Monitor in Standby Mode

Problem: The user reported that her monitor goes directly into standby mode when the system is started. She gets no error messages, nothing to indicate what might be wrong, just a black screen.

Solution: The first thing to try for this is reseating the memory. If that fixes it, you're done. If not, try replacing the memory with a known good stick of the same type. If this doesn't work, try replacing the video card (or in the case of integrated video, install a non-integrated card. You might have to disable the integrated video to make the new card work. RTFM). If none of this works it's very likely a bad system board (mother board). If the machine is still under warranty, work with the vendor and let them troubleshoot. Unless you have a special deal with the vendor this is the only way you'll get a replacement mother board. If it's not under warranty, don't bother trying to get a new mother board. It's simply too much trouble and probably not worth your time. And, if the new board turns out not to fix the problem, I'll have to worry about you shooting yourself. Not good for you OR me.

When I had this problem we ordered a whole new tower for roughly $420. We chose the same model as before but ordered the smallest disk and least expensive other components. When the tower came in, we brought it up 1 time to make sure it would run then we stripped it and put all the (better) components from the other machine in the new tower. Good as new and didn't lose a scrap of data!

Bad Memory?

Problem: The user reported a memory error at startup. The text of the message was: Instruction at 0x00143A24 referenced memory at 0x000000C7. The memory could not be written. Without any indepth analysis we assumed it was a hardware problem and ordered new memory. When the new memory was installed we got the same error.

Solution: A little internet research showed that this is typically an application error. When I produced the error message again I looked at the title bar of the message, which read: ibmpmsvc.exe - application error. (oops!). This is the IBM Power Management Service. The problem machine is a laptop with no battery; the user always runs with the A/C adapter, so there is no need to use the power management functions. I set the Power Management Service to Manual to circumvent the problem. I know this is not a solid fix for most cases, but it gets around to problem for machines that can live without power management.

Welcome

I always try to learn from my mistakes. The key word here is try; it rarely works.

I've been in the IT world since long before it was called IT, even before there was networking, let alone PCs. You'd think by now that I would know everything. Hah! Just when I'm arrogant enough to think I do, the technology teaches me another tough lesson. But, that's the humbling life of a Techie. If a Techie is not sufficiently humble, I say s/he's not doing anything. If you haven't mistakenly taken down a network or a major operating system at some critical time, delaying the work of thousands of users, you have no right to call yourself a Techie. I have. I'm not proud of it, just very humble and very motivated to get it right the next time.

I'm semi-retired now, but still in the business. The stakes are not as high as they used to be for me; I don't manage major systems or networks any longer. But, I still want to do a good job.
Since the lessons are never ending I need to find a way make the best use of them. This blog site is an effort to organize some of my learning in such a way as to actually give me a fighting chance of finding solutions for problems that I've seen before. That's the goal. If this can help you, as well, that's all the better!