Do I need a new graphics card?

[essexbiker@blue]

I'm getting a No Signal / No Sync message on my monitor. Does this mean that my graphics card has blown? I have checked all the cables and connections as best I can. I have also tried connecting the PC to another monitor, but get same message - NO Signal. Check cables.

If I do need a new graphics card, how do I know which one to get - apart from getting one that looks the same as mine?!!! All I know is that the numbers on my exisiting card are as follows:

1701018224
MS-8829
004008410
M88290107296460

I have also uploaded a pic of my exisiting card, if it helps?
If anyone can advise me, I'd be most grateful, as I don't know where else to go. Thanks.

[demonized]

It's a geforce 2 MX200.
http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/vga/vga/pro_vga_detail.php?UID=175
If it is the problem any AGP card will work. Have you tried clearing your motherboards bios? It could be just the mobo acting up.

[essexbiker@blue]

Wow! That was quick! Thanks a million demonized! At least I know which graphics card it is now! I am so pleased!!! Thanks.

But how do you "clean the system BIOS"? And could I still do that somehow, when I can't even get anything up on the screen - except the No Signal message?

[rewt]

But how do you "clean the system BIOS"?

Unplug the PC, open the case, take the battery out of the motherboard for 10 seconds, put it back in. Plug in the PC and turn it on. When it loads (and provided you can see power on self test taking place), hit the delete key to get into system BIOS.

[essexbiker@blue]

Thanks rewt - I can open the PC case and I know to touch the metal casing before touching anything else. But I haven't got a clue what the mobo battery would look like! :confused: And I haven't got a manual. But I'll have a look and try and to find it. And if I do, I'll unplug it for 10 seconds or so.

Also, I can get into the BIOS okay. But what am I supposed to do with it once I'm in it, with regards to this problem?

Sorry to be a pain, but I'm a 56 year old woman who still has a lot to learn about computers (obviously! LOL) - so please be patient with me? :o

[SLippe]

Sometimes just pulling the battery out won't do the trick. For instance, I have to clear the jumpers for it to reset.

[essexbiker@blue]

Clear the jumpers? What jumpers? Where? The only jumpers I know about are the ones on the hard drive! Are these the ones you mean?

Oh, I'll get there in the end, if it kills me! As long as all my questions don't kill you first of course! LOL

[john19055]

If you take the battery out and make sure it is unplug from the wall and leave the battery out over night you may not have to clear the cmos,that will probally clear it if you do not know what the cmos is or you good goggle it and maybe find a picture that will explain it in more detail.

[demonized]

do you know what motherboard you have?

[essexbiker@blue]

No, unfortunately, I know nothing much about the PC, as it is my daughter's and it didn't come with any documentation.

However, I have managed to identify and remove the CR2032 CMOS battery. I have also checked it using a multimeter and it seems as dead as a dodo! So I have ordered a replacement and am now just awaiting its arrival. Hopefully, the new battery might resolve the problem?

Grunt mentioned something about clearing the jumpers? Can anyone enlarge on this please?

Also, I believe you have to be very careful, when handling this type of lithium battery. So can anyone tell me the correct way to handle them, as I don't want to drain it before I've even installed it!

Once the new battery is installed, it seems I might have to reset the BIOS before I can boot into Windows? So should I just reset it to the "default settings" and then try to boot into Windows? Only, I have no idea what the original settings were.

NB:The specs below are from my own PC, not the one I am seeking help with

[demonized]

what he meant was taking the cmos battery out to clear the bios. Sometimes just doing that will clear the bios. But some motherboards needs to be cleared using jumpers. since you dont know what mobo u have i guess thats all you could do. good luck. :)

[essexbiker@blue]

Well, I've installed the new CMOS battery and I'm no longer getting the NO SYNC message on the monitor. But the PC is still not booting up. :( The power is coming on okay as the fans start going round. But apart from that, all it does is make these little bleeping sounds :confused:

I've tried connecting it up to my hard drive, to rule out a hard disk failure. But still just got the little bleeping sounds and nothing else: nothing on the monitor etc. Any ideas as to what the problem might be? Could it still just be a problem with the graphics card? Or does it sound like something else entirely?

Specs below are from my PC, not the PC with the problem

[john19055]

have you tried booting it up in safe mode ,I thinkit is F6 or F8 maybe you monitor is out of sync.

[essexbiker@blue]

I don't think my monitor is out of sync, as it's working perfectly okay with my PC and I'm no longer getting any No Sync messages.

And is it possible to boot it into safe mode, when nothing is happening on the screen at all, when I switch the PC on? :confused:

[JoKeRr]

we always need a new graphic card.