Z170 Extreme4: Monitor show no picture - sometimes

wardog wrote:

Drop back to the pre 7.x BIOS.

Tested, but also does not work...

I don't recall anyone having an issue the Intel integrated graphics like you are having.

Your description of the situation is very good, but the somewhat inconsistent nature of the issue makes it more difficult to figure out. Plus the PC's graphics work fine with a TV.

To be 100% clear, it is only at the start up (and restart/reboot??) that the Hyundai monitor stays black. At some point there will be an image on the screen, and you can use the PC normally, is that right?

Given what you've described, I would tend to think it is the Hyundai monitor that is the problem, in the sense that it is not compatible for some reason with the Intel Skylake graphics. Or partially not compatible. More testing is needed to reach a conclusion.

The point wardog made about the 7.00 Kaby Lake UEFI/BIOS version (for your board) is worth trying, meaning going back to the 3.40 UEFI. We've seen a few weird problems on some Z170 boards with these UEFI versions, which may be an Intel problem with this update. Another mobo manufacture had to reissue all of their Kaby Lake UEFI/BIOS versions, due to problems. Did you ever use your Z170 PC with that monitor without the 7.00 UEFI installed?

I know you've tried different cables when you tried different inputs and outputs, but unless you are always using the same cables throughout your testing, then a cable problem might still be the cause, however unlikely.

Can you test the Z170 Extreme4 PC with the Lenovo T500 Thinkpad as the monitor? The more you can test that PC with other "monitors", will add more examples of it working or not working. If you discover the only monitor that has a problem is the Hyundai, then it is probable that it has a compatibility issue with the Intel graphics.

The monitor may work as you said, but it might be having a problem locking onto the video signal from the Intel graphics, or other parts of it circuitry are beginning to go bad. DVI to DVI, HDMI to HDMI, and DisplayPort to DisplayPort are digital signal interfaces, that use low voltage signals.

Edited by parsec - 02 Nov 2016 at 11:46pm

Hello all,

new self-built PC with (all new bought components):

- Z170 Extreme4

- Intel Skylake Pentium G4500

- Built-in HD Graphics 530 connected to Hyundai W241D monitor (built in 2008)

- no additional graphics card, no other PCIe cards

- 2x8 GB memory

- bequiet Case & Power Supply (STRAIGHT POWER 10 500W CM)

- SATA hard disk

- newest BIOS 7.X

- Windows 7 64bit

The Hyundai monitor has several inputs: DVI, HDMI, VGA, Component. The input can be selected manually via hardware key. The monitor shows a red LED if no signal is connected to the chosen input (and also displays an on-screen message that no signal was detected). The LED goes blue if a correct signal was detected.

If I now connect the new PC to either HDMI or DVI input, I don't see the power-on BIOS copyright message (written in white text) .... In this case, the monitor LED is blue - which means that it detects a correct signal (an in the OSD, I can see the correct resolution displayed) ... but the screen stays black.

If I now disconnect all boot medias, I see the graphical BIOS screen. Sometimes it seems that I have to switch the monitor one time off and then on again to see the boot screen ...

I tried all 3 outputs of the mainboard: DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort (with a Displayport to HDMI cable). No one shows the first text message of the BIOS at power-up.

A Windows 7 Setup DVD or an Unbuntu DVD starts ... but the screen stays black (and the monitor power LED stays blue - which means: signal detected...)

If I now connect the PC to my Panasonic LCD TV (built around 2014) via HDMI (same cable as used with the Hyundai monitor), all is fine: I see the white text message at the power up (with the Press Fx for Setup message) ... I see the graphical BIOS SETUP screen ... I can install & run Windows 7 (64 bit).

This would mean: my Hyundai monitor is defective ..... but: the monitor still works fine with:

- a Lenovo T500 Thinkpad connected thru dock via DVI input

- a RasPi3 connected via HDMI

So the monitor works!

My guess:

As I use the Intel HD graphics 530 built into the Pentium G4500 processor, it seems that somehow this "graphics card" doesn't work in combination with this (8 years old) monitor ... maybe some signal levels to week if using an integrated graphics card?

Or is the Pentium G4500 defective (but... no, it works very well: I could install Windows 7 by using the Panasonic TV ...).

Or my Asrock mainboard?

Or is the Hyundai monitor defective in a way that results to not working with Skylake Pentium G4500 integrated graphics...? Or maybe not defective, but incompatible...

---> I could not test another "computer" monitor or a PCIe graphics card (instead of the processor integrated GPU) till now, because I don't own no other monitor & PC.

Does anybody have a clue which part (Hyundai monitor, mainboard, G4500 CPU/GPU) could be the cause of this strange behaviour?

Solution...? --> I could by a new monitor ... or a new dedicated PCIe graphics card ... but first, I need to know what is the most likely reason that it does not work with the already existing hardware...

Edited by 6502 - 02 Nov 2016 at 9:23pm