Monitor receives no signal all of the sudden

Even though I have been missing for ages, I hope that my fellow seven forum friends could help me out here

Have been successfully using my graphics card for months with one little quirk. Whenever I shut down my computer and restart, in order for the monitor to detect a signal, I would have to pull out one stick of ram, restart and then I can use my computer as normal (if I immediately shut down and insert the second stick, all would work normally).

This was working successfully up until this week. My sister shut my computer down while I was away for a few weeks and I tried to start it (with only one stick of ram) and no matter what I do, my monitor does not detect a signal - at all.

I have since put in another graphics card (can't tell you what) and it is working no problems.

What to do from here?

I can't update the nVidia driver without the graphics card inserted - can't do it with the graphics card inserted as I can't see anything on the screen (won't work in safe mode either). anyone know a work around for this issue?

Have read a few different solutions including clearing the cmos but thought I would ask in here first :) Seven Forums has never let me down

Thanks guys :)

I don't think it's the cable, given that another card works fine.

I suggest trying the card in another machine. If the same problem happens, it is probably safe to say the card is dead.

Can you try your card in another system? Cause if you have put in a different card and it is working sounds to me like a bad card.
As far as the 1 stick of Ram deal you might want to run memtest and see if you have a bad stick Memtest86 - Download Page
You can check your MB manufacturers site and see if your board has a CMOS jumper if so shut down your system and switch it over to the other pins till the capacitors have fully discharged, replace it to normal position then restart. everything should then be set to default in the bios.DON'T turn it on with the junipers in the changed position.
If it doesn't have a CMOS jumper you can remove the battery for the same effect although I doubt your board is without a CMOS reset.
You can also try all the basic things like re-seating the card, making sure the power is plugged into the card if required,try a different slot if available or if it has and your using DVI try the other outlet.
Still sounds like a bad card to me if none of the above work.
Hopefully if I've missed something someone else can make suggestions. Fabe

Ok, I have a friend testing the card in a couple of his machines over the weekend.

Fabe - I don't know what the deal is with the one stick of ram thing but I read the tip on here(?) I think a while back and it has worked ever since. It's not a case of faulty ram.

Can someone tell me what exactly resetting the CMOS does and why this might be a cause? I have read on other forums about a similar problem and this is the solution. I thought I would rule out a bad card before trying this though.

I will be mighty annoyed if it is a bad card... two faulty cards in less than a year Not a good average.

Thanks for the help all :)

Resetting the CMOS would clear out all settings, including those related to the video card. If I understand correctly, the thought is to eliminate human error from the possibilities.

Jonathan_King said:

Resetting the CMOS would clear out all settings, including those related to the video card. If I understand correctly, the thought is to eliminate human error from the possibilities.

Well in my household, there is an abundance of human error so perhaps that should have been my first option

If another card worked fine, I doubt it's the issue.

I am with Eric- I suspect a failing video card.

OK, update... my friend tried my graphics card on a couple of his machines - no issues. Card works perfectly.

I am going to try and update the driver via vnc on Monday but in the meantime, any other suggestions?

There is no blue screen or anything like that. I can hear my computer start up but no signal received by the monitor. Odd.

I'm considering a BIOS update. Here is the support page for your motherboard Nina: Downloads - GIGABYTE

I'm not sure what motherboard exactly you have...select the correct one and install the latest BIOS.