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A hardrive was connected and powered in a PC without the old hardrive present. Issue now: There is no visual, as if the graphics card does not work. Note: The new hardrive was connected to the PC without properly being formated. How do I solve this problem? What are the odds of connecting a brand new non-formated hardrive to a PC without the previous (Master) hardrive present?


Additional Details

I power up the pc and nothing shows up and not even the bios screen shows up as if the monitor is not even connected. The monitor output is on the motherboard and always has been. (no graphics bus-card is installed) Note: The monitor used is in good condition.

All connected cables are correctly placed and are in good shape.

The owner was so fast to connect a new Hardrive without going through the proper protocol needed to change one out.

The Reason for changing the Old Hardrive: The data cable port is damaged.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by compdoc

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As described a loss of video after the drive swap and suggested testing a graphics card, here is a focused, practical checklist to isolate whether the new drive caused a hardware fault or whether the problem lies elsewhere.

Start with a minimal "bench" POST test: power down and unplug, remove the new drive and any nonessential cards and peripherals, leave just CPU (with cooler), one known-good RAM stick in the recommended slot, and the onboard video/monitor. Reconnect power, attach the monitor and a system speaker if available, then power on. Look for BIOS/POST activity, keyboard lights, and any beep codes. This isolates motherboard/CPU/RAM/PSU/video from drive-related issues.

If there is still no POST, try clearing the CMOS (remove the battery or use the motherboard jumper per the manual), reseat RAM and CPU power connectors, and swap in a known-good PSU or discrete video card as suggested. Follow standard POST troubleshooting practices for beep/code interpretation and CMOS clearing for guidance: Power-on self-test and CMOS battery.

If the system POSTs with the drive removed, the drive or its power/data cable likely caused a short or wiring fault. Test that drive externally with a powered USB/SATA adapter or in another system before reinstalling. Inspect power connectors and the drive for bent pins, signs of burning, or metal shavings that could short the board. If benching and PSU/video swaps still produce no POST, a motherboard or PSU failure is likely and component-level repair or replacement should be considered.

Member Avatar for compdoc

its ok to add a new hard drive without the old one present as long as the new one is set to be the master. once the computer is turned on and the new hard drive has not been formatted then the monitor should say "no operating system found". So if you don't have anything showing on the screen its possible that the graphics bus or port could be damaged and possibly the mother board could be damaged.

try to add a working graphics card

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