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Computer won't give signal to Monitor

By MNwinter ·
I'm trying to fix up this old Gateway for a friend so he can just do some basic stuff. While I was reformating the Hard Drive and such, the computer would display a message saying "Cmos settings wrong" whenever I would turn it on.

I was able to fix that for the most part, but it would reset whenever I unplugged the computer from the power cord.(I suspected that this was the Cmos battery losing it's charge) It would give me the message, but also an option to continue, so I would just do that and forget about it. After that, as long as I would keep the computer plugged in, powering on and off were smooth as silk.

So, the other day I decide to add a stick of 512 mb RAM. I do so, and now when I power the computer on, the monitor does nothing but display the "your monitor is working correctly, please check if your computer is plugged in blah blah"

It only flickers right when I turn on the PC, and then returns to that screen. Could this have more to do with the Cmos battery? I have tried both the graphic card plug for the monitor and the on board plug. Thanks for any help.

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by BFilmFan In reply to Computer won't give signa ...

Sounds as if the CMOS battery is defective. Replace it. Then set up the BIOS with the correct settings.

If you still have the issue after replacing the CMOS battery, remove the new memory and see if the issue is resolved.

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by TheChas In reply to Computer won't give signa ...

Have you tried pulling the new RAM back out?

Often, when the BIOS cannot recognize new RAM, the system will halt before it enables video.

It is VERY possible that the motherboard either does not support the type of RAM you installed, or the amount.

The SDRAM specification has evolved over time, and new SDRAM DIMMs will not work in many older motherboards.
Compaq's and Gateway's can be VERY finicky about what RAM they will work with.

It is also possible that you dislodged a connector or even the CPU while installing the new RAM.

You are correct that you need a NEW CMOS battery.
Most likely, this system uses a CR2032 Lithium coin cell.
On an ATX style system, the CMOS battery is only used when the power cord is not plugged into a working outlet.

Chas

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by Vestige In reply to Computer won't give signa ...

try to boot ur computer with just the gfx card and 1 piece of ram, if it doesnt work then change the piece of ram with ur spare one and try again. if it still doesnt work try resitting ur gfx card.
does it give u any system beeps? how are the beeps like?

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by ozi Eagle In reply to Computer won't give signa ...

Before doing ANYTHING change that battery.

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