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Question from Myron: I have a 4 year old Dell Inspiron desktop PC with Windows 10 that started giving me a problem a couple of days ago.
Now when I turn on the computer it will run fine for a few minutes and then the screen will go black and say “No Signal”. A few seconds after that it blanks out completely.
I hope you can help me figure out what’s going on.
I thought maybe the power settings had got changed somehow but I double-checked and nothing is set to cause the display to turn off or to make the computer to go to sleep.
I don’t think the computer is going to sleep anyway because all the lights stay on and the hard drive keeps doing stuff long after the monitor has shut off. And pressing a key or moving the mouse doesn’t make the screen turn back on.
I know it’s not a bad monitor because it does the same thing with two other monitors that I tried. And it can’t be the video card because it doesn’t have one.
I’m at a loss as to what the problem could be. Do you have any idea what could be causing this?
I really can’t afford a new computer right now and I can’t afford to spend a lot of money to fix this one either if I can avoid it.
Rick’s answer: I’ve seen this same issue many times Myron, and it happens when something causes the monitor to stop receiving a video signal from the computer.
In the vast majority of these cases the culprit turns out to be either a corrupted (or out-of-date) video driver, heat build-up inside the PC or a bad video card.
(Note: I know you said your computer doesn’t have a video card, but it actually does. It’s just that the video circuitry is built onto the motherboard instead of on a stand-alone video card.)
Before you purchase a new video adapter I recommend that you try a couple of things.
First, check the “Support” section of the motherboard manufacturer’s website to see if there’s an updated video driver available. If so, download and install it, then check to see if the problem goes away.
If that doesn’t fix the problem, check to make sure the culprit isn’t over-heating.
You can do that by using SpeedFan to ensure that the system fans are working as they should. After you have verified that the fans are operating normally you can try blowing the dust out of the computer’s innards.
If the monitor still shuts off with the fans working correctly and all the dust removed, it’s time to go ahead and try a new video adapter. You have a couple of options here:
1 – You can purchase a stand-alone video adapter card and install it into an open PCI expansion slot inside your computer.
Since you’ve been using the motherboard’s integrated video circuitry to drive your monitor you can probably get by with the cheapest video adapter you can find. I see no need to lay out major bucks for a powerful GPU, especially for a PC that’s several years old.
2 – You can purchase an inexpensive USB video adapter and simply plug it into an empty USB port on your PC. These devices don’t cost very much at all, and you won’t even have to open your computer’s case to install it.
Bottom line: If your PC’s fans are working correctly, the latest video driver is installed and there’s no dust obstructing the air-flow inside the computer, a new video adapter should get your PC back up and running in no time.
Now there’s one caveat that I must mention: If the integrated video circuitry is failing that means other components on the motherboard could also fail in the not-so-distant future. Therefore, adding a new video adapter could well end up being just a temporary fix.
But that being said, I believe spending a few bucks on a very inexpensive video adapter is a good idea since you cannot afford to buy a new computer right now.
I hope this helps, Myron. Good luck!
Update from Myron: Thanks for taking the time to help me Rick. I really appreciate it.
I checked the fans and they are ok. I also blew the dust out the computer but the problem was still there. I went to Best Buy and bought a USB video adapter and that fixed it.
Bonus tip: This post explains how to keep your computer running smoothly by keeping it malware-free.