# [SOLVED] Computer starts up, but the screen goes dark[moved from xp]



## cowie (Apr 20, 2008)

Hello all,

I know it's late, but I just had this problem, and I have been trying to fix it for 8 hours. 

Heres the problem: I would start up my PC ( Dell Dimension 4600), and the screen would have this white lines going up and down it. After the first screen loaded, I would go to a screen asking which OS I would like to use. After picking the first one, which I always use Windows XP Pro, it would go to a normal loading screen with a moving blue bar. After a couple of minutes, the screen would go black. The screen's power button would go orange after awhile, and the screen would be pitch black. I than took apart my PC, and cleaned my GPU, a 6600 GT, which had a massive poop load of dust in it. I ran it again, and the results were same. I brang another monitor in, and plugged it in the desktop, and the same thing happened. Thus ruling out the monitor as a problem.

Before this all happened I was playing some Half Life 1, and than I closed it. I was just about to log out of my steam account, when the screen became all messed up, with these lines of colors going up and down my screen, and then it went black. I restarted my computer, and the problems began. 

I had updated my AVG free edition, and I had Ad-Aware also installed on my computer. 

I started it up in safe mode, and it seemed fine. I went to XP's troubleshooting help thing. After listening to what it said, I disabled all my non essential things like my network adapter, GPU, USB ports. I also tried a system restore point, didn't work. So please, help me :sigh:


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: Computer starts up, but the screen goes dark*

check your voltage and tempretures in the bios and post them
have you upgraded the video card at any time


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## justpassingby (Mar 11, 2007)

*Re: Computer starts up, but the screen goes dark[moved from xp]*

Hi cowie and welcome to TSF !

Dell dimension 4600

This looks like a power supply or video card related problem. I'll move you to the video card support section where you'll have better help (edit : ok, dai did it)

Did you upgrade the video card since you bought that computer ? If you're still using the stock 250W PSU then it's not sufficient for your 6600GT video card (nVidia recommends a minimum of 300W). What's the brand of your video card ? An AGP GeForce 6600 GT may require an additional power source, is there a power connector on the board ?

If your Dimension 4600 model is the one with integrated video then take the AGP card out and it should switch back to the onboard video. See how it goes.

If there's dust in the computer case then turn the computer off, unplug the power cord and use a can of compressed air (available at your local electronics or computer shop) to clean the dust thoroughly, focus on the power supply, CPU and video card fans and heatsinks.

Unfortunately the BIOS doesn't offer a way to monitor your voltages. If the above didn't help all you can do is try another video card or another power supply (good quality 350W+) and see how it goes.


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## cowie (Apr 20, 2008)

*Re: Computer starts up, but the screen goes dark[moved from xp]*

Yea, I got a 450 PSU. I also have a 2.8 ghz 2.8, DVD drive, and CD drive.


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## cowie (Apr 20, 2008)

*Re: Computer starts up, but the screen goes dark[moved from xp]*

Do I really need to take the Gpu out? I have it disabled under device manager


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## justpassingby (Mar 11, 2007)

*Re: Computer starts up, but the screen goes dark[moved from xp]*

What's the brand and model of your 450W PSU ?

If you have onboard video then take the video card out. If the problem still arises with only the onboard video then there's a problem with the power supply or the motherboard. See if these troubleshooting steps help.

You'll have to try your computer with another power supply and another AGP video card to identify the culprit.

Make sure you cleaned all the dust inside the case and the power supply block (don't touch anything inside the PSU, use a can of compressed air).


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## cowie (Apr 20, 2008)

*Re: Computer starts up, but the screen goes dark[moved from xp]*

Okay I took my GPU out,and put my cable onto the integrated graphics port. Didn't work. I put it back, and it still doesn't work. Getting another PSU will take quite awhile.


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: Computer starts up, but the screen goes dark[moved from xp]*

see if you can borrow one to check with


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## cowie (Apr 20, 2008)

*Re: Computer starts up, but the screen goes dark[moved from xp]*

For some unknown reason, it works okay when I enable VGA mode by clicking f8. What does that mean? Plus I get this odd blue squares when I have VGA mode enabled. The resolution is also a little smaller.


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## cowie (Apr 20, 2008)

*Re: Computer starts up, but the screen goes dark[moved from xp]*

There also seems to be a line in the screen where the color is disfigured. And when scroll down, it takes a long time.


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## justpassingby (Mar 11, 2007)

*Re: Computer starts up, but the screen goes dark[moved from xp]*

Safe mode deactivates some features of the video card and runs at a lower resolution. Could mean that the video card is damaged or that it can't get enough power to do advanced rendering/work at an higher res.

Please remove the dedicated video card and use only the onboard video for the remaining of the troubleshooting, first thing is to check whether the motheboard itself is damaged or not. Try another power supply.



cowie said:


> Okay I took my GPU out,and put my cable onto the integrated graphics port. Didn't work.


You mean that it did the same thing as with the dedicated card : the computer boots fine but the screen turns off once Windows starts ?

You didn't answer this part :


justpassingby said:


> What's the brand and model of your 450W PSU ?


Check on the sticker that's on the side of the PSU block.


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: Computer starts up, but the screen goes dark[moved from xp]*

once it hands over to windows it also hands over to the card and if there is not enough power to run it you lose the screen


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## cowie (Apr 20, 2008)

*Re: Computer starts up, but the screen goes dark[moved from xp]*

Here is what my PSU says.

MODEL: ATX-450


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## justpassingby (Mar 11, 2007)

*Re: Computer starts up, but the screen goes dark[moved from xp]*

Isn't there some brand or model name written somewhere ? If it's really a noname PSU then it's probably not a good quality one. You'll have to borrow some friend's power supply to rule that out.


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: Computer starts up, but the screen goes dark[moved from xp]*

you could also have bad ram on the card ask a friend to try it in their computer to see if it is the same


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## cowie (Apr 20, 2008)

*Re: Computer starts up, but the screen goes dark[moved from xp]*

Thanks, I found my problem. It was really the GPU. I borrowed a PSU, and tried that. Borrowed different RAM, and didn't work. I then took out the dedicated card, and ran integrated. Integrated had bars, but that was just a driver problem. Thanks for all the help!


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: Computer starts up, but the screen goes dark[moved from xp]*

i will mark it resolved if it's not post back to this thread


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