Member Avatar for celticfang

Hey, I have my monitor hooked up through a VGA box to my PS3.

When I got back home yesterday I turned my computer on and it worked fine, I shut it down and went to use it this morning and it said no signal even though everything was starting up fine.

Out of interest, I tried it on my PS3, it works fine there, I have not touched any of the cables, however it has been cold and not used for a week and a half (normally I use my PC every day), so could the cold weather have played a part in it not working and if so, how?

I'm not able to open the case at all and if I did I have been reading taking out the battery doesn't always fix it.

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A compact, practical checklist for this kind of intermittent "no signal" on a CRT routed through a two-way VGA switch. Because got a picture briefly by tightening connectors and the PS3 image appears through the same switch, start by treating the problem as a connection/switch/cable issue before assuming a fault inside the PC or the monitor electronics.

  1. Bypass the VGA box: connect the monitor directly to the PC with the VGA lead. If the picture returns, the switch or its cables are at fault.
  2. Swap the VGA cable for a known-good cable; cables fail intermittently when worn or cold.
  3. With everything powered off, check connector security and screw the VGA shells tight; gently inspect for bent/missing pins.
  4. Warm-up test: let the monitor, switch and cable reach normal room temperature (or warm them gently). Very low ambient temperature can make contacts intermittent and some old CRTs or cheap switches behave badly until warmed. Do not apply concentrated heat to the CRT face.
  5. Observe POST behavior on boot: listen for beeps, watch HDD/LED activity. If there is no POST splash on any display, the GPU or motherboard-level video may not be outputting (that requires further testing or opening the case).
  6. Try any other available output (DVI/HDMI on the PC or a TV) to confirm whether the PC is producing video at all.

Interpretation guide: direct-connection success points to the VGA switch/cable; continued failure with a direct cable points to the PC video output (card seating, failure) or an unusual monitor timing issue. Cold-only failures that clear when warm often mean dry joints, failing caps, or a flaky mechanical switch — repairs or replacement are usually the long-term fix.

Safety/note: do not attempt high-voltage work on a CRT. ’s suggestion to check connectors is on target; ’s post is unclear and not a practical next step here. If these non-invasive checks do not identify the fault, borrow a replacement monitor or seek tech service.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for BigPaw

Do you have any option on your VGA box or monitor to choose which input or output 'channel' to use? For example, on most Televisions (I know you're not talking about your TV, this is an example) you can choose whether to select a signal from HDMI, AV, PC, or TV Digital Antenna, Satellite, etc. Are there such options on your VGA box or monitor?

If it's not the above then We will need to know the make and model of your monitor, VGA box, and PC, please. How cold was it in this room?

Member Avatar for AarenAce

There semos attached in mother board may be it caused problem, change it or try to attached it with motherboard again in it's chip, I am sure it's start work again.

Member Avatar for celticfang

Bigpaw, I only got a two state VGA box (connected to my PC and PS3), it works fine with my PS3. I managed to get it working for a bit yesterday with sheer dumb luck by tightening the connections but this morning, back to the same issue.

VGA box only has two 'channels' for want of a better word, 1 being my PC output, 2 being my PS3 output (which like I said works fine even if the PS3 isn't on and gives a blank lit screen which it is supposed to)

Right now it is two degrees F in the room, it's been around that temperature both times I've had issues. I don't have the name of the VGA box to hand easily and the PC was a custom build job from Overclockers UK that I got, the monitor's an old 15 inch CRT job that I got from my work, as far as I can tell it's a generic cheap brand that didn't have a name on it and is detected by W7 64bit as generic monitor. That helps I know :)
Edited by celticfang
Member Avatar for BigPaw

Because it is such an old company monitor, (i.e. it has been plugged and unplugged a lot over the years)have a close look at the pins in the video connector of the monitor. Sometimes they can be bent, loose, or missing.

With older type monitors they can't always handle resolutions from your PC over 1024x768, or if it's really old 800x640. There is an easy step to find out if this is your problem, you just need to change the video setting on your PC to 1024 x 768 and see if this solves the problem.

It could also be that the VGA box can only handle up to a certain resolution and is 'rejecting' the signal from your PC. You should be able to determine this with the literature that came with the VGA box.

Can you borrow a monitor from a friend? It will help to narrow down the problem.

Member Avatar for celticfang

I can but not for a few weeks which is a problem, I run my monitor at 1024x768 anyway as that's what I'm used to and haven't changed it at all, I'm not sure what to do with the VGA box however, I'm beginning to think it may be the cable that's at fault, I can order a new monitor and see if that is the issue. Problem is though it's been plugged into the vga box for about two years and never moved.

I'll go get a cheap monitor off of Amazon and see if that helps. I did notice when I started my PC up I heard a rattling on my desk though I think that mayy be the vibrations from my PC moving stuff around.

Member Avatar for BigPaw

I wouldn't suggest spending money just yet, unless you feel you really would like a new monitor?

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