NEED HELP AS SOON AS POSSIBLE PLEASE

[wendykukulski]

HI  I just got my computer out of storage after being in there for approx. 8 months.  I have a compaq Presario computer.  I went to hook everything up last night.  Once that was done I turned it on.  The monitor was black and never loaded.  The computer turned on and I could atleast hear the fan running.  I also have an older computer which I tried hooking the monitor up to my compaq but the monitor did the same thing...nothing.  However, when I unplugged both monitors from the cpu they lit up.  I am wondering if it is just a video card or if there could be more damage to the cpu.  I don't want to spend money on a video card just to find out that everything in the machine is ruined and I need to buy another computer.  Please!!! Anyone have suggestions for me???

[wendykukulski]

Hi it's me again.  I also hooked my monitor up to the old computer and it worked fine.  So I know that any problems lie within the CPU.  But since I can just hear the fan running I'm not sure if the computer will even work once I buy a video card.  Also, if I buy a video card what one would you recommend...remember I'm on a budget.  but the one game I really like to play is The sims with all the expansion packs.

[Raptor]

You cannot connect a monitor to a CPU. A CPU is an abbreviation of Central Processing Unit. - The monitor is connected to the videocard, which is in turn installed onto the mainboard which in turn processes information by accessing the Central Processing Unit.

I also have an older computer which I tried hooking the monitor up to my compaq but the monitor did the same thing...nothing.

I assume that, from what you are saying, you have tried your Compaq monitor on an older computer and it still malfunctioned? If that is so, I suggest you connect the monitor beloning to the older computer to your Compaq and see what the results are

Videocards in the range you are looking for are very cheap.

These links may be of relevance:

Monitor Help

Computer Video Card Support and Help

Video  card buying tips

[wendykukulski]

I assume that, from what you are saying, you have tried your Compaq monitor on an older computer and it still malfunctioned? If that is so, I suggest you connect the monitor beloning to the older computer to your Compaq and see what the results are


No I hooked my monitor to my compaq computer then I also hooked another monitor to my compaq computer.  Neither monitor worked.  Then I hooked my monitor to the old computer and it finally worked.  So I know the problem is in my computer somewhere.  I just don't want to buy a video card if it is really the whole computer.

[Raptor]

What have you done before this problem occured?

You will not have to replace your *entire* computer.

[merlin_2]

What ever monitor you connected to a pc is should work even if you only get 16 colours?vga springs to mind providing the mobo etc is ok ...maybe the  the cmos battery has had it?

[wendykukulski]

Sorry I know enough about computers to do the basic stuff.  But could you tell me what mobo is?  Also, the cmos battery...is that the battery on the motherboard that looks like a watch battery?

[Raptor]

But could you tell me what mobo is?  Also, the cmos battery...is that the battery on the motherboard that looks like a watch battery?

Mobo is an abbreviation for motherboard/mainboard

You are correct, the CMOS battery may look like a watch battery. Refer to this article in order to determine if you are correct:

Computer CMOS Information

[Raptor]

You have not answered this question:

What have you done before this problem occured?

[wendykukulski]

What did I do.  Well like I said my computer was in storage for 8 months.  I got it home let it sit in the house for about 2 days then once I found all the cords and keyboard,mouse, etc...I hooked it up and when I turned it on that is what I got...nothing

[Raptor]

I assume you have checked to see if the cables are properly connected and none are missing?

[wendykukulski]

yes.  As I have said my monitor works fine connected to the older pc which i hooked up the exact same way.

[Raptor]

I suggest you try another videocard.

[wendykukulski]

Thank you for your help.  I will be going to Best Buy this weekend to pick up a Video Card.  I'll let you know as soon as I know if it works.  I am just praying that it's nothing more cuz I'm broke and cheap!  LOL

[Raptor]

The Sims will run on most videocards. I suggest you buy a 32MB videocard and donot go above 50 Euros. (60-65 Dollars)

Unless you plan on playing more advanced games I suggest you ask the salesperson for advice.

[wendykukulski]

Hey Raptor:

Just wanted to say thank you for all the advice.  It was the video card.  I finally found a person that worked on PC's from his home and he gave me a reasonable deal I think.  My Windows ME was also hanging once he put in the first video card.  So, I ended up having him reboot my entire system, install Windows XP, a new graphics card (64 mg 7200 Radeon) and Microsoft Office.  Got a steal of a deal on it all!  Thanks again!

[merlin_2]

 cant believe you have bought a vid card for the problems you had  with winme ...and  purchased   winxp dear oh dear...you better keep that guys number you may need it....sorry to enlarge your reply but may be we all should do that when we have a problem throw the pc in the trash can and buy another.......re-cycling no on your bike m8

[wendykukulski]

First I did not have a problem with Win ME... I had a problem getting my monitor to show anything but a black screen.  Then once the new vid card was installing WinME kept lagging.. so i upgrading...Why do you think I made a mistake?

[Joleen]

You didn't make a mistake in upgrading ME.  Merlin has great advice but don't EVER take his word that ME is a good OS.  Everyone except Merlin and perhaps Gates will tell you that any OS is better than ME (and I'm not sure Gates would even back ME).

Merlin.. keep up the great work but please, for all of us, upgrade to XP or even 2k.  

[merlin_2]

is you upgrade working fine now. good .Many faults with pcs are when they are massproduced quality suffers and cheap hardware ...private builds are the best  but you pays your money and you take your choice...

[Raptor]

XP is a fine OS for a lot of users. if you have biased feelings towards it you've either spent too much time behind your computer and you're ready to defend Bill Gates his honour with your life or you haven't used XP at all.

[2k dummy]

I agree that ME is bad. I have never used XP. I have 2K pro and 9x on my machines. The 9x ones are tweaked to high heaven and almost as stable as 2K. I have no intention of letting Billy Bob Gates and his eXtra exPensive OS screw anything up.

[merlin_2]

XP is a fine OS for a lot of users. if you have biased feelings towards it you've either spent too much time behind your computer and you're ready to defend Bill Gates his honour with your life or you haven't used XP at all. raptor
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yes you have all fallen for the sales pitch of wixp ...can you tell me that winxp seems to be having about the the same if not more problems that win9x. you create a software o/s then flaws are added via updates people get fed up with and buy the next super version then the same thing happens again strange? no if your o/s was that good you would be out of bussiness..i have used them all from win3.1 upwards and have tried a beta version of microsoft longhorn..all winxp users have is a bigger spy in there midst... mac linux... or lindows rule  my views and bgates =conman...me spending to much time on a pc i have to work 10hrs a day...6 days a week most time depending if someone has gone sick..

[Wendy]

More Problems.... Just minor ones though I believe...Was wondering if after reading all the messages maybe XP wasn't the way to go.  First like i said before I got a 64 mb 7200 Radeon Video Card.  When I was at the computer repair shop I saw my computer running xp just fine.  When I got it home the colors on my desktop were dramatically changed.  At the shop the desktop had a scenic picture on it with a blue sky and some white clouds and rolling green grass hills.  At home I have the same picture but the grass is bright burnt orange.  Now on to the sims game... I got all my sims games and expansion packs loaded and the grass that used to be green is orange.  Everything is very dark looking and when i move my mouse around the screen it leaves little mouse pointers everywhere that my mouse goes.  I thought maybe I had my mouse settings set up to show the tail of the mouse...But I do not.  The mouse also blinks not stop really fast when in the game.  Even when I play the game and the sims characters are walking around there are little feet prints everywhere for a few minutes the the screen will clear and start over again.  It also seems that every game I have installed which is only a couple either freezes up, is slow to install, or something else.  I have a dial up connection which is quite slow at times.  

The first day I brought the PC home I went online and SkyNet popped up with a message about some LSASS virus... Upon further review I checked out the microsoft website and found a fix for it.  Of course I had to take my pc to work where we have DSL so I could install all 41 new updates that were needed. Then I downloaded AVG anti virus and Zone Labs Firewall... The firewall just makes me sick with pop ups so I shute it off.  Now I'm getting a pop up that states I have the trojan horse virus but when I run the AVG anti virus it doesn't detect it.  Could someone please let me know what I should do.  Now that I have a video card  should I just reboot with my restore disk and start over going back to using ME.  I never had a problem with ME before they put the new video card in.  So I'm not sure if I do that if I the ME will freeze up again.  Also, the colors problem with my monitor is it that either my monitor is going bad or maybe it isn't compatible with XP?  Is my mouse a pile of crap too.  Where should I go from here?  I was going to switch off monitors and mouse first to see if that is the problem.  Please advise.

[merlin_2]

type dxdiag in the run box it is all graphics card related most of it..how much ram have your got?put that firewall back on??you will end up with all sorts of scumware etc... download spysweeper from www.webroot.com and scan ..are you competent enough  to see if the graphics card has become unseated?from the shop to your condo ....so indepth look like another trip to the repair shop it this costly?...you may have to start a new post from where you are now with winxp...copy and paste it and break it down in stages...rather than try to solve problems  at once...or re-install winxp...or have you load of files you need...

[Wendy]

The dxdiag program ran successfully with no errors.  Now what do I do?  When I bought my PC brand new it had an 8 mb graphics card in it.  Now it has a 64 mb card in it.  Do you think maybe that size a card is not compatible with my mobo?

[Don Lawless]

wendykukulski.....Here's what I see in your post.....
You have a new vid card and WIN XP.......and when your p/c was in the shop , it was working fine. So you ake it home and all these strange things..........bad color , etc ,etc ,etc.  Did you have just the tower in the shop. If so ...it was connected to a different monitor , keyboard and mouse.......If it worked fine there ......then it should work fine at home. Possibly your monitor is on its way out .....or you should uninstall your monitor and its drivers and let XP .....reinstall your monitor and drivers....
Win XP ......is in my opinion ( for what its worth ) is a way better than ME . Be sure to get all the updates . I would suggest downloading Sun Systems java instead of using MS virtual machine. ( very prone to hacking).

Then I would have Zone Alarm as a firewall.....It' free and works well..( spend a few minutes to read the tutorial on how to set it up so you dont get all the annoying popups.

I would also have AD-Aware ....also free and very good.
be sure to get the latest updates....and again read about it so you set it up correctly.

Then I would have SpyBot search and destroy...It also does a good job.....free as well. again read...read ....read ....read.

Last but not least ....A good up to date anti virus......I use Norton .....it is very resource intensive but does a good job.

Finally ......run these utilites regularly and you should be able to enjoy the internet. If you ignore them ....you can expect problems.The other thing is that once you know how to set them up to scan properly you may just never have to visit the computer shop again.

Good Luck
dl65  

[Raptor]

The firewall just makes me sick with pop ups so I shute it off.  Now I'm getting a pop up that states I have the trojan horse virus but when I run the AVG anti virus it doesn't detect it.

IF you had taken the time to properly configure Zone Alarm there would be no pop-ups. At least, no irrelevant ones. Security comes with a toll.

Also, I assume the AVG virus scanner you are talking about is the free edition one. I suggest you install a retail virus scanner such as Norton 2004.

There are also programs known as Trojan Killers, they are specially designed to help you eliminate Trojan infestations. I suggest you look into these.

[merlin_2]

run a scan >http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/ and this one http://housecall.trendmicro.com/  how much ram have you got...

[Wendy Kukulski]

I have 192 MB Ram

[merlin_2]

ok enough ram...eliminate that..gone...........are your graphics card up to date with the drivers..check it..it the monitor...you are using ..is it new refrubished...old..<process of eliminatation here>type msinfo32 in the run box and cut and paste it ...there will be just you and me l@@king at it  smile allways..it will get better...try this >http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html  have you scan for bugs...the reason i asked about your graphics card people out there are wasting cash as intel offers a graphics accelerator which speeds things up and its free..waiting responce to..what is your pc doing NOW