Computer tech question

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CenterBHSFan's avatar

CenterBHSFan

333 - I'm only half evil

6,115 posts
Jan 30, 2010 10:40 PM
So about a week ago, my monitor or rather my screen, started rolling the images and eventually locked up. Then I'd have to hard boot it to turn it off (ctrl, alt, delete wouldnt work) and then I could turn it on the right way.

Well, this morning, the screen rolled, locked up... for good. I can turn the computer on, but the screen says "no visual data input".

I've got two computers in this house, so it's not like I desparately need one right away. But, the computer that's giving me probs is the one I use personally. The other is just in the office and other people use it all the time and I don't like sharing ;)

So, my question is; would this be a video card issue or a motherboard issue? I mean, as far as guesses go, without actually looking at it.
Jan 30, 2010 10:40pm
ernest_t_bass's avatar

ernest_t_bass

12th Son of the Lama

24,984 posts
Jan 30, 2010 10:43 PM
I'll be a dick and say "get a Mac." :D

I can't help you, sorry.
Jan 30, 2010 10:43pm
wes_mantooth's avatar

wes_mantooth

Tomfoolery & shenanigans

17,977 posts
Jan 30, 2010 10:45 PM
Hard to say, but I would start by swapping out your vga or dvi cable. If that doesn't do the trick, I would buy a video card.....they are pretty cheap on new egg....unless you need a gamers video card.
Jan 30, 2010 10:45pm
CenterBHSFan's avatar

CenterBHSFan

333 - I'm only half evil

6,115 posts
Jan 30, 2010 10:46 PM
ernest_t_bass wrote: I'll be a dick and say "get a Mac." :D

I can't help you, sorry.
haha!

I have Mac-aphobia.

I've never had one and never wanted to try one. (Mac, that is)
Jan 30, 2010 10:46pm
I

I Wear Pants

Senior Member

16,223 posts
Jan 31, 2010 12:55 AM
Yeah, I'd just try some different video cables and if that doesn't do the trick get a video card from Newegg. You can find tons of them pretty cheap or a little bit better if you want to game or something. If you're buying computer hardware and you don't buy it from Newegg you're probably doing it wrong.
Jan 31, 2010 12:55am
UA5straightin2008's avatar

UA5straightin2008

WOMP WOMP WOMP

3,246 posts
Jan 31, 2010 12:57 AM
ernest_t_bass wrote: I'll be a dick and say "get a Mac." :D

I can't help you, sorry.
i was gonna say the same thing

they really are much much better than PC's, much easier to use, much more reliable, etc.
Jan 31, 2010 12:57am
I

I Wear Pants

Senior Member

16,223 posts
Jan 31, 2010 1:19 AM
UA5straightin2008 wrote:
ernest_t_bass wrote: I'll be a dick and say "get a Mac." :D

I can't help you, sorry.
i was gonna say the same thing

they really are much much better than PC's, much easier to use, much more reliable, etc.
Give me one objective reason that they are "much much better than PC's".

If you say "it just works" then I'm going to find you and kick you in the nuts.
Jan 31, 2010 1:19am
UA5straightin2008's avatar

UA5straightin2008

WOMP WOMP WOMP

3,246 posts
Jan 31, 2010 1:25 AM
they are more user friendly

easier to use

run faster

DONT GET VIRUSES
Jan 31, 2010 1:25am
W

WebFire

Go Bucks!

14,779 posts
Jan 31, 2010 7:51 AM
1. Swap out monitor. If it still doesn't work...

2. Swap out cable. If it still doesn't work...

3. Time for a new video card. If it still doesn't work...

You shouldn't have done #3. :)
Jan 31, 2010 7:51am
W

WebFire

Go Bucks!

14,779 posts
Jan 31, 2010 7:52 AM
UA5straightin2008 wrote: they are more user friendly

easier to use

run faster

DONT GET VIRUSES
The first 2 are subjective. The 3rd is debatable. The 4th is only true because there is more ROI to target the much larger PC market. Not because MAC is superior.
Jan 31, 2010 7:52am
B

behindthelense

Member

45 posts
Jan 31, 2010 9:24 AM
Yeah....why not try swapping out the monitor's first.

Sounds to me like that would be the easiest thing to try. Unless, of course, these are laptop's......you didn't specify.
Jan 31, 2010 9:24am
CenterBHSFan's avatar

CenterBHSFan

333 - I'm only half evil

6,115 posts
Feb 1, 2010 10:18 AM
Ok, looks like it's a motherboard thing, and the fan isn't working right. fI had a buddy who repairs computers look at it.
Oh well.
The computer is 3 years old, so it's not like it's worth anything at this point. I'll just go buy a new one. That's always more fun! :D
Feb 1, 2010 10:18am
S

superman

Senior Member

3,582 posts
Feb 1, 2010 10:40 AM
what can PC users do that Mac users can't?
http://maddox.xmission.com/c.cgi?u=macs_cant
Feb 1, 2010 10:40am
I

I Wear Pants

Senior Member

16,223 posts
Feb 1, 2010 10:52 AM
UA5straightin2008 wrote: they are more user friendly

easier to use

run faster

DONT GET VIRUSES
Subjective

Subjective

Not true (can be true but that's only if you compare say a $1000 Macbook to a $450 Laptop, a $1000 Windows laptop will likely have as good or better specifications than a Macbook of the same price)

Not true either. They get less viruses because they aren't a huge target being only like 8% of the market or something but they still do get them. Otherwise they wouldn't make products like Norton anti-virus for Mac, etc.
Feb 1, 2010 10:52am
I

I Wear Pants

Senior Member

16,223 posts
Feb 1, 2010 10:53 AM
CenterBHSFan wrote: Ok, looks like it's a motherboard thing, and the fan isn't working right. fI had a buddy who repairs computers look at it.
Oh well.
The computer is 3 years old, so it's not like it's worth anything at this point. I'll just go buy a new one. That's always more fun! :D
Was this a desktop? If so does it have any salvageable parts like the RAM that you'd be willing to get rid of?
Feb 1, 2010 10:53am
CenterBHSFan's avatar

CenterBHSFan

333 - I'm only half evil

6,115 posts
Feb 1, 2010 12:03 PM
Yeah it was a desktop. 120(I think) GB and I forget how much ram, but it was alot.
Feb 1, 2010 12:03pm
N

Nate

Formerly Known As Keebler

3,949 posts
Feb 1, 2010 12:46 PM
The fan could be causing the MB to overheat causing the lockups. I would replace the fan on the MB first and see what it does. A $3 fan is much better than buying a whole new vid card.
Feb 1, 2010 12:46pm
W

WebFire

Go Bucks!

14,779 posts
Feb 1, 2010 1:11 PM
And a 3 year old computer isn't necessarily junk either. Especially if it is already loaded with RAM.
Feb 1, 2010 1:11pm
FatHobbit's avatar

FatHobbit

Senior Member

8,651 posts
Feb 2, 2010 10:16 AM
I have 7-10 computers just laying around, and also a bunch of other random pieces and parts. (Hard drives, ram, CPU's, scanners, a zip drive...) Anyone know if they are worth anything, or should I just take them to a place to recycle them?

Most of them are fairly old. One of them was my first computer that I bought because it had the big 2G hard drive. The salesman assured me I would never be able to use that much disk space. :D
Feb 2, 2010 10:16am
CenterBHSFan's avatar

CenterBHSFan

333 - I'm only half evil

6,115 posts
Feb 2, 2010 10:28 AM
Well, my buddy gave me a loaner and is going to replace the fan/motherboard. It will be a couple of days till he gets time to get it done and he's only charging me $50. So, I can't pass that up.
Plus, this way I won't have worry about all the transferring I'd have to do (or have done) by buying a new computer.
Thanks for all the info guys!
Feb 2, 2010 10:28am
I

I Wear Pants

Senior Member

16,223 posts
Feb 2, 2010 12:05 PM
FatHobbit wrote: I have 7-10 computers just laying around, and also a bunch of other random pieces and parts. (Hard drives, ram, CPU's, scanners, a zip drive...) Anyone know if they are worth anything, or should I just take them to a place to recycle them?

Most of them are fairly old. One of them was my first computer that I bought because it had the big 2G hard drive. The salesman assured me I would never be able to use that much disk space. :D
If you're planning on recycling/getting rid anything I'd be glad to let you recycle it my way. Don't know what you have but I might be able to find a use for something that you're just looking to recycle.

Also I can't really say if they're worth anything without knowing what you have.

Was porn not invented when that man sold the computer to you or was it just horribly low resolution?
Feb 2, 2010 12:05pm