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  • March 4, 2003 at 2:12 am #2300825

    no video, black screen

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    by bruno fonseca · about 21 years, 1 month ago

    I have a old Packard Bell M400 166MHZ with 16mb of ram. It’s a really old system that I would like to get back up and running but I have a problem. I tried litterally everything but if anyone has any input I would really appreciate it. Basically when I turn the system on I can the hard drive working but there is no video. It is just a tottally black screen on the monitor. Could there be a short in the motherboard or something, I have thought of that but a usual characteristic of that is that you can’t turn the pc off. You have to unplug it. I can turn this one off but the video just doesn’t show. Any ideas would be trully appreciated.

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    • March 4, 2003 at 2:31 am #3542145

      no video, black screen

      by thechas · about 21 years, 1 month ago

      In reply to no video, black screen

      Check the connections.

      If the video is a plug-in board, remove and re-seat the board.

      Same for any cables from the motherboard.

      And, the memory modules.

      If the PC has a coin cell style battery, consider changing it.
      Then, follow the CMOS memory reset procedure.

      You need the full model and serial number, but you can get some documentation for PB PCs from http://www.priorityonesupport.com

      Chas

    • March 4, 2003 at 2:45 am #3542133

      no video, black screen

      by cactus pete · about 21 years, 1 month ago

      In reply to no video, black screen

      Chas is certainly right. I would just add that you should make sure you’re plugging into the correct video card. [If the system has a built-in video port, but also an add-in card…]

      Also, does it beep at all when booting?

    • March 4, 2003 at 4:39 am #3542068

      no video, black screen

      by alpha-male · about 21 years, 1 month ago

      In reply to no video, black screen

      A couple additional suggestions:

      1) Verify the monitor is good and that the brightness is turned up (especially if you have kids).

      2) Verify that the connections are tight (like Chas suggested) and see if moving the cable affects the picture. Do you get a green light on the monitor (to show it sees a connection)?

      3) Replace the video card with one that is known to be good. Make sure to remove or disable the old card.

      Good luck…hope you can get it up and running!

    • April 14, 2003 at 1:21 am #3525388

      no video, black screen

      by bruno fonseca · about 21 years ago

      In reply to no video, black screen

      This question was closed by the author

    • April 14, 2003 at 1:21 am #3525389

      no video, black screen

      by bruno fonseca · about 21 years ago

      In reply to no video, black screen

      This question was closed by the author

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