HELP! Trying to install new video card on PC...

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David W. Richardson

Chapelgrove Films
Okay, this is going to be a real brain-buster for the PC tech types out there, so brace yourselves because I desperately need your help!

I've got a Gateway GT5473E desktop PC that was given to me. I want to use it for editing because it's much faster than my current NLE. It has the NVIDIA GeForce 6150 onboard video. I want to install a PCIEx video card that will enable me to run dual monitors, one of which is an LCD TV. And that's where I run into trouble.

According to everything I've read online, in most instances the BIOS should see the new card once its installed, and start using it -- once booted with the new card, you then install the drivers and software for that card.

So I tried this. In fact, I've tried it with 3 different video cards now. Two of them were NVIDIA cards, the most recent is an ATI Radeon. All give me the exact same problem.

I install the card, attach the monitor cable to it, and boot up. The computer sees the card and sends video to it. Windows sees the card and tries to install it, but finds no drivers. I insert the installation disc and install everything. System reboots. Everything works fine.......until I shut it down and boot up again. That's when the trouble starts.

I turn on the PC and the blue power light lights up. Then I hear a series of 8 clicks, which correspond with the power light going off and back on again. This is probably significant.

Then the computer proceeds to boot, but I only get video out of the onboard video port -- it no longer sees the installed video card. VERY FRUSTRATING!!!!

There is no BIOS option to disable the onboard video. There is an option to tell it which video to initialize first, and I've set that to "PCIEx". (The other options are "PCI" and "Onboard".)

There's also an option related to detecting the GPU. There are only two choices there -- either ALWAYS use the onboard GPU, or ONLY use it if an external GPU is not found. I've set that to the latter. However, none of this seems to make a bit of difference.

This computer came with Windows Vista installed, but it was a corrupted installation and I did not have any recovery disks for it. So I wiped the drive and loaded it with WinXP Professional. Same problems.

I have tried disabling the NVIDIA GeForce 6150 in Device Manager. Also tried uninstalling it there, and even deleting it completely. Makes no difference.

FWIW, all three of the video cards work just fine in my HP Media Center m7150n. So they aren't the problem.

I'm at a loss. I would LOVE to get this Gateway PC working with the PCIEx card, but I don't have a whole lot of hair left to pull out.

Any help????
 
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Sounds like a tricky situation to troubleshoot.

First thing that comes to my mind is that your power supply is inadequate, especially considering its a per-configured PC.

BTW: What card are you trying to install? Are you sure you have the proper power connectors attached to the card?

I've been servicing computers for several years of all makes and models. Often times with something is weird and inconsistent like this its
 
Hey designbydave! Thanks for the assist!

I suppose it could be the power supply, though I don't know why the new card would work at all in that case.

The card is a Sapphire 100322L Radeon HD 6450. It doesn't have any kind of power connectors. The previous card was a NVIDIA GeForce 210, which also did not have a power connector.
 
300W is a very small power supply to use with an advanced PCIe video card of any kind. I'd recommend something more like a 650W supply for starters, more than that if you think there's a chance you would ever run multiple cards in a Crossfire configuration or whatever.

- Greg
 
When I get home tonight, I'll try disconnecting power to all drives except the primary hard drive, and removing all cards except the video card. We'll see if that helps any.
 
Okay, not sure where I read the PSU on the HP was 550W, but that's wrong. It's also 300W, just like the one on the Gateway.

I disconnected power to everything on the Gateway except the hard drive. Removed all cards. It still does the same thing.

I haven't given up on the idea of the PSU being the problem. I'm wondering if it might be a damaged PCIEx slot. I put an old VGA card into the standard PCI slot and the system recognized and used it without a problem.

Any other ideas?
 
Power might be a problem. That card requires 400W, although low-end cards don't pull much and would probably survive on a decent 300W. Also PSUs take strain over years so a new 300W would outperform an old 300W. Another thing is that PSUs are rated differently. 300W on the Gateway might be peak performance, which can't be sustained for long. Also, Main Rail output might not be supplying enough amps even if a PSU is rated for a specific card.

It might just be that your motherboard is too old and is having compatibility problems with the card. You might need to update the motherboards firmware. Also, I'd suggest running a memory test. Also make sure all the other components are properly plugged in and seated in their slots. Motherboards are rather fastidious when it comes to graphics cards and other components on the board - especially the RAM.
 
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Well guess what? IT WORKS!

But I'm not sure why...

The only major thing I did last night was remove the flexible metal shielding/flashing thingy that was around the card openings in the computer's chassis. It got in my way, so I took it out. Presto! Everything worked like it's supposed to. Got both cards -- the NVIDIA and the Radeon -- to work. (Not at the same time, of course.) Running the Radeon now with all boards and drives connected, and even a 1 TB SATA data drive installed. Works like a charm!

Now.....let's hope it stays that way.

Thanks for the help!
 
No official name really. Metal plate, chassis slot cover. I've actually had that problem before, it blocked a PCI card from seating properly.
 
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