Please Check Signal error message on Windows XP

[Lisa]

Help! Can anyone tell me how to fix this problem! Our
computer is a Pentinum III with 512 mb of RAM Memory and
a new 80GB harddrive, last week it started making
grinding noises and would not boot up, it just sat there
sending us a message in a blue box stating " Please Check
Signal", and then the whole computer shuts down. We took
the harddrive and monitor to a repair shop and they oddly
do not receive this message. My Husband took our
computer to 3 of our friends houses and receive the error
message.

We did find out on our own that our video card had burned
totally and we replaed it before taking it to the repair
shop, but now we are afraid to turn it completely off!

Please help us before this drives us mad!

 

[dglock]

you have already fixed the problem when you replaced the
video card!
the "check signal"message was you monitor telling you it
wasn't recieving any signal from your card.
don

 

[CWatters]

First thing to do is to back up any important data on your hard drive. Then
you can stop worrying about it.

I suspect the message "Please Check Signal" was generated by the monitor
itself. Many monitors do this if they don't get a signal from the computer
(eg because the signal cable has become disconnected or the video card is
faulty!). Since you had a problem with the video card that almost certainly
explains it. You can test to see if this was the cause by disconnecting the
monitor at the computer and then switching the monitor on. If the same
message is displayed then that's your answer.

If your computer makes "grinding noises" again you need to work out where
those are coming from. It could be anything from a worn bearing in a fan
motor to a problem with the new hard drive. The only way to know for sure is
to listen carefully and work out where it's coming from physically. It's
usually quite easy to remove the left hand side panel of the case (your left
as you sit facing it) and this should make it easier to work out where the
noise is coming from.

You could also, as a precaution, visit the web site for your hard drive
manufacturer to see if they have a test program you can download.

Colin