Does your system use XP?
If so, then the offspring may well have altered Administrator and/or Guest User rights.
However, your symtoms indicate that no video signal is being received by the monitor (orange light). Try checking that the graphics card is properly inserted into its slot, after switching the system off using the PSU's on/off switch at the back of the case (not at the mains, which earths the system).
Before checking the card, touch a metal part of the system case with your fingers to get rid of possible static electricity, hence the requirement to not switch off at the mains.
Also check that all the video related connections/leads are tight and properly inserted.
Another possibility is that the offspring has been playing games and set the resolution and/or refresh rates beyond the graphic card's capabilities.
In this case, you will need to temporarily reinstall Windows' VGA driver and reset the configuration in Safe Mode.
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Sorry I forgot to say this - noticed the problem first when trying to connect using a lap top -it said there was no dial tone and a problem. It turned out that the pc was causing a fault on the line. We had just suffered a huge thunder storm and the power had been on and off about 8-10 times during the morning. The pc was plugged in at the wall and the power on, although I had not switched it on at the tower or monitor.
Didn't know if those facts make any difference?
Thanks
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Well yes..:-)
If you don't have surge protection then it's highly possible that your modem /andor other component has been fried.
We rarely have thunderstorms in my area, but normally you would switch off at the mains supply and unplug the modem's RJ11 cable from the rear of your system's case.
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I can, from personal experience, confirm what Stuartli has said about thunderstorms.
When I was living in the UK, we had a huge flash of lightning which came to ground about a hundred meters away - literally a bolt from the blue. My PC was on (with a power surge protector) , my modem was not in use but the charge came down the telephone line and fried the PC!
Luckily my household insurance (Prudential -thank you !) paid out for a new PC tower.Now I always unplug not only the electricity supply, nut also the telephone connection, if I suspect a storm in the offing!
Roger. (in Spain).
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Sorry Stuart our posts crossed. Thanks for the ideas.
Offspring is a daughter, she says she's done nothing except use msn and hasn't touched anything she shouldn't - but then she never admits to anything
Sorry to be dense, but I need to insert the cd to reinstall the driver? and as for starting in safe mode - how do I know because I can't see anything?
(have checked all the cables etc)
Do you think a fried modem is most likely though? the storm was really bad, and as I say it caused the fault on the line which recovered as soon as I unplugged the cable to the phone socket?
Would that mean that the screen was affected?
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The graphics card drivers will be on the CD-ROM which should have been supplied with your card, but it's always best to use the latest drivers from the manufacturer's website.
However, the only way to check properly is via Device Manager, which is clearly not possible at the moment.
When you switch on, do you get the normal opening page first, with DEL at the bottom?
If so, immediately keep pressing the F5 button until you get a menu choice. Select Safe Mode.
Once in Safe Mode you can go to Device Manager, highlight your graphics card and click Properties. Then you should be advised if the driver is working properly or not.
If it is, cancel out from Device Manager, then right click on an empty area of the Desktop and bring up Display Properties. Click Properties. You can then check that your resolution setting is correct (normally 1024x768 for a 17in monitor) from the Settings tab, Colour quality for Medium 16bit and, from the Advanced tab>Monitor tab that the refresh rate is 85MHz.
From the Adapter tab, click on List all Modes; this reveals what resolution/refresh rates your card is able to provide. Set as above if necessary.
Reboot to let the changes take effect. You may have to drag and drop your desktop icons into their original positions.
If none of this works, then there will have to be a rethink..:-)
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Thanks again for trying to help.
Not having any joy today don't even get a page to look at.Nothing, the green light comes on, and then it immediately changes to orange and the screen dies.
At the moment I have disconnected all the cables (everything had looked to be connected ok though) cleared the desk, cleaned everything I can without damaging anything (and it's still all disconnected now)
A friend has said my graphics card sounds similar to one she had
64MB NVIDIA GFORCE2 TI TV-OUT. She says that it gave out about the same age as this one, and that upon looking they found a hidden fan which was clogged with dust - therefore leading her to believe it had fried?
I'm tending to blame the storm, I never knew I should've unplugged everything at the wall (but I do now) I don't have a spare monitor to experiment with.
I have a couple of local pc shops, and a PC World in town. Should I go and purchase another card (if so what?) and try to install it myself (bearing in mind the thought of opening the case scares me) or should I look for a repair man? (If so do I have to take it all to the shop? or do they prefer to come to you?)
Any further advice would be appreciated.
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Surely you have a friend whose computer savvy?
I wouldn't even contemplate going to PC World or similar big high street outlet with a computer system or, in the majority of cases, even patronise them.
Try a small, independent and friendly computer shop - you might pay a little more but it's worth it for peace of mind.
A similar card will cost about £30 or so and should, in theory, just slot in after removing your present one. But it would be wise first to check the current card in another system just to be sure it is kaput.
To take it out, take the same precautions as mentioned earlier, unscrew the blanking plate holder at the rear of the case and lift the card gently out of its slot. Hold carefully and only by the edges or the blanking plate cover/holder.
Test in another system if possible.
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Borrow a monitor. To be honest it sounds like a monitor fault anyway, but at least if you borrow a screen from someone else you'll know straight away without spending any money.
If you can't borrow one from someone else, then take your monitor to their house and plug it into their computer and see if it works then.
If it turns out the monitor is not the fault then you have a decision. It could well be the graphics card, but it might not be. And if it isn't, then buying items one by one until you find out what it is could be expensive and potentially fruitless anyway.
Is it a new enough computer that you wish to keep it ? Perhaps you need to consider whether or not a replacement PC is the answer if the change in screen doesn't help. You would be able to add your current disk to a new machine easily which would avoid losing any data - and that really isn't difficult to do.
If you don't wish to replace it, then I would take it to a PC repair person. In the end if it turns out to be the graphics card after all it may have cost you a little more than simply to go and buy one. But if it isn't that, then a PC repair is likely to work out cheaper in the long run.
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Sorry to hear that, but it does sound like the card (or some other crucial component) is dead. A repair shop will be able to give you a definitive answer. Video cards are not expensive and it is also quite easy to do it yourself, but if you are lacking in confidence it is best left to someone who knows what they are doing (and will pay for their mistakes). Not wanting to worry you further, but it would be quite surprising if a power surge had damaged only the video card. The fact that the power switch doesn't shut down the tower suggests something else (the motherboard?) has been fried. When you're pricing up the work bear in mind that you can get a perfectly usable complete new system for £400.
PC World: convenient but very expensive in my opinion.
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The fact that the power switch doesn'tshut down the tower suggests something else (the motherboard?) has been fried.
Just a thought: have you tried holding the power button in for a few seconds until the machine shuts down? If that works it might not be so bad.
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Oh you posted while I was typing - see my last post ;)
(it's not sooo bad then?)
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As Mark says, try to get your neighbour to try out your monitor and video card on his machine if he can. If the thunderstorm was the cause it would be surprising if the video card was all the damage, but if the motherboard/cpu are ok most other things are cheap enough. Try the monitor and card somewhere else first anyway. And if you're lucky it's just a coincidence about the storm.
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The whole system was from Mesh just over two years ago, as we only use the computer for internet, email and word processing I don't really want to buy new again - the total cost then was £1,155, and if it was working it does the job just fine.
Have discovered that the tower will turn off if I keep it pressed in a bit longer.
I don't really know anyone around here that well, but my neighbour may just be able to help at the weekend. I may leave everything in bits and ask him to plug it in and look then - I'd be a bit scared of borrowing anything and damaging it (I'm a wimp)
With what you've all said I now have a bit more knowledge and confidence to talk to him without seeming completely dense.
Oh and btw, I don't usually go to those big out of town stores. If my neighbour recommends a new card, or repair, I'll go local.
If it's got to be a replacement, then I need to think very carefully indeed.
Thanks again for all your help
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Like many pc users, you seemed to have bought a much more expensive machine than you needed. If you only need internet access and some basic word processing even the lowest spec pc you can buy will be well up to the job.
Probably be better to look for a used machine from a reputable dealer than start throwing ever increasing amounts of money chasing hardware faults if it turns out to be anything other than just the monitor.
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