Computer Hope
Hardware => Hardware => Topic started by: frannieannie on June 22, 2013, 06:20:43 AM
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I have an all in 1 pc (dell vostro 330) - the screen is not responding all tho the pc does make the usual noises when starting up. Went to connect it to an external screen to see if it was working ok and discovered it doesn't seem to have any ports to connect to any other screen :o ??? !!!!! Now don't know what to do to test it. Any help would be great! thanks
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They make USB VGA adapters which are not too expensive. But it sounds like the display itself is probably toast and if the USB VGA adapter requires more than just Plug n Play to get it to work such as going through a driver installation with choices you might not be able to get that far.
Below is an example that claims easy to install etc. Nothing you would want to play video games through though. They also make USB to HDMI external video adapters.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815296005 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815296005)
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thanks, i didn't know about those - very useful! Am now thinking it could be the hard drive as although it starts up - i don't think the hard drive lights are flashing :(.
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Could be a main board of the system if no post. I'd attempt to boot it off of a live linux distro such as Mint or Ubuntu to see if it will boot off of the DVD rom, if the DVD Rom has lots of activity with the disc in it and still no picture then the display is shot, otherwise if it was just a bad hard drive, this live linux disc bypasses the need for a hard drive and the system will boot to linux and show on the display if it was jus the hard drive all along. *For the fact that nothing is displayed on boot and no error messages then your dealing with a main board issue or a display issue. If you can see if it will try to boot that Linux Live DVD in the DVD Rom, at least we would know that the main board is probably fine and its just the display.
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ok, sounds like a good idea - can you recommend where i could get one? Do i have to buy it or can i make one? thanks for your help - i've never heard of doing that before so wouldn't have been able to try it! :)
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ok, have found it online and am making a disc. thanks
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ok, well, made disc and tried it - it definitely was spinning and sounded like it was working ok but no change in computer. nothing on the display - like its turned off. i don't know if the computer was set to boot from disc as i haven't messed about with it before as it was working pretty good. :( :(
is there anything else you think i could try to help with diagnosis?
feeling glum :(
i think i'll have to take it to a professional but am pretty skint! Will miss it as we use it all the time.
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have found a refurb motherboard on ebay, but can't buy anything til i know whats actually wrong.
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http://www.dell.com/support/troubleshooting/us/en/04/KCS/kcsarticles/articleview?docid=266435
http://www.dell.com/support/troubleshooting/us/en/04/Product/vostro-330
As soon as you press the power-on button, keep tapping the F2 key to enter Setup (BIOS). If you get nothing on the screen, probably motherboard failure.
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Or it could be the vid chip...or the LCD connector...
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Many all-in-ones & laptops no longer have video chips (GPU). AMD calls them APU's which is CPU+GPU inside 1 device. Intel i-series is the same.
All-in-ones are a lot like laptops with no main battery. PSU is same as laptop but with more capacity. Been using one lately, display is large, sharp & clear. Very little fan noise.
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i have found it really good up to now :(. i'm inclined to think that it's not a display issue as the normal 'i'm doing things' lights don't seem to be coming on. Would that be right? If so i'm thinking it could be a hard drive or motherboard problem?
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'As soon as you press the power-on button, keep tapping the F2 key to enter Setup (BIOS). If you get nothing on the screen, probably motherboard failure.'
- already tried that and nothing happened.
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- already tried that and nothing happened.
Not hard drive.