Screen blackout problems! I can't track down the issue!

Hi all

I’m reaching out to you guys because I’m starting to doubt that my issue with Kodi / OpenELEC / LibreELEC is a software issue and it might be a hardware issue and I have to replace my hardware :-(. I have been searching the web for some days now without any luck, so I hope that you might be able to help me before I have to spend money to replace my only 3 years old hardware.

I have a home build HTPC with the following specifications:

Motherboard: Gigabyte H87N-Wifi rev 2.0 (latest Bios)
CPU: Intel core I3 4130
RAM: Corsair Value Select - 4GB DDR3 1600MHz PC3-12800 CL11
SSD: Kingston SSDNow V300 60GB
Case: Streamcom FC8 EVO
PSU: Streacom nano PSU 150W

OS tested with the problem: OpenELEC 7.0.1, OpenELEC 6.0.3 and LibreELEC v7.95.2 BETA.

CPU temps are always below 60 degrees Celsius and the CPU has never been overclocked.

The HTPC is connected to my TV with a HDMI cable, running 1080P @ 60Hz.

The problem is that irregularly the video signal disappears and the TV screen goes black and gives the “no signal” message. The HTPC is still running and there is still sound, so it’s only the image which blacks out and everything else seems to be working as intended. Sometimes the picture is blacked out in a few seconds and then it comes back again, other times it’s blacked out until I shut down the HTPC, wait a few seconds and I start it again. It seems like the problem occurs after 1-2 hours of usage, and after that, it happens again after a few minutes when I have rebooted the system.

It seems like the problem is getting worse with the time, 6 months ago it happened a few times every months, now it happens every time the HTPC has been running for 1 – 2 hours.

I have had problems with a bad connection on the 12V plug to the PSU on the case which I solved by removing the 12V plug and assembled the wire without any plug.

If it’s the hardware, I suspect that it might be the PSU, the CPU or the chipset which is faulty but I don’t know for sure how a faulty PSU will impact a PC, and I have never heard of a 3 years old failing Intel CPU before.

Can anybody help me with this problem? Have you heard about this problem before? Any help will be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Best regards
Nicolai

Quote from Klojum

Testing is a step-by-step thing. Try using an alternative PSU, and see what happens.
If the rest of the hardware is still running with the current PSU, I doubt the PSU or the CPU will be a problem.
If you have a voltmeter, you can doublecheck the various voltages coming out the PSU.

One option is to put in a dedicated low profile PCIe video card. I take it you are now using the i3 4130's internal gpu?

Alternatively, try a different HDMI cable. Also try a different HDMI port on your TV if possible.
Also, run a Linux live distro like Ubuntu and run some programs. See if that triggers the same problem.

I do not have a voltmeter but i can borrow a PSU from a friend next week, so I'll try that out.

I'm using the iGPU yes, but i do not have a PCI GPU to test with. What could i achieve by that?

I could try another HDMI port / cable on the TV as well and I'll try with ubuntu live usb as well.

Thanks for the tips.

I was the HDMI cable... I switched it out to a newer one in better quality and the problem is gone now.

Thanks for your help!