I think this might be some strange power issue, but I'm not sure. I've never run into anything like it before.
I was installing 2 computers for a customer. Both of their old monitors used VGA cables, the new computers have only DVI and HDMI. One of their monitors would take a DVI cable, so I had to come up with 2 cables and a monitor, which wasn't that tough. The first computer install went fine. That's the one I swapped out the entire monitor for. The second one, though, had no video. The computer did the POST beep, it had hard drive access, it shut down in a minute or two when I pushed the power button. And that is where our story begins.
The monitor which was there had no video in the office. A different DVI cable did not rectify the situation. The monitor which works on the other computer had no video in the office. The monitor which was there had no video in 2 different outlets. I brought it back to the shop. No video with that monitor, but it did have video on a monitor on my bench so I took that monitor on site and no video in that office.
So, the computer is working fine, but in that office I tried 3 different monitors, none of them had video. The original monitor also didn't have video plugged into an additional 2 different outlets on-site, nor did it have video at my office. The second monitor had video on the other computer I installed, no video on this computer, video again on the first computer. The third monitor had video with that computer in my shop, but no video in that office.
I did not think at the time to try the other two monitors on different outlets. It really didn't occur to me until now that I may be looking at multiple problems, one monitor with bad DVI and two monitors which don't get DVI signals in that office.
Now for the wiring. There is a GFCI switch in that room (not the one it's plugged into). The Test button works, so I assume the wiring is probably good. BUT, the computer equipment is plugged into an old power strip which is plugged into a short extension cable (a good orange one) which is plugged into a really old APC battery backup. One of the old white "bricks".
So my question is: What the hell? This must be a power issue? The second monitor I tried is the one the computer was connected to while I installed Windows, updates and a ton of software. The third monitor I tried worked just 20 minutes before in my shop. The first monitor never worked on the DVI input, but worked flawlessly connected to the old computer via VGA for years. In every case the first instance of it not working was in that office, though I'm kicking myself for not testing other monitors outside of that office now. It's a 20 minute drive and I've made 3 trips today alone.
I'm hoping a stray voltage isn't frying the DVI in the monitors. If it is, it didn't get the second monitor I tried, and I tried it multiple times, because it's still hooked to and working on the first computer I installed.
For now I'm going to pick up a $3 power tester from the hardware store and try again tomorrow. My next step is maybe to eliminate the ancient battery backup. I'm guessing it's 10 or 12 years old at least, and I'm usually pretty accurate when I guess at the age of equipment. I suppose some type of poorly formed/uneven waveform could cause weird issues. Maybe an over/under voltage might cause freakiness with one computer but not another and burn out a DVI port in a monitor over a period of time, even though it was connected with VGA. But then, technically problems with burned CDs may be caused by colliding black holes causing ripples in space which minutely change the distances between the bits on the disk. Yeah, theoretically you can't say it's absolutely impossible, but that doesn't make it sound less stupid.
I was installing 2 computers for a customer. Both of their old monitors used VGA cables, the new computers have only DVI and HDMI. One of their monitors would take a DVI cable, so I had to come up with 2 cables and a monitor, which wasn't that tough. The first computer install went fine. That's the one I swapped out the entire monitor for. The second one, though, had no video. The computer did the POST beep, it had hard drive access, it shut down in a minute or two when I pushed the power button. And that is where our story begins.
The monitor which was there had no video in the office. A different DVI cable did not rectify the situation. The monitor which works on the other computer had no video in the office. The monitor which was there had no video in 2 different outlets. I brought it back to the shop. No video with that monitor, but it did have video on a monitor on my bench so I took that monitor on site and no video in that office.
So, the computer is working fine, but in that office I tried 3 different monitors, none of them had video. The original monitor also didn't have video plugged into an additional 2 different outlets on-site, nor did it have video at my office. The second monitor had video on the other computer I installed, no video on this computer, video again on the first computer. The third monitor had video with that computer in my shop, but no video in that office.
I did not think at the time to try the other two monitors on different outlets. It really didn't occur to me until now that I may be looking at multiple problems, one monitor with bad DVI and two monitors which don't get DVI signals in that office.
Now for the wiring. There is a GFCI switch in that room (not the one it's plugged into). The Test button works, so I assume the wiring is probably good. BUT, the computer equipment is plugged into an old power strip which is plugged into a short extension cable (a good orange one) which is plugged into a really old APC battery backup. One of the old white "bricks".
So my question is: What the hell? This must be a power issue? The second monitor I tried is the one the computer was connected to while I installed Windows, updates and a ton of software. The third monitor I tried worked just 20 minutes before in my shop. The first monitor never worked on the DVI input, but worked flawlessly connected to the old computer via VGA for years. In every case the first instance of it not working was in that office, though I'm kicking myself for not testing other monitors outside of that office now. It's a 20 minute drive and I've made 3 trips today alone.
I'm hoping a stray voltage isn't frying the DVI in the monitors. If it is, it didn't get the second monitor I tried, and I tried it multiple times, because it's still hooked to and working on the first computer I installed.
For now I'm going to pick up a $3 power tester from the hardware store and try again tomorrow. My next step is maybe to eliminate the ancient battery backup. I'm guessing it's 10 or 12 years old at least, and I'm usually pretty accurate when I guess at the age of equipment. I suppose some type of poorly formed/uneven waveform could cause weird issues. Maybe an over/under voltage might cause freakiness with one computer but not another and burn out a DVI port in a monitor over a period of time, even though it was connected with VGA. But then, technically problems with burned CDs may be caused by colliding black holes causing ripples in space which minutely change the distances between the bits on the disk. Yeah, theoretically you can't say it's absolutely impossible, but that doesn't make it sound less stupid.
