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I just assembled a computer with an Asus Z97M Plus motherboard and an EVGA GeForce GTX970 card (model 04G-P4-2974-KR). The display is a Philips 32PFL5605D/78, which is a 32" TV with 1080p resolution support, and is running the latest (rather outdated) firmware available.

When the PC is turned on, the TV shows "no signal" during the boot sequence and Windows initialization. However, as soon as Windows reaches the login screen, the TV begins displaying correctly.

I tried all 3 HDMI inputs on the TV, but the behavior is identical. Connecting the PC to an LG 23MP55HQ monitor, also via HDMI, shows the boot screen just fine. Connecting to a Sony XBR-52HX905 TV also works fine during the boot sequence. The Sony TV indicates that it is receiving a 1080p signal while booting, so it's not an issue of incompatible resolution with the Philips TV.

I also tried connecting the HDMI output on the motherboard (for the integrated GPU) to the Philips TV, but no signal was shown during the boot sequence either (at that point I didn't have Windows installed yet, so no idea whether it'd show anything after Windows boots.)

Connecting a MacBook Pro (with OS X already running, not during boot) works fine. A Playstation 3 used to be connected to this TV (though it hasn't been used in months) and it usually worked fine, although it had an intermittent no-booting issue that I am almost certain is due to the console itself and not the TV.

Question: is there anything I can do to get the TV to show the boot process, so I can access the UEFI settings, etc.?

I've performed a bunch of tests to try to work out the issue and these are my findings:

  • tested a completely different HDMI cable (different brand, etc.), on all 3 of the graphics card's HDMI inputs, with the exact same symptoms as before: no signal during boot, signal shows up after Windows starts;
  • connecting using a VGA cable via the DVI output on the graphics card with a DVI-VGA adapter works, so for now I'll have the VGA cable handy when I need to access the BIOS, but this is obviously a suboptimal solution;
  • connecting a DVI-HDMI converter on both of the graphics card's DVI outputs (one DVI-D, one DVI-I), using the original HDMI cable, and on all three of the TV's HDMI inputs. Everything worked identically: no signal until Windows boots;
  • connecting via the motherboard's integrated GPU HDMI connector: this gives no signal at all, during or after boot -- I confirmed the computer is running by remoting into it, but the display shows "no signal";
  • booting up the MacBook Pro while connected to the TV: tried this on the offending TV, no signal during boot (only after starting OS X), although the Apple logo does show on the MBP's display. Will try on the Sony TV later to see if there's any difference.
  • booting up my old PS3, which is still working fine, there's a video signal from the very start (the "orchestra tuning" sound.)**;

I am open to other suggestions of things to try to get this working.

Update: after succeeding at display the boot sequence using a VGA cable, I tried changing a few UEFI settings:

  • Primary display selection: was Auto (which, according to the help, selects a PCI-E graphics card display if available, and the integrated GPU otherwise), changed to PCI-E, still the same symptoms with HDMI connected to the graphics card: no signal during boot, signal shows up after Windows starts.

  • Then, I tried to change the primary display to the integrated GPU, and connected the HDMI cable to the motherboard's HDMI output. This works! Since I suppose the motherboard configures the graphics (resolution, timings, etc.) the same regardless of whether it is outputting via the discrete or integrated graphics card, this in my mind this proves there is an incompatibility between my TV and the graphics card on my computer. Of course, this being a gaming machine, it's unfeasible to use this setup.

  • Went back to auto on primary display, but this time I tried disabling the UEFI fast boot option. This seems to make no difference: VGA works throughout, HDMI only after Windows starts up.

At this point I'm almost certain it is a TV-graphics card compatibility issue, and considering the age of this TV (not exactly sure, but most likely 5+ years old), I don't think Philips will be very forthcoming to help with this issue, so I may have to stick with the VGA cable for those times when I need to access the BIOS. But again, if anyone has any suggestion that may resolve this, I'm open to trying.

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  • If you press the button to enter EFI/BIOS, and give it a few seconds, does the image display? On my old 42" HDTV, it just didn't sync fast enough to show anything during the boot. Windows was the first place where the signal was stable long enough for a proper sync.
    – Eris
    Jul 26, 2015 at 4:55
  • That was the last thing I tried before posting this. Rebooted the computer, pressed the Delete key a bunch of times so I'm pretty sure it went into EFI, and I waited around for something like a minute, but no luck. When Windows boots the signal shows up pretty quickly (I can see the login screen despite the fact that Windows is set to auto-login, so it's probably syncing in a fraction of second.)
    – swineone
    Jul 26, 2015 at 4:57
  • The issue may not be "not enough time to sync". The typical TV will not accept as many resolutions as a computer monitor, and simply refuse to scale and display such input. I.E. connect a computer monitor by HDMI, and notice the difference. It's a cost savings for the TV manufacturer (to use a simpler HDMI receiver and scaler), so don't expect them to "fix" this issue for you.
    – sawdust
    Nov 20, 2015 at 23:08
  • I don't think it's taking too long to sync. If I enter the UEFI menu and leave the computer there, the display will stay blank.
    – swineone
    Nov 21, 2015 at 21:32

2 Answers 2

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I also had similar problem, main monitor connected to HDMI port and my UHD connected on DVI to HDMI, I got it working by disabling Launch CSM with Fast Boot enabled in the BIOS and now HDMI port boots up first. May be this could help someone else.

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Today I replaced the graphics card by a different one, and HDMI output to the same TV is working perfectly during the boot sequence. So, I guess in my particular case it was an issue with the graphics card.

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