Member Avatar for aussiegirl

Hi, We moved our computer from one room to another in our house. It was working fine before the move, now when we reconnected it up, with all the ports securely fastened and in the right holes, it just comes up with "NO SIGNAL". We tried a second monitor with the same result. After moving everything, I may have made a fateful error in cleaning the monitor screen with some window cleaner sprayed onto a cloth and then wiping the screen with it. Perhaps I should have left the monitor dirty as I recall hearing once that it can cause static to clean the monitor. Any suggestions? We are not computer literate enough to be pulling the machine apart and wouldn't know a RAM from a goat :( but I am sure we had this problem before and I just can not figure out what to do to get it going again. We have a little laptop that I am using to post this SOS for assistance. Should we try to network the laptop to the computer or would that just fry our brand new laptop as well? Thank you.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by bear14624

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A short, practical checklist that builds on points raised by and and that complements ’s follow‑up: start with noninvasive checks, only escalate if comfortable, and prioritise saving photos/data if the machine looks terminal.

  1. Verify the monitor and cable first: confirm the monitor’s power LED and on‑screen display work, try its input selector (VGA/DVI/HDMI), and connect the same cable/monitor to a known working laptop or another PC to rule the display and cable out.
  2. Confirm the tower shows signs of life without opening it: fans spinning, front power LED, hard drive activity LED and any POST/beep codes. No lights or fans usually points to power supply or motherboard; fans but no video suggests graphics/motherboard/BIOS issues. Try a different mains lead and wall socket.
  3. If willing to open the case: unplug mains first, ground yourself, and do a quick visual check for obvious damage (burn marks, bulging capacitors, loose power connectors). Avoid protracted tinkering if unsure — a bench test by a tech is safer than trial‑and‑error for old systems.

If recovery of photos is the priority, remove the hard drive and access it from another machine using a USB–SATA (or USB–IDE for very old drives) adapter or external enclosure; this is far simpler and lower risk than repairing the whole PC. Networking the laptop to a dead PC will not “fry” the laptop, but it won’t fix a non‑booting machine and is unnecessary for file recovery.

For future moves: power down and unplug everything, label and secure cables, keep the case upright and minimise jolting, and follow the display maker’s cleaning instructions. For very old rigs, consider salvaging the drive and replacing the system — repairs can be uneconomic and data recovery is usually the priority.

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Member Avatar for caperjack

don't think wiping of lcd did it ,but will say don't use window cleaner on you lcd ,use a lcd cleaner only .
if you have a add in video card / agp or pci-e i think you need to open the case and make sure the card is seated correctly by pushing in on the card

Member Avatar for aussiegirl

don't think wiping of lcd did it ,but will say don't use window cleaner on you lcd ,use a lcd cleaner only .
if you have a add in video card / agp or pci-e i think you need to open the case and make sure the card is seated correctly by pushing in on the card

Hi Caperjack,
Thank you for your reply. I did open it up after I remembered that my other antique computer needed the cards pushed in firmly and hoped that would do the trick. Alas no beeping or anything, so I took it to a local PC repair place that said my puter was fried. The parts are unavailable, and so we garbaged it. Can't complain - we paid $200 for it 5 years ago but it served our needs as we only use the computer to upload pictures and email etc. The only date I saw on it was 1999, so we really got our money's worth. Thank you again for your advice, much appreciated and sounded very logical.
Aussiegirl

Member Avatar for caperjack

your welcome ,good luck with what ever you buy to replace it !

Member Avatar for bear14624

Sounds like you may have a video card that caem loose. You WILL HAVE to remove it and reseat it in the slot firmly. I 'd bet that works

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