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Computer: HP Pavilion HPE150-t (right out of the box)
Monitor: Samsung SyncMaster 940aw

I am currently typing on my first computer, a Dell Dimension 4550. I just took the computer out of the box and hooked everything up, including the monitor. I turned on the computer, and nothing came up on the monitor. I checked the connections and everything is plugged in correctly.

When I first turned on the monitor, a box in the corner switches between saying analog and digital, I assume, to determine the cable I have. And then the screen goes completely black, and the power button flashes on and off.

I am currently on my old PC using the monitor, so it works fine. I have the CD to install the drivers for the monitor. Do I need to install them in the new computer for the monitor to work? And if I do, how can I install them when I can't see? Any help you can provide would be great. Thank you.

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Short, practical checklist and explanations to follow up on 's report. The Samsung showing “analog / digital” then going black with the power LED flashing usually means the monitor is not receiving a valid sync/timing from the new PC rather than a missing Windows monitor driver. Monitors use EDID/DDC to tell the PC what modes they support, and Windows will show a basic picture with the generic PnP monitor driver — you do not need the vendor CD before seeing anything if a valid signal reaches the monitor. (en.wikipedia.org)

The most common hardware gotchas for this symptom are cable/adapter and port mismatches. If you’re using a DVI-to-VGA passive adapter, note it only works when the PC’s DVI port carries analog (DVI‑I or DVI‑A). A DVI‑D (digital‑only) output will not produce a VGA analog signal — passive adapters won’t help. Identify DVI‑I by the four small pins around the flat blade; if those pins are missing the port is digital-only. Try a straight VGA→VGA cable or a proper DVI‑D cable depending on the ports. (en.wikipedia.org)

The Samsung manual for the SyncMaster series explicitly notes the screen can go blank if the incoming timing/mode is outside the monitor’s supported presets; the same manual also describes the on‑screen “self‑test” box when no cable/signal is present. That matches the reported behavior — the monitor is entering a no‑signal/power‑save state because it never sees a compatible output. (manualslib.com)

Prioritized steps (do them in order, power off and unplug before touching hardware):

  1. Try the known‑good monitor/cable on each output (motherboard VGA, card VGA/DVI).
  2. If the system has a discrete GPU, plug the monitor into the card (motherboards often let you choose primary display in BIOS). (manuals.plus)
  3. Reseat the GPU and check any PCIe power leads. 4) If you see BIOS/POST but not Windows, boot Safe Mode or lower resolution. If nothing ever appears on any port, test the GPU in another PC or return/exchange.

Following and : start with port/cable swaps, then hardware checks — that will isolate whether this is a connector/adapter issue (most likely) or a faulty video output.

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Member Avatar for techsheaven

This may take some troubleshooting.

Connect your monitor and boot your new PC. Find your F8 key and get ready to tap it (about twice per second). Turn on the PC and start tapping. Do you see anything? If you get a menu, choose VGA, or Safe mode. Run your disk. If you don't see anything, It is probably your Video Card or Motherboard.

Here's the Video Cards that HP offers:

512MB ATI Radeon HD 4350 [DVI, HDMI, VGA adapter]
1GB ATI Radeon HD 5450 [DVI, HDMI, VGA adapter]
1GB ATI Radeon HD 4650 [DVI, HDMI, VGA]
1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 220 [DVI, HDMI, VGA]
1GB ATI Radeon HD 4850 [2 DVI, HDMI and VGA adapters]

Which one is in yours? Is there a video card on the Motherboard? If so, which one is your cable plugged into?

Is your video card seated all the way down into the slot and secured?

This will get you started. Once you post more information, we will continue.

Type to you soon. Good Luck.

Member Avatar for Alex.11

The mouse you are using requires you to first install the software for the mouse (which you obviously can't do until the OS is running), so you will need to obtain and use a mouse that doesn't require a software installation. Usually these types of mice plug into a USB port or PS2 port.

With the keyboard, you may be plugging the USB adapter into a non-working USB port on your computer; try plugging it into all of your other USB ports and see if the keyboard will work then. Again, you might want to try using a more simple keyboard product that isn't as advanced as the one you have, since the advanced one may require some interaction with the computer's OS.

Also, try a different monitor if you can. Check the back of your computer and see if there is more than one place where your monitor can plug in. If there is, try using the other port. Another problem could be that your computer has a monitor port that matches what your monitor needs, but has another monitor port of a different size, which could be the primary port you're supposed to use for your monitor.

Member Avatar for orten999

Like other Dell systems, this model came with good-quality documentation, including a setup poster and a manual that's specific to the 4550. It's filled with illustrations and thorough chapters on adding components and on troubleshooting common problems.

Member Avatar for techsheaven

Waiting for more information... Can you see the Power On Self Test? Is ther more than one VGA connector? What are the BIOS settings?

Did you forget we are working for you? Have you solved the issue?

Or have you abandoned this thread?

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