Nothing appears on monitor

[phoenixhazard]

I recently installed a 2nd monitor and after i formatted and partitioned it i plugged in my old hard drive. Now in CMOS my old hard drive doesn't appear and my new one has a funky name like Y3402q_0234. When I restarted nothing would show on my monitor anymore. This has happened on occasion in the past but after a few restarts it usually works but not this time. HELP!

Specs:
AMD Athlon XP 1800+
EPOX KT333+
GeForce 4 Ti4200
Samsung 80gb 7200rpm
Maxtor 80gb 7200rpm
512mb DDR RAM

 

[ski]

For the 'no display' problem:

Install/connect only the power supply, MB, CPU, memory, video card, monitor(only one), case speaker, and power button, make sure the power supply's voltage selector switch is set to the correct voltage and the PS connection to the MB is securely seated.
Then, try a different monitor.
If there's a display, then the 1st monitor is bad.

If there's no display with a different monitor, then check the CMOS battery for the correct voltage(3V).
If that's ok, then clear CMOS either with the MB jumper or by removing the CMOS battery for at least 30 minutes.

If no luck, then place the MB on a piece of cardboard. If there's now a display, then the MB is shorting out when installed in the case. Check for a loose screw, standoff, etc., inside the case, and also remove any standoffs which do not line up with MB holes. If none is found, then remove all MB screws and metal standoffs, and install paper washers(manila folder paper works good for this) between the MB and the screws/standoffs.

If there's no display with the MB placed on a piece of cardboard, then proceed with the following:

(1)If the MB standby LED does not light up when you turn on the power supply's switch, then check the wall outlet, surge arrestor, and power cord for the correct voltage.

(2)If the voltages are ok for the items in (1) and the MB standby LED still does not light up, then then slightly raise the PS main power connector out of the MB connector a little. If the MB LED lights up, then the connector on either the PS or the MB is bad. If the MB light still does not come on, then the PS or MB is bad. Swap these 2 items out to find which one is bad.

(3)If MB light comes on, but the PS fan, other fans, and other lights do not work when the 'Power On' button is pushed, then make sure the computer case power button's wires are securely connected to the correct MB terminal(POW-ON, Power On, etc.), and that the wires are not shorting out(bare spots). If that's ok, then remove the power button's wires from the terminal, and momentarily short out the MB terminals with a screwdriver. If the fans and lights now work, then the 'Power On' button assembly is bad.

(4)If the fans connected to the MB and all other lights do not work when either the 'Power On' button is pushed or the MB 'Power On' terminals are shorted, then the MB or PS is bad. Swap them out.

(5)If all fans and lights work when the 'Power On' button is pushed but there's no display, then test the following PS leads on the back of its MB connector making sure the connector is installed on the MB and system is powered up with the 'Power On' button:
yellow wire and a black wire- +12V
red " " " " - +5V
orange " " " " - +3.3V
If these voltages are not up to spec, then the PS is bad.
If you do not have a voltmeter, then try a different PS.

(6)If the PS voltages are ok, or there's no display with a different PS, then either the MB, CPU, memory, or video card may be bad. Make sure the correct memory type is being used, remove and reinsert the memory a few times making sure it's firmly seated, install the memory in different slots(some MB's require that their memory slots be populated starting with slot 4 and not slot 1), and make sure the video card is firmly seated(some video cards need an extra firm push to seat properly). If still no display, then swap out the MB, CPU, memory, and video card to find out which one is defective.


When the display problem is fixed, then reconnect the HD, and post back with what's happening with it.