Hello all, I'm new to these forum's, but I wonder if anyone could help.
When I turn on the computer, the light turns on, the one to show that the computer is on, and the thinking light starts blinking every 1- 1 1/2 seconds. The monitor is acting like it is not plugged into the computer, I know it is, but it sounds, the computer, like it is starting up normaly. Can anyone help?

Hi Brett,

Welcome to the PC Guide Forum

If the computer sounds like it is booting normally, but you have no video, I would start with the monitor. Try it on another computer or try another monitor on your system.

If the monitor is good, it might be a bad video card. If you have another, you could try that, or try yours in another computer.

Some monitors will tell you if they aren't receiving a signal from the video card. If you are seeing this message on the monitor, that could indicate a bad video card. If you are seeing nothing, it might be a bad monitor.

If you can't do this yourself or don't want to mess with it, take it to a computer shop or let a knowledgeable friend take a look.

Thanks for the welcome and I will try this, luckily I have 3 monitors, and tons of video cards, so I'll try it!
once again, thank you.

We will need some more info.....

What kind of computer is it?

When did this happen, and when was it last working properly?

What version of Windows are you running, and have you installed or uninstalled anything (hardware or software)?

Have you tried reconnecting the monitor?

How old is it?

TRy checking your video card if it is properly attached...

Hello Brett.

[I’m assuming this is an AT system, not ATX]
START UP TEST
1. Is PC dead? No
2. Did POST appear to run? I’ll assume it did not.
3. Were there any audible beeps? I’ll assume there were not.
4. You have a failure to complete the Power-On Self Test [POST].

NO POST
1. Are PSU voltages correct? If they’re not you may have a malfunctioning PSU. If they are ok then:
2. Disconnect all Peripherals and system adaptor cards except the keyboard and monitor.
3. Does POST now run? If not the system board is faulty. If it does run then:
4. Re-connect the floppy disk drive and run an advanced diagnostics programme from a floppy disk.
Try “Tufftest-Lite” from http://www.tufftest.com/free.htm but get better if you can. It’s simple but limited.
5. Does the system board pass? If it doesn’t it’s faulty. If it does pass, then:
6. Switch off and reconnect ONE peripheral/adaptor card.
7. Does POST now run? If it doesn’t this last device is faulty. If it does test this last device with diagnostics and if it fails it’s faulty.
8. Repeat from step 6, one device at a time until all faulty devices are found and disconnected and all good devices are connected, then re-test the system.

Just do the best you can regarding diagnostic software and try to find faulty devices.
By the way: that “thinking light” indicates when the Hard Disk Drive is busy doing something.

It turned out to be a video card problem, I replaced it, with a GeForce4 Ti 4400, works just fine now... thanks for your help though.

Oh and as for my system...
Pentium 4 procesor 2.7ghz
Geforce 4 Ti 4400
60 gig hard drive
Samsung CD-RW