardware faults involves swapping out each part with a known working substitute.

Do you know anyone who can lend you parts to swap with yours?

If not then it may be time to call a professional as buying a part just to test what is wrong could be costly if it turns out it isn't needed.

Dave.

[alex]

Reading the post again, i believe its the hard drive, specifically the boot file for windows, if thats corrupt, the hdd won't spin up, if the hdd doesnt spin up, then you'll get the "no signal" message as the hdd isn't communicating with the motherboard etc which then won't communicate with the monitor.

you shouldn't EVER switch off at the mains, especially when your pc is loading up. If you get it sorted and something similar happens again, and as xp is plug and play, just let the pc boot into windows and unplug the mouse and plug it back in. If that doesnt work, press reset, if you don't have a reset button, hold the main power switch on the case in until the pc shutsdown.

If it is the boot file it is fixable, as long as you have a floppy drive, floppy disc (high density version) and access to the internet.

If you've got all that i can talk you through it, no probs.

If its still under warranty though i would strongly suggest going through them as they'll be able to discern the problem easily as they're not just reading posts on a webpage.

[Dave Hybrid]

If it were boot.ini then wouldn't he get a message along the lines of "operating system missing" or simular?

[steven1]

Originally Posted by Dave Hybrid If you are getting no picture what-so-ever than you 100% have a hardware problem. First things to try would be an alternative graphics card. But it could be your power supply or motherboard too. Most fixing of hardware faults involves swapping out each part with a known working substitute. Do you know anyone who can lend you parts to swap with yours? If not then it may be time to call a professional as buying a part just to test what is wrong could be costly if it turns out it isn't needed. Dave.

well i dont know anyone i could loan a graphics card off of unfortunately, the only thing i could think of, is the graphics card out of my ancient thinkpad, but that probly wouldnt work would it?

[Dave Hybrid]

Originally Posted by steven1 Originally Posted by Dave Hybrid If you are getting no picture what-so-ever than you 100% have a hardware problem. First things to try would be an alternative graphics card. But it could be your power supply or motherboard too. Most fixing of hardware faults involves swapping out each part with a known working substitute. Do you know anyone who can lend you parts to swap with yours? If not then it may be time to call a professional as buying a part just to test what is wrong could be costly if it turns out it isn't needed. Dave. well i dont know anyone i could loan a graphics card off of unfortunately, the only think i could think of, if the graphics card out of my ancient thinkpad, but that probly wouldnt work would it?

Being a laptop no that wouln't work mate.