I am trying to recycle a PC that was used at an office and then wiped
clean of it's operating system.  It is a Pentium 4 and has lots of
memory and could easily handle WIN XP.  When I hook it to my monitor
the screen is blank.  How do I go about getting it loaded with
software.  Can I just try to load Win XP or do I need to do something
else first?  I have heard mention of a rebootable disc but am not sure
what it is or does.

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Clarification of Question by atp2007-ga on 09 Sep 2005 13:05 PDT

By blank I do mean blank.  There is nothing on the screen at any time.
 I know the monitor works, I unhooked it from the used PC and rehooked
it to another and it worked fine.  The used PC was working up until
the time it was cleaned off and should still be okay (no drops or such
that I know of).  I was hoping to be able to  use this decent PC
instead of it going to a landfill and adding to heavy metal pollution.

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Request for Question Clarification by maniac-ga on 09 Sep 2005 14:36 PDT

Hello Atp2007,

I hate to ask, but I had an experience with a similar situation (a
recycled PC from work) where the CPU was not properly seated on the
motherboard. A loose or disconnected CPU could certainly cause the
symptom you are mentioning (as well as other possible causes). Could
you open up the system (carefully), ground yourself (or use an
electrostatic discharge strap), and check to make sure all the
components and cables are firmly connected in the correct spots?

  --Maniac

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Clarification of Question by atp2007-ga on 09 Sep 2005 15:43 PDT

I will try looking inside tonite.  It doesn't make any noise at all
and there is really no idication if the monitor is connected.  There
does seem to be two connections for monitors in the back but I have
tried both.  Will update after I check inside for loseness.

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Request for Question Clarification by maniac-ga on 10 Sep 2005 12:15 PDT

Hello Atp2007,

When you say "It doesn't make any noise at all" (and I assume this is
a desktop PC and not a laptop), does that mean there is no fan noise
and motion from the fan on the power supply? If so, I would check the
fuses [if any] while you have the system open.

  --Maniac

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Clarification of Question by atp2007-ga on 10 Sep 2005 13:14 PDT

When I meant no noise I was referring to nothing coming from it when
you first turn it on, like a startup beep.  The fan does run and the
PC does have power.

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Request for Question Clarification by maniac-ga on 11 Sep 2005 09:05 PDT

Hello Atp2007,

It is good that the fan comes on. Rather than going back and forth
several more times, look at
  http://www.fonerbooks.com/power.htm
which has a step by step diagnosis of possible problems. There are
related diagrams for video, motherboard, and other problem areas as
well.

For example, you mention the display is blank but on this page a blank
display may still get you a "yes" on the "live screen?" question.
Click on that decision symbol to take you to a fuller explanation of
each decision. [in particular, if your monitor has a "no signal"
display that goes blank when the PC is turned on, the display is
"live"]

  --Maniac

By blank do you mean nothing ever shows up?  Typically, while a
computer boots it will beep and should show something (either a logo,
or processor speed/ram).  After this point it will try to boot the OS.
 If the machine has no OS you'll get a blank screen or message that
says something like, "No operating system found."

If nothing ever shows up I'd say the computer may have a hardware problem.

A bootable disc allows the computer to boot off of it instead off of
the hard drive.  The Windows XP install CD, for example, is a bootable
disc.  Assuming your computer is ok, you should be able to put in the
install CD and the computer will give you an option to boot from it. 
If you're lucky, XP will recognize all your hardware and will work
without much tweaking.  If you're  unlucky you will need additional
software to get all your hardware (i.e. your network card or graphics
card) working.  Getting this additional software can be tricky if you
don't know exactly what the hardware is.

Once you get XP installed, make sure you turn on the firewall before
connecting to the internet.  Then immediately run Windows Update.

I would add few lines to the comment below: 

After starting the computer look for the logo for e.g. "DELL" logo or
also called the "setup screen".

If the WinXP CD is purchased from the manufacturer.. then i am sure it
will be a bootable CD.. pop the CD in the top CD drive if in case you
have 2 CD drives.. or try either of them until it shows you a message
as "would you like to boot from the CD..."

If it does not show up.. get into the setup screen and change the boot
sequence to "Boot from CD" or move it to the first position so that
the next time you start the system.. it boots from the CD.. and then
go ahead with the instuctions to install..

The process is same even for any other operating systems if you wanna
install such as RedHat Linux, FreeBSD etc...

good luck..

That honestly doesn't sound good.  All properly functioning PC's I've
ever worked on will show something when booting.  Most will show
something if no operating system is found.  Does the monitor give any
indication that it is plugged into the computer?  Some monitors will
display a message if they are turned on and the computer is off, or
they have an led that will change color.

Does it at least beep?  

Sometimes machines will beep in a certain pattern to indicate if
something is wrong and what it is.  For example it may go
beep-beep-beep if the keyboard isn't plugged in...or it may go
beeeeeeeeeep beeeeeeeeeeeep beeeeeeeeeep if it doesn't detect any ram
(these "beep codes" are machine specific).  Typically a computer beeps
just once when flipped on if everything is ok.  Multiple beeps or no
beeps are a bad sign.

One possibility is that something came loose inside during transport. 
If you are comfortable doing so, you may want to open up the machine
and make sure everything inside is seated properly.  If you choose to
do that, make sure the machine is unplugged and that you ground
yourself by touching the case before touching the components inside. 
This is because computer components are very sensative to static shock
and can be easily damaged if you discharge any electricity on them.

I've known computers have two video cards and you can expect the
monitor to be blank if you've plugged it into the wrong one.

I've also known someone who while moving a monitor to his house
accidentally turned the brightness all the way down (assuming the
monitor didn't do this itself in sympathy with the new owner !).