Monitor problem

[Ben Rathe]

Hi, I'm new here but i really need some help with a problem I'm having.

I've just built my first new computer from scratch (Well, it was a barebones System that I built up) and I thought I had it all sorted but the monitor isn't picking up any VGA input from the Computer. I've checked the cables, switched them round and everything but nothing has worked so far! I even took my otehr monitor from my home PC to see if that worked but that picks up nothing either, which suggests that it is something on teh computer end that is wrong. The problem is I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to this, so I don't have a clue where to start looking for the problem so any help would be greatly appreciated.

The system is:
Intel E6420 Core2Duo Heatsink and Fan
2048mb DDR2 667 Ram
Intel 965X PCI Express Motherboard
Novatech GeForce 8600GT SLI 256MB GDDR3 Dual DVI/TVO PCI-E
LITEON 20x DVDRW / RAM Black Bare
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA II 7200rpm 16Mb Cache 11ms 300Mb/s
Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio card with X-Fi Crystalizer / PCI 24bit / 96kHz
HP w1907v 19’’ Wide Flat Panel Monitor

This PC is completely bare at the minute in terms of software, as I can't see anything on the screen to even install Vista!

Thanks in advance!

 

[Ian]

Do you have any other graphics card you could use to test to see if that is the problem? Also, are there any beeps at all when you boot up?

Also, did you plug in the internal power connector when installing the 8600 (if it needs one, I know the 8800 does).

 

[Ben Rathe]

No, not any that are easily accessible anyway. I can hear all the beeps and the fan on the card is turning so I know that it is getting power. As far as I can see it doesn't require an internal power connector.

Any other ideas?

 

[Me__2001]

yeah, what are you conneting your monitor to ? the graphics card or the internal graphics ?

 

[Ben Rathe]

Erm, I'm not sure I understand what you mean.

I'm just plugging the monitor into a VGA on the back of my computer. Apologies if I'm being stupid, I've never built a PC before!

 

[muckshifter]

Hmmm, I have a hunch here ...


"Intel 965X PCI Express Motherboard"

Integrated Intel Extreme based controller plus PCI Express x16 slot Supports up to 64MB shared system memory

You have a motherboard with onboard graphics and you also have a PCI-E graphics card ... no?

If so, remove the PCI-E graphics card and try again using the onboard graphics.

I can hear all the beeps ...

There should be only ONE beep ... if there are more, please tell us how many & what duration the are ... long, short, both?

 

[Ben Rathe]

Thanks, removing the graphics card worked!

 

[Anon_F]

If you want the card to work you will need to disable the on-board grahics in the BIOS.

 

[Alf]

uh.... how about plugging the cable INTO the graphics card - not the motherboard

 

[Abarbarian]

uh.... how about plugging the cable INTO the graphics card - not the motherboard

Yep thats why my first pc didn't work

 

[Alf]

I guess that why they call it learning

 

[Ben Rathe]

If you want the card to work you will need to disable the on-board grahics in the BIOS.

I've looked everywhere to try and find an explanation of how I do tis but I can't find one that makes sense to me!

The problem is at the minute if I put my card in, then the monitor doesn't pick up a VGA connection but I can't plug it directly into my card as my card has dual DVI outlets on the back. Do I need a converter to make the card and monitor work at all, or will it work if i simply disable the onboard graphics?

peaking of which, I can't seem to find how to disable the onboard graphics from the BIOS, so any help there would be greatly appreciated. The motherboard is a Foxconn 946GZ7MA-1.1. A step by step, idiot proof guide would be incredibly helpful!

Thanks in advance.

 

[Abarbarian]

If you only have DVI connectors on your card then you will need something like this , shop around for best price etc .

http://www.tvcables.co.uk/cgi-bin/tvcables/DVI-VGA.html

 

[Adywebb]

If you can't plug your monitor into the graphics card because it has DVI outputs only - where are you putting it? - no wonder your not getting a signal from that card.....

You need one of THESE

 

[Abarbarian]

THis is a walkthrough for an AGP card but simply follow it and look for PCI-E settings instead of AGP and you should get a result . You will need that converter first though .

http://www.pcanswers.co.uk/tips/default.asp?pagetypeid=2&articleid=34688&subsectionid=616

 

[Me__2001]

the motherboard sounds like it is automatically disabling the onboard graphics when it detects your graphics card (i'll check the manual when it finishes downloading)

as the others have said you need a convertor which should have come with the graphics card but they shouldn't be too expensive

Edit: had a virtual flick through the manual and there's a setting under 'advanced chipset features' called 'PEG/onchip VGA control' that should be set to auto