Strange monitor signal problem

[bluckfactory]

Hi, i have a pc problem thats been lingering around for a while. i had quite a decent pc, and then suddenly one day, the monitor just stopped receiving signal. whenever i turned it on after that, it would say the same thing. ive tried multiple monitors all giving the same results.

 

several months pass by with the pc tucked away, and today i decided to try it again. i set it up, plugged the same old monitor in, and it worked fine. the pc was running smooth, nothing showed up as having errors in the device manager, and i could run the game i tried at 240fps.

 

i turned the pc off, and then when i went to turn it on again an hour or so later, i was getting no signal again, and have been since. anyone have any ideas at all? i dont know much about computers, i cant think what it could be at all.

 

in short, this is what happened:

 

1 - PC functioned perfectly (edit: with particular programs open, monitor would lose signal after between 1 and 10 minutes and would have to reboot, and would be fine again)

2 - turn pc on the next day, no signal

3 - tried other monitors, same result

4 - left the pc alone for months

5 - tried it again today, and it worked, showing no errors and running games perfectly

6 - turned it off

7 - turned it on, getting no signal again

 

any help would be hugely appreciated, as the pc im using right now is about three thousand years old. thanks

Edited December 31, 2008 by bluckfactory

[Guest Wolfeymole]

Sounds like a CPU heat issue to me.

 

Remove the side panel and give the box a good clean out taking special attention to the CPU Heatsink and Heatsink Fan using a can of compressed air.

 

Do this of course while the pc is off.