OverRide-on monitor, not blue screen but box

[Queenbean]

I posted before about my sister's computer and the blue screen error, but now have really investigated the whole situation. (she lives in a different state, and I'm here visting)
As soon as the power comes up on the monitor, the screen is black and in the middle is the word OverRide in white and in a rectangular blue box.
I re-seated the boards on the tower. When I power the tower, it sounds like the tower comes up. I don't believe there is power to the keyboard. I have tried hitting the lock keys on the board to see the indicator lights, but nothing shows. I have tried Ctrl+Alt+Del, nothing changes on the monitor. As stated before, even when the tower is off and power is only on the monitor, it has that error. The tech support for the company is not there anymore. Apparently the company went out of business.
I'm very confused as to where the problem is. I can not do a single thing to try and change the monitor and functions with win 98. The monitor never changes appearance outside of that word.

[tjaymadison]

One of the first things to check is the monitor cable connection. I'm always tempted while troubleshooting to just plug it in without snugging up the screws, and that doesn't always give it a good ground. While you're there, double-check the keyboard and mouse connections. They may have been switched accidentally. The "OverRide" message is probably not really an error, just the monitor's way of indicating that it's getting power and is in fact working, but not receiving a signal from the video card. If none of this solves anything, post back and we'll try something else. Could this possibly be the work of a prankster or some kids monkeying around? http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

[Paleo Pete]

Might be a good idea to try the problem monitor on a different computer, see if it works. Try a known good monitor on this machine too. That will rule out monitor problems.

Only other thing I know of at this point is try another video card. Same for the keyboard. Try it on another machine, and a known good one on the problem machine.

------------------
So many idiots, and only six bullets...
Note: Please post your questions on the forums, not in my email.

Computer Information Links (http://www.geocities.com/paleopete/)

[Queenbean]

I have connected the cables really tight, even with the screws. I thought the same thing, I better make sure I make all the connections really tight. I have checked all the connections even behind the montior. Seems all to be tight. As stated before, the cards are all re-seated and screwed in tight. I am not able to test the monitor or keyboard on anything else here, she only has this one computer. This is like figuring out a mystery, it's terrible. She does have an 8 yr old, but he never really used it since he has every game boy, dreamcast, nintendo..thing.
Should I go and buy a monitor to change that out and see if that's the problem? I have switched out the keyboard and mouse connection with no luck either way. I'm just unsure where the problem would be, in the monitor or tower.

[tjaymadison]

Depending on the return policy, buying a monitor could be a pretty expensive trouble-shooting step right now. You might try taking just the system unit to a computer shop, have them connect their monitor and keyboard up, and see how it acts. Even BestBuy or CompUSA. I'd call around to check prices, and how much of a wait might be involved. Although there might be a minimum charge, just to have them hook it up and turn it on really shouldn't be much more than $20. You would probably have more luck at a smaller store. If they are successful, ask them to go into the BIOS setup and reset to "BIOS defaults" or "Fail Safe" or whatever.

Try something first. Open the case and remove the CMOS battery. It's about the size of a quarter, located on the motherboard. Sometimes you can pop it out with a toothpick, or something else preferably non-metallic. Leave it out for 10 or 15 minutes, put it back in, and try booting. If no success, you might try replacing it with a new one. Sometimes you can get one at Walgreens, or Radio Shack for sure. It's usually a CR-2032, but bring the old one along to match it up for sure.

[dlrider63]

is this by any chance an emachine tower? I was working on one and thats the screen i get if the monitor is on when the tower is not turned on. but it goes away as soon as I hit power button, have you tried actually replacing the cables? that might be easier to return than a monitor.