Ati Radeon 9550/X1050 series no monitor signal

[Oneill1]

Okay so basically I had problems with this card since I bought it. But now, I have a really huge one.

It all started 2 years ago. I was playing and suddenly my monitor went into “Power saving mode” like the computer was turned off. I restarted the PC and the same problem. Monitor had basically no signal. I took the PC to warranty (back than it was still under warranty) and they plugged it to a monitor and it worked surprisingly. They claimed that it might have been dust or something and they gave it back to me. It worked fine for quite some time until one day when I carried it in the car a long distance. I arrive, connect it and I get the same problem with the monitor not showing signal. I reset it and restart it several times and it suddenly worked. It worked for a couple of months no problem. Now, I carried it in the car a long distance again and I get the same problem but much worse.
So, know, explaining the problem I have:
Every time I turn the PC on it wouldn’t go. The initial “beep” you get from the internal PC speaker is missing and the monitor has no signal. I restart and reset it for like 10-15 minutes, and without me moving the PC in a fiscal way it suddenly works. But then, sometimes when I play games for example suddenly it goes back into the mode when it gives the monitor no signal.
When I play other kind of games I have a problem when the game freezes for a few seconds, than the monitor goes blank 2 times with 1-2 second intervals and then the game continues to work but when I leave the game to get back to the desktop, I notice the desktop now has the game’s resolution and not its original resolution that I put in. Some games have different resolutions one compared to the other and the desktop always gets the game’s resolution not a random one.
So, it’s very hard for me to turn the PC on… but in the end, after restarting it several times, it just starts to work. First, I thought it was a fiscal problem, maybe a component got fiscally broken but its weird how it suddenly starts to work, and suddenly gets broken like that.
Sometimes the monitor started receiving no signal when I was in windows, or browsing the net, not only in a 3d game.

Thanks in anticipation for the help.

 

[BadBigBen]

several things come to mind:

1. the PSU is not delivering enough power or is on its way out...

2. the graphics card may have corrosion on the contacts, impeding electrical flow, which could under power the card or do weird things, such as what you are experiencing... removing it and replugging it in may alleviate the problem...

3. loose cabling with in the PC, could also cause such erratic behavior...

PS: I am still wondering what MONEY has do to with moving the PC, e.g.

First, I thought it was a fiscal problem, maybe a component got fiscally broken but its weird how it suddenly starts to work,

(this would suggest a loose component/cable or power issue)

fiscal denotes money... but I knew that you meant physical... ;-)

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[SkipCox]

If I understand this corectly, my vote goes with Ben's #1; a power supply problem. With needing several restarts, it sounds like a power good signal timing problem with the psu.

Only a guess but that's typical of cheapo power supplies.

Just curious though; do you have a 9550 or an X1050?

Skip

 

[Oneill1]

Okay so, first of all I'd like to thank all of you for your help. Thank you for posting.

Now, as Ben suggested I took the card out ad cleaned the contact a little and than I plugged it back inside. Didn't do anything.
About the cabling, there is some of it loose inside the PC but I checked carefully and it's not really touching the motherboard or the graphics card.
About the power thing from the PSU, a friend of mine suggested that I should up the voltage by 0.1V to the graphics card from BIOS. I haven't done that yet. I am not to happy about trying that. I am not sure about it. What do you guys think of it? Should I do that?
Also, the PSU is a little old, and the first time I bought it I didn't have this problem. Can it be that because it's old it suddenly starts to have problems? Also, I noticed that the little fan on the graphics card is working when the PC isn't.
Oh and I have a 9550 (254mb on 128 bit) but the drivers always said "x1050/9550" and I thought it's the same thing. Anyway, it's not nearly as powerful as other graphics cards with 254/128. I's more like a 128/64. Anyway.
Also, as a not to you guys, NEVER buy anything like this card. It's BAD.

I am also open to other suggestions if you guys have it and thank you again for posting. Thanks a lot for the help.

 

[BadBigBen]

As to the card being bad, I can't concur at all, I ran that card in my main PC for years on end, even did some gaming with it at lower res, but nary a problem... actually is still running in a PC owned by a GF of a friend of mine, where she only does internet and office apps...

as to the PSU, yes, power supplies degrade over time, the El Cheapos even more than good name brand ones...

as to the cabling, I was referring to the connectors, and to make sure that they are all seated correctly and firmly... e.g. by pulling them out and firmly reinserting them, this is to make sure that they all make GOOD contact...

as to upping the power a bit within the BIOS, well if the card is already damaged then you cant damage it further...

but in your case, I would just go ahead and get yourself another graphic card, for two reasons one being to find out if it is really the card that is causing all this problem, and the other is that a newer card will give you more options to gfx and gaming in general (DirectX 10 support)...

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[SkipCox]

Yeah, the 9550 was a great card in its day. It used the same chipset as a 9600 and easily overclocked to 9600 specs for less money.

Upping the agp voltage to see if it cures the problem won't hurt anything.

In other words, what Ben said...

Skip

 

[Oneill1]

Okay so, thanks again for posting. I have some new info...

My friend who know a little bit more about PC's than me came today with a voltmeter. He measured different voltages that the PSU was giving out and they were correct. His verdict was that the PSU is fine.

Also, what about the other problem? With the game freezing and unfreezing after like 10 secs and the desktop resolution than became the same as the game's.

I'm not sure about the fact that my friend measured just voltage. Should he try to measure other specs aswell? As i said before, the voltages were correct.

Again thanks very much for posting and I am open to new suggestions.

 

[BadBigBen]

Just measuring the voltages is not enough, it does not test the DRAW from components, also using a voltmeter does not indicate fluctuations in the voltage, which can cause issues that are hard to diagnose... Your friend, and probably you, probably would not spend the 100+ bucks, for a PSU Draw tester...

I have personally have had a PSU that would fire up a mainboard, go to load the OS, and as soon as the second CPU got fired up, the PSU would reset and start all over... that took me almost a week to troubleshoot to find the problem...

With the game freezing and unfreezing after like 10 secs and the desktop resolution than became the same as the game's.

freezing usually indicates that a gfx card either has become too hot and shut itself down for a period of time until the temperature fell to a specific level, or again it could be a voltage fluctuation or short that caused this... and the resolution then staying the same as ingame res, can be a leftover from the thermal cut down (see above), or a fault in the programming of the game...

again, I would suggest that you try another GFX card (borrow one from your friend) to test if it is the card that is causing the issue...

the same goes for the PSU, here spending a bit more to get a namebrand one, will in the long run save you headaches and possible money...

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[Oneill1]

Okay.. I will be looking to borrow a PSU from somebody and put it in my PC, see if it works this way...

 

[ll60630]

You could have an issue with your RAM. Since physical movement causes the problem I'd re-seat the RAM DIMM's with the motherboard.

Jeff
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