i recently fired up a machine that had been off for about a month. though i could hear things loading and could log in and shutdown, all the while i had no video whatsoever(no bios id, memory check, etc.), just black. are video cards known to just crap out like that, or is there some other possibility. it's an ati rage128pro and isn't vrry old and has had no problems.
when the thing first boots, i can hear a couple of beeps, which i seem to remember indicated a basic problem a while ago. i think that was a memory thing and i at least had a POST screen.
i have another machine and would like to try and remote into the down machine and use the X in it. i may be able to do this thru my router but then what's the command to open the down machine with X on the runnig machine.
thanks as always for any thoughts.

If you want to run apps off of the machine that has no video ( mach0 ), what you'll do is log in to the machine that does have video ( mach1 ) and do this:

From mach1: xhost +
If you're security concious: xhost + ip.address.of.mach0 or dns.name.of.mach0

Then you'll telnet in to mach0 and type
export DISPLAY=mach1:0.0

Then run the apps you want to from mach0

Now, if you're using ssh, just make sure your X11Forwarding is set to yes, and you don't have to do any of the export Display junk.

Hope this is a start for you. As for a rage128pro not being old? Didn't they stop selling those a few years ago?

i haven't had time to fool with things yet, but i checked and it's been about 14 mos. since i got that card. my concern is that i got another one when i put together mach1 about 6 mos. ago and now i'm wondering if that one might just evaporate on me. the wish list has a high end video card on it, but the money's not there yet and i need to get up to speed on the workings of graphics. i'm leaning towards a matrox(?) but need more knowledge to commit. the telnet in solution is a detour against an immediate cheap card vs. a step up. i've got a two year old kyro ll which i tried to get working but i wound up creating segmentation faults repeatedly so i backed off and did the rage 128.
thanks for the info, i'm gonna give it a try.

The beeps may be BIOS/POST error codes. The number, frequency, and duration of the beeps identify the exact nature of the error. The meanings of the "beep codes" vary by BIOS manufacturer; this Google search returns a number of sites which list the various code tables.

In terms of determining the source of the problem, have you attached another (known-to-be-working) monitor to the questionable video card, and have you tested the moitor on another system with a working video card?

i finally got in and did some stuff here-thanks to all(Technoslave and DMR); i got the codes and 1 long followed by 3 shorts indicated memory troubles, so i pulled out the stick as well as the vid card, cleaned and replaced. that seemed to do the trick, and now i can try the telnet and export display and see if i can't gain a little proficiency there.
the ibm bios codes give the code as a video problem, but i was pretty sure that wasn't what i was dealing with.
thanks again, it's great to be able to get this kind of help.