Video card will not work when the sound card is in

[jenkins27]

I am having a strange issue. I am trying to fix up my brothers older P4 dell. The computer would not display anything on the monitor when I would boot up so I started pulling PCI cards. When I pulled the sound blaster live card I was able to boot into windows. It looked like there was malware installed so I did a system restore to a year ago and installed all the updates. All signs of malware were gone and I slimmed down the program installs to base windows. Everything was running great but when I plugged the sound card back in I got the same problem.

If the monitor is unplugged form the computer it comes up with the "coed not plugged in" stuff but when I plug it in the screen goes out and the light turns amber on the front of the monitor.

History:
My brother got this computer from a friend who had trouble with the sound card not working. I did a clean install of windows and everything worked fine. One day the audio stopped working. Then one day the case was open and a card came lose and then the current issue began.

Does anyone have any idea what is gong on here? Is there an interupt or PCI addressing issue? Is there a short somewhere? Could it be software related ie malware?

Thanks.

 

[vacunita]

Then one day the case was open and a card came lose and then the current issue began.

Which card? Was it the Sound card?? It may have caused a short in the card if the computer was on when it came loose.
The short could cause those problems.

Other than that, normally I would look at the PSU first as it may not be producing enough power to run both devices now. The way to find out would be to try a different PSU that is known to work, if everything works o.k with the new PSU then you know the other one may have been bad.

If not well getting another sound card to try and see of the problem persists is another way of ruling out the sound card as a possible culprit.


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Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

 

[jenkins27]

Not sure which card came out. I know there used to be issues with the video card coming lose until I put a screw in to hold it in place better.

The audio crapped out before this happened tho, it would still boot however until recently.

 

[vacunita]

Well sounds like the soundcard moved more than once. I'm guessing it shorted out at some point.

Again the only way to find out for sure is using another card. If the behavior persists with a different card, then maybe the motherboard sustained some damage there, and is shorting out.


----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

 

[jenkins27]

I don't have any extra cards unfortunately. I wish it just had onboard audio. I don't need anything fancy, I just want audio out of 2 small speakers.

 

[vacunita]

You have no other machine you can use to borrow the sound card from?

Or go buy a cheap one. A basic one should set you back around 10 to 12 bucks.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1111756&sku=M501-1042

----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

 

[jenkins27]

No other cards, every other computer has on board audio. I don't mind buying a new card, but want to make sure the card is the problem and not something else. I don't want to buy a new card if it is not going to work.

 

[vacunita]

Well you could try to plug the card into another machine and see if it works if it does then the sound card could be o.k. Make sure you disable the onboard audio of the machine so it doesn't interfere.



----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

 

[jenkins27]

I tried 2 other power supplies and had the same issue. I cant even get video to a bios post with the sound card it so it cant be a windows/driver issue. I am fairly certain the card is shot.

Any thoughts?

 

[PRPhx]

You MIGHT try this, if you have a second pc and have access to a network (like in your home).

Add the sound card. Boot the pc. Let it set for a few seconds or until the hdd light goes out.

REMOTE into the problem pc from a second one. You should be able to see a screen, log into it, etc.

Then go to device manager and see if there are any yellow question marks next to the audio card (or unknow device). Then check to see if there are any resource conflicts.

If you can not connect remotely, the problem pc may need to be set up to accept remote access requests.

Just a thought.

 

[vacunita]

Well there you go, go buy a new one, or again attempt to install the audio card in another machine. Just to further prove it is shot.

PRPHx suggestion may be a good one provided the machine actually boots into windows, but is just not showing it on screen.



----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

 

[jenkins27]

I just ordered a new card. Thanks for all the help. I will let you know if the new card doesn't work.

 

[vacunita]

O.k, good luck, hope it works.

----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

 

[jenkins27]

New card works like a champ. Thanks for all the help.