Member Avatar for rob.bryant.18

I woke up this morning and went to turn my computer on, it usually takes a few minutes to start up so I left it to do it's thing. When I came back a few minutes later the computer seemed totally normal, but both my monitors were in 'power saving mode' and I could not get through to log in at all.
I turned it off and on again and saw that there is never a time that I can access the BIOS screen, the monitors are powered down 100% of the time. I went inside and cleaned the dust off the ports to no avail.
I am in no way a computer guy, and I am stumped. Does anybody have some ideas on what could be wrong, or how to fix it?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Begginnerdev

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The symptom you describe — the PC appears to power up but both monitors show “power saving” (no splash, no BIOS) — is usually a video-signal or power-delivery problem rather than a Windows-only issue. Before opening the case, verify the monitors themselves and the signal path: press each monitor’s menu button to confirm the on‑screen display appears (that proves the monitor has power). Try each monitor with another device (laptop, DVD player, etc.), swap cables and inputs (DVI/VGA/HDMI/DP), and try a different port on the PC. Some adapters/ports (especially DisplayPort adapters) can behave differently during BIOS/POST than in Windows.

If the monitors are fine, focus on the graphics card and power. With power off and unplugged, check the card is fully seated and any PCIe power lead is plugged in. If the motherboard has integrated video, move a monitor to the motherboard video socket to see if you get a splash there. Watch the system when you power on: do GPU fans spin, do motherboard status LEDs light, does the drive activity LED blink? Press Caps Lock and look for the keyboard light changing — that quickly tells you whether the machine is progressing far enough to accept input even if the screen stays black.

If you still get nothing, do a simple hardware-isolation test: unplug nonessential devices and cards, leave the system on a plain bench with only PSU, motherboard, CPU (with cooler), one power cable to the GPU only if needed, and one monitor attached. This removes case shorts and other variables. Check the board for visible damage (bulging caps, scorch marks). If you have access to a spare PSU or video card, swapping them is an effective way to isolate the faulty part. If the board has a two‑digit POST display or diagnostic LEDs, consult the manual for the code.

As , and have pointed toward software, memory and CMOS angles, keep those in mind once you can get video. If you are not comfortable with the internal checks, note the steps you tried and seek a shop — and always unplug power and ground yourself before touching components.

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Member Avatar for NardCake

This happened to me once, this is what I did. Assuming you are on windows, as soon as you see the manufacterer logo, spam the F8 key, windows advanced startup options should appear, key down with the arrow keys and hit enter on "Last known good configuration". Probably a windows driver that messaed up some drivers no biggie.

Member Avatar for rob.bryant.18

No, there is no windows logo. There is zero start up screen. No matter what I do the screens stay inactive and display nothing.

Member Avatar for Begginnerdev

If you are not hearing the POST (Power On Self Test) Beep, or you are hearing multiple beeps (error) then I would first look at memory (most likely the culprit).

Are you running Crossfire/SLI? (Dual Video Cards Crossfire(ATi) SLI(Nvidia))

Edited by Begginnerdev
Member Avatar for vbalag

i would look at CMOS battery first...replace and test on the motherboard...it must be a small button type silver thing on the motherboard...2032...all the best

Member Avatar for rob.bryant.18

I don't hear the beep, but I'm not sure my computer ever made the beep though that could just be misremembering on my part. If it is memory, then how would I fix it?

Member Avatar for rob.bryant.18

Also if I was to reset BIOS to factory settings, that wouldn't wipe my harddrive or anything, right?

Member Avatar for Begginnerdev

For Memory:

Pull one module out at a time, swapping them till you find the bad module (if any)

CMOS:

No, resetting the CMOS will not whipe a hard drive, but can/will reset the boot settings.

Edited by Begginnerdev
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