Vista - Vista login screen is blank (no output on monitor)

I have an issue that is very strange: Vista has and will boot up normally,
showing the login screen most times, but occasionally it will boot up to a
blank login screen. The monitor says no video input, which makes me think
that the resolution may be bad. However, even if I try to boot through
advanced settings with low (640x480) resolution, I get this problem. I don'
think I've changed any drivers and I know I haven't changed any hardware this
last time that my problem as surfaced. The only thing I can think of is that
I was running media center on my computer and I may not have closed it before
I shut down my computer.
Graphics card:
e-GeForce 880 GTX (pci-e)
Has anyone else had this problem or does anyone know what I could do to
diagnose/solve the problem?

I don't think it has anything to do with your resolutions since they don't
take effect till the boot sequence is complete and you are not even seing
the Windows splash screen prior to the OS being loaded.
I think you may have an underrated power supply and your graphics card is
not getting enough power to start creating output.
Do you ever have the problem if you do a restart instead of shutdown and
turn back on. If not that would be even more indication that you have an
underrated power supply?
Does your graphics card have a separate power connection from the power
supply? If yes you might check to make sure it is seated tight.

"gigals" <gigals@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:1858FC1D-C627-47E6-A934-58E64BDED7B8@microsoft.com...
>I have an issue that is very strange: Vista has and will boot up normally,
> showing the login screen most times, but occasionally it will boot up to a
> blank login screen. The monitor says no video input, which makes me think
> that the resolution may be bad. However, even if I try to boot through
> advanced settings with low (640x480) resolution, I get this problem. I
> don'
> think I've changed any drivers and I know I haven't changed any hardware
> this
> last time that my problem as surfaced. The only thing I can think of is
> that
> I was running media center on my computer and I may not have closed it
> before
> I shut down my computer.
> Graphics card:
> e-GeForce 880 GTX (pci-e)
> Has anyone else had this problem or does anyone know what I could do to
> diagnose/solve the problem?

Thanks for the response. To clarify: I am seeing the motherboard boot
sequence and the OS splash screen that shows windows loading with a progress
bar. However, the monitor loses signal when I get to the login screen, I only
know I'm there because I hear the new chime from my speakers.
My graphics card does have a separate power connection that is connected.
I have restarted and shut down several times without problems, and a few
times with this problem, so I can't say definitively that it happens more
often on Restart vs Shutdown or vica versa.

"JW" wrote:

> I don't think it has anything to do with your resolutions since they don't
> take effect till the boot sequence is complete and you are not even seing
> the Windows splash screen prior to the OS being loaded.
> I think you may have an underrated power supply and your graphics card is
> not getting enough power to start creating output.
> Do you ever have the problem if you do a restart instead of shutdown and
> turn back on. If not that would be even more indication that you have an
> underrated power supply?
> Does your graphics card have a separate power connection from the power
> supply? If yes you might check to make sure it is seated tight.
>
> "gigals" <gigals@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:1858FC1D-C627-47E6-A934-58E64BDED7B8@microsoft.com...
> >I have an issue that is very strange: Vista has and will boot up normally,
> > showing the login screen most times, but occasionally it will boot up to a
> > blank login screen. The monitor says no video input, which makes me think
> > that the resolution may be bad. However, even if I try to boot through
> > advanced settings with low (640x480) resolution, I get this problem. I
> > don'
> > think I've changed any drivers and I know I haven't changed any hardware
> > this
> > last time that my problem as surfaced. The only thing I can think of is
> > that
> > I was running media center on my computer and I may not have closed it
> > before
> > I shut down my computer.
> > Graphics card:
> > e-GeForce 880 GTX (pci-e)
> > Has anyone else had this problem or does anyone know what I could do to
> > diagnose/solve the problem?
>
>
>

Ok thats a different ball game then since we know the card does work at low
resolution but has trouble sometimes getting started at higher resolutions.
What release of the Vista drivers are you using? The latest Vista Beta
drivers are 101.41.
What size is your Power Supply? And did all the hardware including the
graphics card come with the computer?

"gigals" <gigals@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:03355B31-AD66-4FCA-B5EC-B08AB5D6CF0E@microsoft.com...
> Thanks for the response. To clarify: I am seeing the motherboard boot
> sequence and the OS splash screen that shows windows loading with a
> progress
> bar. However, the monitor loses signal when I get to the login screen, I
> only
> know I'm there because I hear the new chime from my speakers.
> My graphics card does have a separate power connection that is connected.
> I have restarted and shut down several times without problems, and a few
> times with this problem, so I can't say definitively that it happens more
> often on Restart vs Shutdown or vica versa.
>
> "JW" wrote:
>
>> I don't think it has anything to do with your resolutions since they
>> don't
>> take effect till the boot sequence is complete and you are not even seing
>> the Windows splash screen prior to the OS being loaded.
>> I think you may have an underrated power supply and your graphics card is
>> not getting enough power to start creating output.
>> Do you ever have the problem if you do a restart instead of shutdown and
>> turn back on. If not that would be even more indication that you have an
>> underrated power supply?
>> Does your graphics card have a separate power connection from the power
>> supply? If yes you might check to make sure it is seated tight.
>>
>> "gigals" <gigals@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:1858FC1D-C627-47E6-A934-58E64BDED7B8@microsoft.com...
>> >I have an issue that is very strange: Vista has and will boot up
>> >normally,
>> > showing the login screen most times, but occasionally it will boot up
>> > to a
>> > blank login screen. The monitor says no video input, which makes me
>> > think
>> > that the resolution may be bad. However, even if I try to boot through
>> > advanced settings with low (640x480) resolution, I get this problem. I
>> > don'
>> > think I've changed any drivers and I know I haven't changed any
>> > hardware
>> > this
>> > last time that my problem as surfaced. The only thing I can think of is
>> > that
>> > I was running media center on my computer and I may not have closed it
>> > before
>> > I shut down my computer.
>> > Graphics card:
>> > e-GeForce 880 GTX (pci-e)
>> > Has anyone else had this problem or does anyone know what I could do to
>> > diagnose/solve the problem?
>>
>>
>>

I can't recall the version number of my drivers, but as of yesterday I had
the latest versions of all my hardware drivers when I checked on Windows
Update.
I am using a 500W power supply, and I built my computer myself. The hardware
I have is:
eVGA nForce 680i SLI motherboard,
Intel Core 2 Duo Extreme
e-GeForce 880 GTX
2 SATA (Raided) 300 GB HDD
LiteOn DVD-R/CD-RW

The graphics card requires the mobo to be connected with auxilliary power
otherwise the computer won't enter the initial boot sequence.

Again, thanks for the quick reply.

"JW" wrote:

> Ok thats a different ball game then since we know the card does work at low
> resolution but has trouble sometimes getting started at higher resolutions.
> What release of the Vista drivers are you using? The latest Vista Beta
> drivers are 101.41.
> What size is your Power Supply? And did all the hardware including the
> graphics card come with the computer?
>
> "gigals" <gigals@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:03355B31-AD66-4FCA-B5EC-B08AB5D6CF0E@microsoft.com...
> > Thanks for the response. To clarify: I am seeing the motherboard boot
> > sequence and the OS splash screen that shows windows loading with a
> > progress
> > bar. However, the monitor loses signal when I get to the login screen, I
> > only
> > know I'm there because I hear the new chime from my speakers.
> > My graphics card does have a separate power connection that is connected.
> > I have restarted and shut down several times without problems, and a few
> > times with this problem, so I can't say definitively that it happens more
> > often on Restart vs Shutdown or vica versa.
> >
> > "JW" wrote:
> >
> >> I don't think it has anything to do with your resolutions since they
> >> don't
> >> take effect till the boot sequence is complete and you are not even seing
> >> the Windows splash screen prior to the OS being loaded.
> >> I think you may have an underrated power supply and your graphics card is
> >> not getting enough power to start creating output.
> >> Do you ever have the problem if you do a restart instead of shutdown and
> >> turn back on. If not that would be even more indication that you have an
> >> underrated power supply?
> >> Does your graphics card have a separate power connection from the power
> >> supply? If yes you might check to make sure it is seated tight.
> >>
> >> "gigals" <gigals@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> >> news:1858FC1D-C627-47E6-A934-58E64BDED7B8@microsoft.com...
> >> >I have an issue that is very strange: Vista has and will boot up
> >> >normally,
> >> > showing the login screen most times, but occasionally it will boot up
> >> > to a
> >> > blank login screen. The monitor says no video input, which makes me
> >> > think
> >> > that the resolution may be bad. However, even if I try to boot through
> >> > advanced settings with low (640x480) resolution, I get this problem. I
> >> > don'
> >> > think I've changed any drivers and I know I haven't changed any
> >> > hardware
> >> > this
> >> > last time that my problem as surfaced. The only thing I can think of is
> >> > that
> >> > I was running media center on my computer and I may not have closed it
> >> > before
> >> > I shut down my computer.
> >> > Graphics card:
> >> > e-GeForce 880 GTX (pci-e)
> >> > Has anyone else had this problem or does anyone know what I could do to
> >> > diagnose/solve the problem?
> >>
> >>
> >>
>
>
>

Well, I uninstalled and reinstalled my drivers (turns out they were the same
version number) and that fixed it. Don't know exactly what the problem was,
but thanks for your help JW.

"gigals" wrote:

> I can't recall the version number of my drivers, but as of yesterday I had
> the latest versions of all my hardware drivers when I checked on Windows
> Update.
> I am using a 500W power supply, and I built my computer myself. The hardware
> I have is:
> eVGA nForce 680i SLI motherboard,
> Intel Core 2 Duo Extreme
> e-GeForce 880 GTX
> 2 SATA (Raided) 300 GB HDD
> LiteOn DVD-R/CD-RW
>
> The graphics card requires the mobo to be connected with auxilliary power
> otherwise the computer won't enter the initial boot sequence.
>
> Again, thanks for the quick reply.
>
> "JW" wrote:
>
> > Ok thats a different ball game then since we know the card does work at low
> > resolution but has trouble sometimes getting started at higher resolutions.
> > What release of the Vista drivers are you using? The latest Vista Beta
> > drivers are 101.41.
> > What size is your Power Supply? And did all the hardware including the
> > graphics card come with the computer?
> >
> > "gigals" <gigals@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> > news:03355B31-AD66-4FCA-B5EC-B08AB5D6CF0E@microsoft.com...
> > > Thanks for the response. To clarify: I am seeing the motherboard boot
> > > sequence and the OS splash screen that shows windows loading with a
> > > progress
> > > bar. However, the monitor loses signal when I get to the login screen, I
> > > only
> > > know I'm there because I hear the new chime from my speakers.
> > > My graphics card does have a separate power connection that is connected.
> > > I have restarted and shut down several times without problems, and a few
> > > times with this problem, so I can't say definitively that it happens more
> > > often on Restart vs Shutdown or vica versa.
> > >
> > > "JW" wrote:
> > >
> > >> I don't think it has anything to do with your resolutions since they
> > >> don't
> > >> take effect till the boot sequence is complete and you are not even seing
> > >> the Windows splash screen prior to the OS being loaded.
> > >> I think you may have an underrated power supply and your graphics card is
> > >> not getting enough power to start creating output.
> > >> Do you ever have the problem if you do a restart instead of shutdown and
> > >> turn back on. If not that would be even more indication that you have an
> > >> underrated power supply?
> > >> Does your graphics card have a separate power connection from the power
> > >> supply? If yes you might check to make sure it is seated tight.
> > >>
> > >> "gigals" <gigals@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> > >> news:1858FC1D-C627-47E6-A934-58E64BDED7B8@microsoft.com...
> > >> >I have an issue that is very strange: Vista has and will boot up
> > >> >normally,
> > >> > showing the login screen most times, but occasionally it will boot up
> > >> > to a
> > >> > blank login screen. The monitor says no video input, which makes me
> > >> > think
> > >> > that the resolution may be bad. However, even if I try to boot through
> > >> > advanced settings with low (640x480) resolution, I get this problem. I
> > >> > don'
> > >> > think I've changed any drivers and I know I haven't changed any
> > >> > hardware
> > >> > this
> > >> > last time that my problem as surfaced. The only thing I can think of is
> > >> > that
> > >> > I was running media center on my computer and I may not have closed it
> > >> > before
> > >> > I shut down my computer.
> > >> > Graphics card:
> > >> > e-GeForce 880 GTX (pci-e)
> > >> > Has anyone else had this problem or does anyone know what I could do to
> > >> > diagnose/solve the problem?
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> >
> >
> >