PC Back Home

I have my PC back again but it appears the graphics card was not the problem.

The computer shop guys started, shutdown, restarted, and shutdown the computer numerous time while in for repair over the two days. During this time the thing never missed a beat. As far as they were concerned the operating system and the computer are working perfectly.

They asked me about any USB equipment I might have connected to it. Now where do I start with USB equipment? I have 3 external hard disk drives, a webcam, wireless keyboard and mouse, printer, TV tuner, external DVD burner and a USB hub.

I said it couldn't be any of them because when I reinstalled Vista I had to disconnect everything before beginning the install and I got a blank monitor while installing some drivers after a shutdown. However I had to have the keyboard and mouse connected but I did forget about the external DVD burner and the webcam now that I think about it. And only 5 minutes after reinstalling Vista I had my first "blank monitor' at startup.

The guys at the shop believe there is some kind of conflict between the PC and one of the USB devices, most likely the external DVD burner or possibly the USB hub! Both are pictured above left.

It is all back together again now (except for the DVD burner and the USB hub) and all appears to be working fine. When a computer first starts up it checks all its 'peripherals'. If any of them are not working fully properly there may be a problem during startup!

You learn something new everyday!