Is a computer monitor fixable?

Computer/monitor problem?

• Alright, so I'm looking for some experienced help.... So my uncle gave me an HP Pavilion m7557c desktop computer because it stopped working on him. Originally what had been happening is that when the power button was pressed the lights on the computer would turn on and at the same time the fans would kick on louder than normal, and the disc drive lights would come on. The monitor acted like it wasn't connected though. My monitor showed "no signal" & my uncles monitor did the same thing. I tested my monitor on another computer & it worked fine & my uncle is currently using his monitor on his new computer which is also working fine. So that's what the original problem was. After doing some research I eventually did all of the general things I could do to try to fix it, I reset the BIOS, I got a new CMOS battery, I also Re-seated any possible loose components such as the RAM, sata & ide cables/etc. That didn't work so I decided to take the heatsink/fan off of the processor and I took out the processor (amd anthelon 64x2 core processor 4600+) just to learn a little where I am literally teaching myself all this stuff from scratch. When I put it back on I screwed the heatsink back onto the M.B. & hooked the monitor/mouse/& keyboard back in & then powered it back on and it finally came on. Now what happens is after using the computer for about 5-10 minutes the computer makes a short "grunting" sound & the screen cuts off, but it doesn't go to no signal, it just acts like the monitor went on a normal standby. But it doesn't come back on no matter what I've tried except when I take the heatsink off & pull out the processor & put it back together, but even then I have to leave the computer off for a bit before it'll start working again. Any Suggestions?

• Answer:

  It's possible the CPU is overheating or is faulty. When you removed the heatsink, did you reapply fresh thermal paste to it (underside where it contacts with the CPU die) and/or the CPU die itself? If you haven't then the CPU doesn't have effective, even contact with the heatsink and so is not able to dissipate the significant amount of heat it produces, it rapidly overheats until it cuts out or otherwise fails. Check that the CPU fan is working properly as well, it should be spinning constantly whilst the PC is running, if the fan cuts out intermittently the CPU will subsequently overheat. I will also suggest that it may be possible (although I am not thoroughly convinced) that the graphics card is failing or overheating, but this would in most cases result in a "no signal" or whatever monitor status. That's all I can think of at the moment, troubleshooting some hardware problems can be a methodical process of elimination, and this is a great way to learn about PC hardware, if nothing else you'll learn a bit and hopefully have some fun with it in the process.