One of the most common computer problems we see, whether its a laptop or desktop PC computer, is customers can here the computer starting up but can not see anything on the screen.

This can mean many different things, from the actual display not working to the internal components failing inside the system.

It can also be very hard to determine what is  making the fault. However, following these basic steps can hell[p you determine whats wrong with your computer, isolate the problem, of help your computer technical at Townsville computer repairs find and fix the fault in your computer, notebook, server or laptop computer.

Turn It Off and On Again

Lets start here. I know you have probably heard it a million times before, but turning your computer on and off, does fix many problems time and time again.

You computer is one bog closed circuit, joined together consisting on many other devices, all synchronizing to work in harmony so you can use your computer.

However, sometimes some of these components fail or something goes wrong. When this happens, a simple draining of electricity from the closed circuit and starting it again will fix the problem.

This is the cheapest and easiest thing to do.

If it doesn’t work straight away, give your computer some time to drain all the electricity out of it.

You can also turn it off at the wall and then hold the power button on the actual computer case down for 10 seconds to ask the computer to boot up using the electricity inside of it – in order to drain it.

Are There Any Loose Connections

Checking if there are any loose connections connected to your computer or computer monitor and screen can sometimes fix screen issues you might be having.

If you can not here your computer booting up the screen will not work anyway, but if your machine does make some sounds when turning on, this will be a good way to determine if your screen is working or not.

Check to make sure the power cable is connected at the wall and in the back of your computer and also check to see the cable that runs from your computer, whether it be HDMI, DVI or VGA etc is connected securely at both ends.

If they are and you can still not see the computer screen you can always try new cables if you have some lying around the house or even try plugin your computer screen into another computer to see if it works – you could have a dead monitor.

This is a bit harder if the screen on your laptop is not working. That would require some understands of how laptops electricity and circuitry works. If that is the case, please do not take your laptop apart of risk getting an electric shock if you are not qualified to take a computer apart.

Is Bios Boot Oder Correct

The BIOS/CMOS is the software you can talk to directly part of your motherboard.

When your computer starts up, it doesn’t directly boot from the hard drive. First the motherboard kicks in and the CMOS is the part of the motherboard you can talk to and instruct what to do.

There you can choose what devices do what, boot order and any other technical things your computer needs to run correctly.

The boot order is part of the motherboard which choose what devices boot and what order.

If you are able to see the BIOS (basic input output system) on your screen you probably don’y have anything wrong with your display as you are able to see the settings.

It could mean there is a boot order problem or a problem with your boot device such as your computers hard drive.

Problems could be corrupt or missing operating system files, virus infection or hard drive failure.

Have Your Tried Another Screen

I did mention this previously but it really needs mentioning again.

Screens die a lot more than computers, graphics cards and laptops. I don’t know why, maybe its the heat the push out, or because they are so much wiper ad take up a lot more space.

If you are able to borrow attach another screen to your computer, it can certainly help in determining of the screen or actual computer or laptop computer problem.

A lot of people have more than one computer so this is something doable for most of us, If you don’t, take note on what sort of connection your computer uses and try and borrow one from someone else.

If you have a laptop, netbook or notebook this is a lot harder as your screen is built into the computer.

A lot of laptops do have an external port outlet either to the side of them near the USB’s or in the back of the computer.

If you are able to connect an external screen to your laptop, it could  help in determining the problem of your machine. If you still can not see anything, you could have a motherboard, power supply or graphics video car problem.

Can You Here Beeping

Most reputable computers use motherboards from major manufacturers because they know they will function pretty good most of the time and get updated with the latest patches, repairs and releases.

The types of motherboards will have beep error codes, which is away for a failing computer to give you an indication that something is wrong and helpfully let you know what it is.

It does this through beep codes. Each computer and motherboard developer will use a different beep code when something is wrong.

If your screen is not turning it, you can try putting your ear close to your computer and see if it is making some beeps when you turn it.

Depending on the type of computer and who made it, the beep cod will always be different. You will need to find out who makes your computer and go to their website and find what beep code mean what?

Some manufactures beep code will be three long beeps when there is a video card problem, or two short beeps and one long when there is a memory problem.

So you will need to check their websites to see which beep codes reflect a bad video card for your computer.

Does It Work In Safe Mode

Safe mode is a way of turning your computer on and booting into the operating system such as Windows with the minimum requirements running to make your computer turn on.

If you are having problems with your computer you can sometimes boot into your operating system in Safe Mode and make changes to things which might stop your computer running correctly.

An example of this is, if you might have just had a major automatic update to your computer it could have included new video card drivers for your graphics card.

The next time you turned your computer on these drivers may have failed d stopped your screen from working or you seeing what is on it.

Starting in safe mode wont use these drivers so you might be able to start your computer well enough to remove the old  video card drivers and roll them back to an earlier point in time.

If you are able to start your computer in safe mode it definitely indicates more of a problem with your software or operating system files than it does to your video or display hardware for your computer.

Have You Tried Another Video/Graphics Card

If your computer screen is not displaying or showing anything on it, there is a chance it could be your graphics video card not pushing the single out to it, rather than the screen not working.

It’s easy just to think it is your screen but it could be any number of things including your video card.

Unfortunately for laptops owners, most laptops have video cards built into your motherboard. The problem with this is when so many things are so integrated, you are replacing the whole lot, rather than one individual components.

So if you have a laptop, this can be a lot mo expensive to repair, sometimes to the point a lot of people would rather buy a new laptop then replace a motherboard or video graphics card in a laptop.

In desktops there are more options though.

Although some desktops have built in all in one like laptops, there is usually another option where you can add a graphics card, or replace  the one already in it.

You will have to have another graphics card to put in its place to test and see if that is the problem. If you are lucky enough you computer which might have a dedicated graphics card in it as well you can try alternating between the two different cards. They might  require different cords such as a DVI or HDMI.

Townsville Nerds can help you with all your computer needs.. Just give us a call today and we can give you a free no obligation quote and diagnosis.