computer turns on, monitor doesnt

[novideo]

im helping a friend who owns a hp a6300f bundle, he's had it for 2 years.

the problem is that the computer will power on, the lights all act as normal, the fans all spin, and everything appears to be in working order, but the nothing is displayed on the monitor except a "no signal" error, then the monitor goes to sleep.

Symptoms:

-power light is blue, normal

-fans all spin,even new pci-e x16 video card fan spins

-disk drive "grunts" as if trying to find a disk when none is present

-keyboard lights up and caps,scroll,num lock lights turn on and off appropriately

-usb optical mouse DOES NOT light up

I Have Tried:

-power cycling/power clearing on pc and monitor

-using 3 different monitors, all 3 act the same with hp pc

-connecting my pc to his monitor, monitor works with my (dell) pc

-4 different mice, 3 usb, 1 regular, 3 used/old mice, 1 brand new usb mouse, all work on other pc's

-resetting/removing CMOS battery/jumper

-removing/cleaning both ram cards

-using an alternative PSU, his power supply worked in my dell, but mine acted like his, in his HP.

-removing and reconnecting all devices (hdd, dvd drive, cards, ram, etc.)

-using pencil eraser to clean all contacts, on all cards including ram

-purchase and install NEW pci-e x16 video card (PNY GeForce 9400 GT 1GB PCIe Graphics Card) fan spins, no display

-booting with bare essentials attached (PSU, mobo, hdd, ram, monitor, keyboard and mouse)

-booting with each essential removed, and put back one at a time until all parts fully connected, same results in all cases

-booting with windows boot/install cd

Things I Have Yet To Try:

-replacing ram cards, ordered some, still waiting for delivery

-replacing mobo components (fans,cpu, gpu, capacitors,etc)

-removing/replacing the mobo

Computer Specs:

Hp Pavilion

2gb ddr2 ram

500gb sata hdd

1x sata dvd drive/burner

Windows Vista

he ended up buying a new computer after i tried the above mentioned remedies with no effect, against my advice he bought another hp.

the new Hp is model # p6204y, i tried to acces the hdd from the A6300f on the new p6204y, but it could not be accessed. the old hdd drive installed properly, has located and identified by the bios and the operating system, but when i check the disk manager it does not show up as healthy or even as being online. it does appear in the disk manager but can not be accessed.

the new pc has windows 7 home premium, the old hdd has important data that must be recovered, as well as a vista OS.

What I Need:

is a solution to either:

A) how to repair a6300f, so that the monitor will display anything at all (post, splash, etc, anything really)

or

B) how to gain access to second sata hdd in windows 7 environment (im sure the issue is win 7 related, because all similar issues on web-based help sites are due to problems with vista & 7)

[novideo]

bump, still need help here....

any ideas or advice will be greatly appreaciated

[prchulo1]

i have the exact same problem and this is the 2nd mobo this pc has had cant find any solution i think its a fried mobo thats what happend last time but it was under warrenty but now i would have to pay so i was looking for help on it but cant find any..i did most of the thing you did with the same resultguess this is just a **bleep** lemonnever buy an hp again..

[Andrew_Predoehl]

I have an a6300f with the exact same problem.  Computer is 2 years old.  I tried an external video card, but did not fix it.  The blue light works, the fans spin, the CD drive spins.  I tried to reset the BIOS.  No luck.  Please let me know when you get it figured out.

[swboone]

I have the exact same issue on my a6300f Pavilion desktop and from my own diagnosis and looking at many forums, I am 99% sure this is a motherboard failure.  A local computer technician said the motherboard is very hard to find (and very expensive if you find it) and he also refused to replace it saying that it is a known "high failure rate" part.  However, in talking to HP support, they do not acknowledge it as a high failure rate part and thus refuse to fix it even though it is only a 2 year old workstation.  I am very disappointed by this since it is very clear from my research that this motherboard has had a high premature failure rate (coincidentally, many of the failures have been very close to a 2 year time frame).  I am also disappointed in HP's response since I spent extra money to buy an HP based upon prior good experience's with them and based upon their repuation for quality.  I guess all I can do at this point is wait and see if they eventually acknowledge the design flaw in this motherboard and eventually agree to support it under warrantee.  I also tried installing PCI express video card, resetting BIOS, clearing CMOS memory, reseating memory sticks, draining power supply, checking power supply, etc. -- all with no luck.  If you look around at support forums, you will find many others who have had the exact same exprerience with the a6300f.

I still can't believe they will not ackowledge the issue with the a6300f with the large number of failures right around the 2 year time period -- there is *clearly* a design/manufacturing flaw with a large number of system boards that ended up in these workstations.

/steve

[swboone]

I have the exact same issue on my a6300f Pavilion desktop and from my own diagnosis and looking at many forums, I am 99% sure this is a motherboard failure.  A local computer technician said the motherboard is very hard to find (and very expensive if you find it) and he also refused to replace it saying that it is a known "high failure rate" part.  However, in talking to HP support, they do not acknowledge it as a high failure rate part and thus refuse to fix it even though it is only a 2 year old workstation.  I am very disappointed by this since it is very clear from my research that this motherboard has had a high premature failure rate (coincidentally, many of the failures have been very close to a 2 year time frame).  I am also disappointed in HP's response since I spent extra money to buy an HP based upon prior good experience's with them and based upon their repuation for quality.  I guess all I can do at this point is wait and see if they eventually acknowledge the design flaw in this motherboard and eventually agree to support it under warrantee.  I also tried installing PCI express video card, resetting BIOS, clearing CMOS memory, reseating memory sticks, draining power supply, checking power supply, etc. -- all with no luck.  If you look around at support forums, you will find many others who have had the exact same exprerience with the a6300f.

I still can't believe they will not ackowledge the issue with the a6300f with the large number of failures right around the 2 year time period -- there is *clearly* a design/manufacturing flaw with a large number of system boards that ended up in these workstations.

/steve

[ChucksComputers]

I own a small computer repair business, chuckscomputerrepair.com, and just diagnosed an HP Pavilion a6300f video problem to be the motherboard yesterday.  Also I fixed a a6500f with no video last month by replacing the motherboard.  Both models use the same motherboard.  I just found this forum because I was searching to see if this is a high failure item and from the comments here it looks like it is.  HP identifies the motherboard as a Foxconn MCP73M01H1 and it has N15235 printed on it.  When I needed a MoBo for the a6500f last month I didn't find the same one available so I used the closest match I could find which was an Intel BOXDG43GT LGA 775.  It's available from NewEgg for $86.99 + $2.99 shipping.  Generally ANY change in the MoBo requires Windows to be reinstalled because it's hooked to the hardware.  However after installing the Intel MoBo in the a6500f I turned it on, Vista wanted to do a repair, clicked OK, it crunched along for awhile then booted up normally!  All programs, files, etc were intact and everything worked normally.  I've just ordered the Intel MoBo for the a6300f and expect Vista will do the repair and work normally on that one too.  Chuck

[ChucksComputers]

A follow-up on the HP Pavilion a6300f no video problem:  I just installed the Intel DG43GT motherboard and Vista booted right up without even doing a repair.  I loaded the drivers from the disk that came with the motherboard and everything is working fine.

[justn523]

I am having the same problem and have had it the same amount of time. [text removed]We have more than enough proof that this is a manafcturing error and all we want is for them to fix there mistake.

Send me an email if you feel the same way and how we can get a hold of others with this problem

[text removed for privacy]

Justin

[misterg53]

I have a a6500f also.Something is not right.I have owned several HP computers and this is the first time I have seen anything like this.I have the same problem as the rest of the posts.Chuck I'm going to try your fix.I have alot on that computer and if I end up losing it I will never buy anything that has HP on

. Thanks for your post I'm sure it helped a lot of others. Manny

[misterg53]

I wonder how may people are having this problem and if HP is going to do anything about it. Didn't they see what happened to Toyota? I have been a die hard HP fan for years,heck even my plasma TV is a Hp.There is a flaw in this computer's motherboard and they need to fix it before it gets out of hand.