No Video from Optiplex 990

Question

I've got an Optiplex 990 desktop and can't get any video to display at all. I've tried three different monitors and three different video cards:
-onboard VGA
-radeon card1 both VGA and DVI-D
-radeon card2 w/ DVI-I and adapter to DVI-D

I've got two monitors that are VGA only and tested good, and another one that is VGA or DVI-D. I don't have a displayport monitor so I can't test that. I don't really want to spend money buying adapters or connectors that might not fix the issue.

We bought this system used and someone else was using it with the third monitor. It sat for a year and now I can't get it to display. Not sure what to do.

JOcean · Answer

Are you sure that the system is in fact booting up properly? Are you hearing any beeps or see any flashing diagnostic lights? Also since the system sat for so long have you tried to replace the CMOS (coin cell) battery?

https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/3wn2d8/discussion_just_a_reminder_that_a_dead_bios/

alixshedd · Answer

Yes, the system appears to be booting up properly. There's no beeps, it seems to boot to a hard drive, and I can eject from the DVD drive and when I insert a new CD it seems to be loading from it

speedstep · Answer

ONBOARD VGA will not work if there is any video card installed

Sounds like the video card is bad.

Windows will fail to boot if DL2032 cmos battery is bad.

https://www.amazon.com/Duracell-Lithium-Battery-lasting-battery/dp/B00005T3DV

Most stores carry these because blood sugar machines use the same battery.

It does not matter if it says for medical device it works fine in a PC.

alixshedd · Answer

I tried three video cards (including onboard vga w/o any other card installed) so the card is not the issue.
If the CMOS battery is bad will it still boot up and allow DVD drive to eject?
It's cheap anyway so I will try that before deciding the motherboard is bad.

speedstep · Answer

These models will not successfully boot if CMOS battery is bad. Working $5 cmos battery is required. https://www.staples.com/Duracell-DL2032-3-Volt-Lithium-Battery-2-Pk/product_384338

speedstep · Answer

All of these models will F12 boot a LIVE Linux DVD even if the hard drive is bad. Disconnect the data cable on hard drive. It should post with error.

https://www.amazon.com/Ubuntu-Unleashed-2019-Covering-18-04/dp/013498546X/

alixshedd · Answer

I installed a brand new CMOS battery and have tried booting with hard drives disconnected. Still no video. At this point I'm guessing the motherboard may be bad, as I'm not sure what else to do

alixshedd · Answer

Well, I guess I'm buying a new system

alixshedd · Answer

Turns out one of the memory modules was bad. Strange that I wasn't getting any error beeps

Optiplex Desktops

No Video from Optiplex 990

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