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Computer newbies: Video Card Problems
Video Card Problems
by stukwith98 - 3/26/07 8:17 PMI have an older Compaq 500Mhz K6 running 98SE that I'm trying to get a new PCI video card in. After installing the card, I rebooted and got a black screen. I heard three loud beeps and the computer shut down. The advice Compaq gave me was to disable the current controller under the display adaptor in Device Manager. I tried that and rebooted and got the same result. Compaq tells me that this mobo has no jumpers to set and that removing the current (Trident) display controllers should work. It obviously doesn't and I'm wondering if anyone has a better solution. MY BIOS looks nothing like the examples on the Compaq site, so I'm lost as to what changes I would make there. All help appreciated.
PCI Card
by byker49 - 3/26/07 9:59 PM In reply to: Video Card Problems by stukwith98Have you installed the driver for the new card? You don't mention this in your post. You may also want to tell the make and model of your new card. You don't mention uninstalling the old video driver.
PCI Card
by stukwith98 - 3/26/07 10:19 PM In reply to: PCI Card by byker49Here's the whole script from the card's package:
ATI Rage 128 Pro 32MB SDRAM 64 Bit PCI Video card.
The thing seems to be backwards compatible to computers with 95, so I assumed that wouldn't be an issue. The card's printed instructions say to install the card first; let Windows detect it and then use the CD to install the drivers, and since I can't even get Win98SE to load with the card in place, there's no chance to do that. I haven't tried using the CD without the card installed. Think that might do anything?
Video Card
by Kel_Solaar - 3/26/07 10:24 PM In reply to: PCI Card by stukwith98Ok, try this.
1. Uninstall all drivers for the previous video card. And if you installed any new drivers for the new video card you are tying to get working, uninstall those as well.
2. Shut down your computer once this is done, install the new video card. Turn on your computer and install the drivers for the new video card.
If that doesn't work then try,
1. Uninstall all video drivers for the video cards and then re-install the new video card drivers.
2. Turn off your computer and install the video card. Turn on your computer and see if that helps.
Keep us updated on the issue!
Video Card
by stukwith98 - 3/27/07 12:21 AM In reply to: Video Card by Kel_SolaarHave now tried all of those combinations. Each time when I restart the computer, the screen is black, there are three loud beeps (1 long and two short) and then the computer shuts down. This seems to be more than a driver (controller) issue. Anybody got any other ideas?
Video Card
by colbox98 - 3/27/07 10:12 AM In reply to: Video Card by stukwith98Have you tried removing the card and booting the machine? It's possible you accidentally disconnected something else while installing the card. My first guess would be RAM, or your CPU. Try to remove the card and see if your machine boots normally. If it does, then it's a problem with the new card. If it still does not boot, then you probably disconnected something during the install.
If you get your computer to reboot, then I would follow the steps listed in the other posts. You want to make sure your other card is un-installed. You may also have to double check your BIOS settings. Sometimes you have to disable the on-board video, and then select PCI as your first display (as apposed to AGP or something else.)
Video Card
by stukwith98 - 3/27/07 12:26 PM In reply to: Video Card by colbox98I've now removed the card and restarted the computer maybe 4 or 5 times now. It starts fine without the card and shuts down with the card in place. Note that this is a PCI only machine and that there are no other cards - am replacing onboard video. I've tried every combination of removing software to remove any possible conflict there, and there's no difference. The fact that the computer is reacting to the card to the point of shutting down suggests to me that there is a hardware conflict, but Compaq says no.
I also tried the card in more than one PCI slot to insure there wasn't a problem with the slot and I stuck an old PCI modem in one of the slots I was using. It worked fine. I've also tried every sequence of removing old vid drivers in Windows, but my BIOS looks totally different than the examples supplied by Compaq, so I don't know where to start there. In fact, here's what my BIOS looks like under the Advanced tab:
Power-on Self Test
Power Loss Management
PCI Devices
Bus Options
Device Options
Under PCI Devices:
USB Controller ............(IRQ11)
USB Controller ............(IRQ11)
Compaq Audio Device .......(IRQ5)
Compaq VGA Controller ... (DISABLED)
Under Bus Options:
PCI Bus Mastering ...(ENABLED)
Video Memory Size .. (8MB)
And that's ALL there is - nothing like the PCI options Compaq shows in their examples. It has occurred to me that the card itself might be DOA, but I'll try in another computer today, and I've a feeling that it will work.
Don't know what else to try.
Video Card
by stukwith98 - 3/28/07 12:23 PM In reply to: Video Card by stukwith98An update here - after at least 8 rounds of communications with Compaq, they now say that the 115 watt PCI card is too much for the computer's (effective) 280 watt power supply to handle, and that's what's causing it to sound error codes and shut down. This comes after many assurances that there was no problem in that respect. I'm not sure I believe what they're saying, but it does show the level of competence of tech support at HP/Compaq. Anyway, I'm giving up on the project at this point.
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