[Tech Article] How to fix when your monitor won’t display
Hello! Welcome to the Micro Center Community. Today I'm going to be covering one of the most common issues that we hear about: “My monitor isn’t showing anything!” There’s a lot of different things that could cause this, but there are a few things you can do pretty quickly to troubleshoot it yourself.
Click the links below to jump to a specific troubleshooting step!
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1. Make sure you only have one video cable plugged into your monitor
Only one cable should be connected from the computer to the monitor for display. While your monitor and PC have multiple video ports available, these are simply to allow more flexibility and add more monitors if you need them.
First, power down your desktop by holding the power button in for 5-10 seconds. While powered off, disconnect one of the cables from the computer and monitor. Now press the power button to turn the desktop back on. Allow the computer to boot backup normally, and your monitor should display properly.
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2. Make sure your monitor is plugged into the right port on the back of your PC
When looking at the back of your PC, you will see a variety of ports. The motherboard in your computer will have USB ports, audio ports and video ports on the back. However, depending on the hardware in your computer you can’t always use the video ports on the motherboard. If your computer has a dedicated video card, your monitor needs to plug directly into it.
In the example picture the area labeled #1 is the onboard video ports on the motherboard. All ports will be labeled next to their port with symbols/text such as DVI, HDMI, DP and VGA. The area labeled #2 is the video card.
If there is a video card in your system the motherboard video ports won’t work by default. You need to use the video card instead. If you cannot find the ports you are looking for on your video card, they may be covered/capped, which is very common a new computer/video card. In the example below, the DisplayPort (on the top) and DVI port (on the bottom) are covered:
These ports are fully functional but are covered to protect the slot when not in use. Just pull those covers off and reveal the available video ports and you’ll be able to use them.
If your display doesn’t show up after switching your cable to the video card, you may need to power cycle your computer.
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3. Power Cycle/Clear Caps on your computer
Once your cables are all in order, most likely your system will be showing something. If not, one easy step you can do is what we call “clearing caps.” Hold the power button down on your computer until it shuts off. Once it’s shut off, disconnect the power cable from the back of the computer. While it’s unplugged, press and hold the power button down for 30 seconds. This will discharge any electricity still being stored. After 30 seconds are up, plug the system back in and try turning it back on. You can also do this if your computer won’t wake up from sleep mode.
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4. Check the monitor input setting.
Your monitor may just be on the wrong input if it’s not showing anything. Monitors will have a menu button or input button you can use to change this. These buttons are typically located on the bottom-right corner of the monitor' sometimes in the center or on the back. Check your owner’s manual if you’re not sure where they are.
You want to cycle through the inputs until it’s on the one that matches the cable you have plugged into the monitor.
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5. Test another monitor or cable.
If you make it through all the previous steps and your monitor is still not displaying anything, then it’s likely an issue related to hardware. If you have another cable to test with your monitor, try that first. If it’s still not displaying after that, then try a different monitor that you know works. If the other monitor displays something then we know it’s an issue with the first monitor. If the other monitor also does not display anything, then the computer is likely experience an issue that is causing it not to display anything.
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If you have any questions, feel free to comment below! And remember, if it turns out you're having issues with your computer, Micro Center offers computer repair services in every store.
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i just built my pc and everything seems to be fine but once i plugged my hdmi into the video card and monitor it says no signal but that an hdmi is detected idk what to do so i’m hoping someone can help me.
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@leobingham_ what graphic card do you have? Has the hDMI cable being used been around monitors and computers for a long time (ex., 5 plus years)?
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i have a evga geforce gtx 1070 and my hdmi was working fine with my xbox and still is i also tried using a different hdmi but it did the same thing
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Does the issue occur with the other ports on the video card?
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yes i tried it with a display port and it said the same thing. also there’s only one hdmi port in the pc if that’s what u were asking
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Did the card work in another PC?
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l don’t have another pc so idk i got it used though
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It is hard to say if it hasn't been tested on another PC, do you have the power plug from the power supply plugged into the GPU?
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yes i do and the letters on it light up when i turn it on do u think i should return it?
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@leobingham_ what monitor do you have? And the monitor worked fined connected to your xbox correct? Was the graphic card purchased from MC or the monitor?
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yes i do and the letters on it light up when i turn it on do u think i should return it?
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@leobingham_ We need to know this information.
What monitor do you have?
And the monitor worked fined connected to your xbox correct?
Was the graphic card purchased from MC or the monitor?
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no neither gpu was from amazon and monitor from cosco. i have a lg 27gl. and yea it worked fine with my xbox
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i’m probably gonna return it and then go to mc and get the same one just used
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Hello @leobingham_ Have you tried another display with the computer, TV's for example have HDMI as an option to connect many times for testing.
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@TSKyleH there’s only display port and hdmi i tried a display port cable and the hdmi and neither work
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If none of the ports are working, it may be best to looking into returning it to the place of purchase.
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@ian that’s what i did. any idea of about where i could get geforce gtx 1070 i looked at the cambridge stir which is closest to me but they don’t have it. if not any suggestions on what i should get my budgets around 600 for a graphics card but it has sum wiggle room.
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The GTX 1000 series haven't been sold for quite some time. You'd probably be able to get a 3060 Ti or 3070 at that price range. Here's the graphics cards we have listed in that price range: https://www.microcenter.com/search/search_results.aspx?Ntk=all&sortby=match&N=4294966937+43+42&myStore=false
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Just got a new PowerSpec G707 and no display! Frustrating and of course Micro Center is closed on Sundays. Tried both the mobo and the GPU ports. Tried 2 different Display Port cables, 2 different HDMI cables, 2 different monitors. Tried every single port (4 different display ports, 3 different HDMIs) and power cycled.. The case is kinda scratched up. Have a feeling this was an open box sold as 'new'.
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I am sorry to hear of the issues and for any confusion but we are open on Sundays. If it is still not working for you, we offer walk-in service so an appointment is not required. Our Technicians are available Monday-Saturday from 10am-9pm and Sundays from 11am-6pm.
However, if you’d still like to let us know when you plan to arrive you can schedule a service appointment here: https://www.microcenter.com/site/service/service.aspx
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Hi, I just bought a 6700 XT from MC last week and I have yet to get a display. I tried all of the points in the beginning of the post and still no luck. I also searched online for any ideas and only found clearing caps, cycling off and on and updating my BIOS, which I also did. At one point, I removed the GPU and reinstalled my RX 570, and it worked; it worked with both the display port cable and the HDMI cable, so I know my cords are good, my monitor works, my BIOS is up to date, etc, I just still have no display.
I will add that while I had the covers off of my tower, the 6700 XT does seem to come on- the fans spin for a second or two and then go off. My mobo shows a fault in the GPU via the little diagnostic light. The light does not come on with the other GPU.
Any insight appreciated.
AMD Ryzen 7 2700, Gigabyte Aorus B450 Pro WIFI, Mushkin Blackline 2666 RAM- 32GB(4x8), Intel 600GB SSD, Dell D2719HGF monitor
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*Power Supply is EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G3 80+ GOLD
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@Rearwheel69 just chiming in. Assuming you have all your wiring seated into the motherboards ports all the way (ex., 24 pin, 8 pin connectors, PWR reset led case wiring, etc.), what happens when you try to boot your system with 1 RAM stick in the first ram slot closest to the CPU?
Try that, and do you have another system you can install your EVGA PSU into to see if it will power on the other system? That way you can eliminate if its a bad PSU.
If you don't have another system, you could try the paper clip test on the power supply, see video below.
Video:
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