How do I troubleshoot my video card?

My tower will turn on but as soon as it comes on the monitor goes into standby mode. The power indicator light that usually flashes when windows is loading does not flash. It comes on and stays on. The cd-rom will take a cd, the light beside it will blink a few times, but it does not sound like it is running. I was told by a few different people that it was probably my video card, but am not sure whether or not to purchase one until i know for sure. I was also told that it could be my mother board? Could you please let me know your opinion going by what I have told you?

This question was answered on November 22, 2003. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

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These are some steps for troubleshooting your video card.

1 Make sure the power strip, if used, is plugged in and the power switch is on.

2 Make sure the monitor and computer system power cords are properly connected to the wall outlet or power strip.

3 Make sure there are no bent pins on the monitor's data cable.

4 Make sure that the monitor data cable is properly connected to the video adapter and the monitor.

When the system is powered on, it automatically runs a series of diagnostic Power On Seft Tests which checks the following assemblies to ensure that the computer is functioning properly.

keyboard

power supply

system board

memory

memory expansion boards

controllers

diskette drives

hard drives

If POST finds an error in the system, n error condition is indicated by an audible and/or visual message Count the number of beeps and remember the sequence of the long and/or short beeps and refer to your PC manual for their meaning

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Posted by Susan of Mesa Community College on November 22, 2003

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