Member Avatar for Mirror Ballad

HP PGTD-LA Motherboard (Yes I know HP teh suck).

Anyway the issue is that my friend Carol has an HP A1133w-b Desktop bundle. She however doesn't use it much, and only for messing around online/surfing the net, and such. Well she comes home turns it on and the monitor doesn't come on. So she checks the cable, and it's fine.

The parts inside are working fine, but the monitor isn't receiving any signal or even realising it's attached to her machine. So we try a different monitor, and still the same thing. Her monitor works on other machines as well.

I'm assuming as I can't really troubleshoot this thing properly as it is, that the mobo's VGA has just died on her somehow, and can't really be fixed as I see it without replacing the mobo.

I even tried putting a VGA card in the machine, but it either didn't recognise it, or there is another issue, but I can't diagnose it or anything.

I'm thinking about replacing the mobo, but since it is a HP and mainstream PC manufacturers tend to make the mobos precisely for the case they are in. I'm curious as to what if anything would prevent me from replacing said mobo with a better mobo?

I know the form factor is that of a generic Micro-ATX, but it's still a question of will it fit the case and work, and has anyone here had the same experience?

Finally, she doesn't want to spend much, and can't so that's why I'm even considering this, and I hope I won't have to makeshift the case for this.

Thanks in advance,
- Judas

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A focused troubleshooting and replacement checklist to try before buying a board.

Since reports absolutely no video and therefore can’t enter BIOS (and ’s BIOS-change suggestion can’t be used without a display), try the following in this order — all are things you can do at the bench without needing to see the screen.

  • Safety first: unplug PSU before touching anything and ground yourself to avoid ESD.
  • Listen for POST: attach a small PC speaker to the front-panel header (many OEMs omit one). Power on and note any beep pattern — that often pinpoints CPU/RAM/video. If there are no beeps and fans/drive activity are dead, check PSU 20/24-pin and 4/8-pin CPU power connectors and try a different PSU if available.
  • Clear CMOS: remove the coin cell or use the jumper for 5–10 minutes, then boot. This forces defaults and can make the board prefer an add-in card automatically.
  • Minimal-boot test: remove all drives, opticals, USB devices and every expansion card except one stick of RAM and the CPU. Try one RAM stick in each slot in turn. If you have a spare known-good PCI/PCIe graphics card, install it (fully seat it, plug any auxiliary GPU power) and try again. Also test that GPU in another machine to confirm it’s good.
  • Front-panel and power-checks: short the power-switch pins briefly to rule out a bad switch. Inspect standoffs and motherboard mounting for shorts or misalignment that can kill POST.

If those fail, replacement-board considerations (as warned about OEM quirks): HP OEM boards sometimes use nonstandard front-panel pinouts, proprietary power or front-panel connectors and unique I/O shield cutouts. A generic microATX can fit electrically, but check CPU socket/chipset compatibility, RAM type, PSU connector style, and the case standoff layout. Back up the HDD first — swapping a motherboard can trigger Windows reactivation or require dealing with OEM licensing. Low-cost options: source an identical-used HP board or a cheap known-good GPU to verify video before committing to a full swap.

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Member Avatar for digitalocksmith

OK, you have established that a faulty monitor is not the cause in this situation!

It may be a problem with the video card, video controller or driver!

Does anything show up in 'Device Manager'?

Im assuming that the mobo has onboard graphics as you say that you added a vid card to the machine but windows wouldnt recognize it!
Did you enable the bios to recognize a PCI/AGP video adaptor as it would be set to onboard recognition if this is the original mobo setup?
Also, did you make sure you installed the correct drivers for the card that you added?

To aid your troubleshooting, try the card addition again making sure you get these 2 crucial factors above, correct.
At least before you splash out on a new mobo!

If you still have no success the issue may lie elsewhere, and may still be either software or hardware related!

See how you go! :cool:

commented: Tried to help even though he didn't quite pay attention to my problem XD. +1
Member Avatar for Mirror Ballad

I guess you misunderstood my problem. I cannot do anything. No monitor will work, and I can't see anything. The monitor doesn't even recognise it's connected to the PC. The VGA is detecting nothing. I can't see anything at all. Not the prompt, not windows, nothing. That's my problem.

Thanks for the reply, but it really wasn't helping with my problem. As I said, I can't troubleshoot it at all.

Member Avatar for jbennet

Yeah, he cant get to the BIOS. Sounds like the onboard VGA has well and truly died. In regards to swappig the mobo, be careful. I dont know about HP but i know that dell and co use BTX cases and components instead of standard ATX ones which are a pain in the ass.

commented: Reinforced what I already knew, but polite and knowledgable. +1
Member Avatar for Mirror Ballad

Yeah I was worried about that, but she can't afford a new PC, and I know for a fact it's an Micro-ATX 9.6 in x 9.6 in. Which is standard for them. However I am afraid that the case is made with that mobo in mind (or the other way around).


I am thinking about this mobo as a replacement.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157104

Member Avatar for jbennet

Not bad. Have you checked that the existing CPU and RAM be compatibile? . Also bear in mind that if her XP is OEM version then getting a new motherboard will mean you will have to get a new full (not upgrade), retail version of XP or Vista, which will probably cost about as much in total as a new PC.

Member Avatar for Mirror Ballad

Also bear in mind that if her XP is OEM version then getting a new motherboard will mean you will have to get a new full (not upgrade), retail version of XP or Vista, which will probably cost about as much in total as a new PC.

XD not for me man <_<>_>^_^

To answer your questions, yes I have and they seem to be right. I believe and hope she has DDR2 ram, but I'll double check in a minute to see.

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