PC Pals Forum
Technical Help & Discussion => Self Building, Upgrading & General Hardware Help => Topic started by: reanne on February 17, 2005, 11:34
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Hello
I've got an intergrated graphics card which i want to replace with a Geforce FX card. To uninstall my exsisting card, im supposed to go to add.remove programs, and remove the card, but its not there. Is there another way to uninstall it? :?:
Thanks
Reanne
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Hi Reanne,
Once you have fitted the new card, I think you have to go into BIOS (press Del when booting up), to disable your old integrated graphics, and tell it to use the new card (AGP or PCI). You will then have to install the drivers for the new graphics card. Let us know if you need more help with that. I would tend to leave the old integrated graphics installed, in case you ever need to go back to using it.
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This is so weird. Usually when i start up the pc, i get the black screen for a few seconds where it's loading and then windows xp comes up. Ive installed the new card but now, im not getting that black screen where i would go into the BIOS. Instead, the monitor just doesnt display anything, its as though its off (that orange light is on instead of green) until the blue xp screen is up.
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Have you installed the drivers for the new graphics card yet?
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No. I thought you said i had to to the BIOS thing before i installed the new drivers. Ill do that now then.
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Ok, installed the new drivers. Made no difference. I think i should uninstall the intergrated graphics driver. If i do that, will the Geforce fx card automatically kick in?
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Without wishing to state the bleeding obvious, you have connected the monitor to the new graphics card, yes?
Whenever I have installed a new graphics card in the past, I have always:-
1. Fitted graphics card in slot (AGP or PCI depending on card)
2. Switched to new graphics card in BIOS
3. Connected monitor to new graphics card
4. Installed software / drivers for new graphics card.
I don't think I have had to uninstall the integrated graphics drivers, as once it's changed in the BIOS, Windows should ignore them.
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You need to go into the BIOS and disable the integrated grahics Reanne.
When the pc restarts it should detect the new GFX card and either install its own drivers for it or ask you for the location of them, whether its on the CD or you have downloaded them to your hard drive :)
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I attached the monitor to where i had it before :blush: It never said to change in the instructions book. opps
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You need to go into the BIOS and disable the integrated grahics Reanne.
When the pc restarts it should detect the new GFX card and either install its own drivers for it or ask you for the location of them, whether its on the CD or you have downloaded them to your hard drive :)
There's an echo in here. :roll: :wink:
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Okay, i conntected the monitor to the new graphics card. Then when i started up i got a black screen with some writing saying FX5200 BIOS
Then i got another screen that said DELL, etc. and up the top was F12 BOOT, F2 SETUP
Then the third screen was the windows xp screen
The fourth screen was just blank and with nothing happening.
Pressing delete in any of these screens did nothing.
So, to go into the BIOS do i need to press F12? And then what, exactly do i need to do to disable the first grahpics card etc. Can you take me through it step by step, as though im a 2 yr old, stating all the obvious. :)
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The BIOS entry is also called SETUP Reanne so you need to press F2 on your particular pc.
Once you get the BIOS screen up you need to go through the menus, the one you probably want will be called Advanced or Integrated or similar although some BIOS do have different things in different pages and different types of pages.
You want to look for something like Onboard Graphics or Integrated Graphics and disable it.
There will be instructions at the bottom of the screen for how to alter the settings, usually you use the up and down arrow keys to highlight the item you want to change then sometimes its press Enter to open a submenu and others use the Page Up and Page Down keys where others use the + and - keys to change values.
Once you make any changes in BIOS its alwys a good idea to write them down so you can change them back if something doesnt work as it should afterwards.
Dont forget to select save changes and exit as you leave the BIOS otherwise it wont change anything when it restarts :)
Sorry Simon, I didnt read what you wrote as being the same as I did or mentioning the disable in BIOS part to stop conflicts between the onboard GFX and the newly added one :?
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I went into the BIOS. It had the option intergrated devices so i went into that. Then there were these options:
sound
network interface controller
mouse port
usb emulation
usb controller
PCI slots
serial pot 1
parallel pot
diskette interface
primary video controller
onboard video buffer
The onboard video buffer can only be changed from 1 to 8 so i dont think thats it. I went for the pci slot since thats were the video cards are and disabled that but then when i saved and restarted, nothing happend at all so i dont think thats it. (This is all with the monitor pluged into the new card)
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Not seen one just like that Reanne but I would think that its the primary video controller that you need to look at.
Did it give you options of disable/enable only or were there some others too :?:
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Just checked the primary video controller. That was on auto and gives me the option to change it to onboard.
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If i go to system, and device manager, i can enable/diable the cards from there. At the moment, it says their both enabled.
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If it only has Auto or Onboard options in the BIOS then leave it at Auto.
Thats a strange BIOS though :(
Disabling it in the Device Manager isnt really the way to do it as it will re enable it each time your pc reboots.
Can you tell me which make and version of BIOS you have so that I can see if I can look up exactly what youre options are.
Is it a Dell or a Compaq PC by any chance :?:
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Then i got another screen that said DELL, etc. and up the top was F12 BOOT, F2 SETUP
Looks like it Sandra.
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Well spotted Clive :D
Now all we need possibly is the model or preferably the make and version of the BIOS itself :)
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Hi. Im having problems getting into the BIOS again that i had earlier. For the last half hour ive been trying to get to it but the monitor wont show that part, its off until the user account screen is up. And thats with the monitor attached to the old card. With the new one, nothing happens at all. I'll keep trying, i might get there in a few hours.
Oh, i looked on my system info and it says BIOS Version/Date Dell corporation A05 02/12/2003
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O.K. heres the situation. Ive uninstalled the new video card so i can start again from scratch. I can now get into the BIOS. I looked on Dells website and theres this article=
FAQ - DISABLE ONBOARD VIDEO [ Edited ]
* Click Start- Turn Off Computer- Restart
* When the blue Dell logo appears, press F2
* Right arrow to Advanced
* Down arrow to Peripheral Configuration [press the ENTER key]
* Change Integrated Video to Disabled or Auto [press the ENTER key]
* Press F10 to Save and Exit
* Once back into windows, click Start- Turn Off Computer- Turn Off
* Open the case cover and add the PCI video card
* Attach the monitor to the added PCI video card
* Turn on (or restart) your computer
* Let the computer boot up and load the drivers off of the CD provided with the video card
* Right click the My Computer icon
* Click Properties
* Click the Hardware tab and/or the Device Manager button
* Open the Display Adaptors. You should see both the the Intel and the added PCI video card. The added PCI video card might have an exclamation mark on it
* Double click the listing for Intel whatever
* At the bottom under "Device Usage", click the down arrow and change this to "Do not use this device, DISABLE"
* Click OK- Apply- OK
* Close all boxes when done
* Click Start- Shutdown- Restart- OK or Click Start- Turn Off Computer- Restart
I pressed F2, the BIOS came up. However, i cannot right arrow to advanced. Theres no advanced title on the screen. The first two titles are system date and time so if i right arrow, it just goes on to the date, enabling me to edit it which isnt what we want.
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I think that you must have entered the first screen Reanne.
The options should be along the top for using the left and right arrow keys.
I cant find any screenshots of it to show you unfortunately yet :(
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Hey. Ive found out that my BIOS might need upgrading. Below is what im supposed to do.
The alternative is to just burn the 4400_A06.EXE file to a CD. That file can be found at this link here. Once it is burned to a CD make sure your CD drive is the first drive in the system's boot order and then reboot the machine using a bootable CD like the Dell Resource CD. Once the machine is booted up then switch to your burnt CD and manually run the 4400_A06.EXE file from the command prompt. The BIOS upgrade program will then run and prompt you into updating the BIOS. When done just switch the system's boot order back to the way you had it.
I have no real idea what its saying. How do i make sure the cd drive is the first drive in the systems boot order?
To reboot using the dell resource cd, do i have to put the disk in, and then restart the pc?
How do i maually run the file from the command prompt?
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You shouldnt need to update the bios Reanne.
It can be a risky procedure but not as much these days as it used to be.
The only time I would advise doing an update is if you needed a bigger hard drive than the original bios would support.
The boot sequence is set inside the BIOS and is usually Floppy or A drive as first device, followed by the hard drive or C, followed by the CD drive.
I just wish I could see which screens and options you have when you enter the bios so I could tell you exactly which part to change :(
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Hi Sandra. Ive been searching for a solution to this for days. I finally found it! This is what i needed to do:
Open the case cover and add the PCI video card
* Leave the monitor connected to the onboard video because nothing will come out of the PCI card until the drivers have been installed
* Turn on (or restart) your computer
* Let the computer boot up and load the drivers off of the CD provided with the card or the XP found drivers if you prefer
* Turn off the computer
* Plug monitor into the new PCI card and power up
* When the blue Dell logo appears, press F2
* Down-arrow to Integrated Devices [press the ENTER key]
* Down-arrow to Primary Video Controller
* Use the left/right arrow keys to switch between onboard or Auto. Set it to Auto
* Press escape to Save and Exit
* At the first beep or on the blue Dell screen, tap the F8 key or the F5 key
* At some point, the Advanced Options menu will appear
* Select Safe Mode [Press the Enter Key]
* Select the first or only operating system listed [press the ENTER key]
* Right click the My Computer icon
* Click Properties
* Click the Hardware tab and/or the Device Manager button
* Open the Display Adaptors. You should see both the the Intel and the added PCI video card. The added PCI video card might have an exclamation mark on it
* Double click the listing for Intel whatever
* At the bottom under "Device Usage", click the down arrow and change this to "Do not use this device, DISABLE"
* Click OK- Apply- OK
* Close all boxes when done
* Click Start- Shutdown- Restart- OK or Click Start- Turn Off Computer- Restart
I feel like dancing :laugh:
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Sounds a more complicated way than I have come across before Reanne but I am glad you managed to sort it out :)
I wonder if thats specifically for a PCI graphics card and not for an AGP one as I have never had to set one up using the onboard display initially.
I have never installed a PCI one, only AGP ones. :?
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When i was searching for a pc, i never came across one that had an AGP slot. Nothing ever goes smoothly for me. Theres something wrong with my monior now. Its green. Bright green. Any ideas?
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Ignore me. I updated the drivers and everything seems fine now. :)
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Yup, that'll do it :)
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There's nothing like resurrecting an old thread is there :wink:
I'm having a similar problem trying to install a AGP card into a PC that has onboard graphics.
AGP Card: NVidia GeForce MX4000
OnBoard: S3 ProSavage DDR
Motherboard: Shuttle MV43N.
I've tried to install the drivers for the AGP but it says no compatible card detected. I have also tried disabling the OnBoard graphics in Device Manager but that didn't work.
In the BIOS I have set the Primary Graphics from PCI to AGP but this only results in 8 beeps at start up. Also in the BIOS there is an option for Shared Memory to the PCI card - I set this at none (was 32mb).
I'm not too sure on the correct order to do things (i.e. put the card in, drivers and disabling the onboard graphics). Can someone please give a step by step guide on how to switch over the onboard to AGP.
I'm sooo confused!!
Thanks
DJ
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Ideally you should uninstall the onboard gfx drivers from the device manger, shut down the pc, install the AGP card then as the pc starts go into the bios and disable the onboard gfx and enable the AGP card if necessary. When the pc boots into windows if it cant find the drivers use the cd that comes with the card, even if the OS installs its own drivers the ones on the cd may work better so it may be worth updating the drivers to the cd ones.
Most people would just stick the AGP card in and disable the onboard gfx in the bios and not bother with uninstalling the old drivers and probably find that it worked without any problems.
Is the AGP card compatable with your mobo, there are different voltages for some cards and mobos, check the specifications of both if unsure.
Although Geforce MX400s seem to be able to work with most mobos :?
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Thanks for the prompt response Sandra. I'll try this later today and let you know how I get on.
DJ
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Hi Again,
Tried the above but it didn't work. I uninstalled the onboard graphics and then shut down. On restarting entered the BIOS where the following options are shown:
Plug & Play Aware O/S: YES
Share Memory Size: 32MB
Primary Graphics Controller: PCI
Allocate IRQ to PCI VGA: YES
PCI IDE BusMaster: Disabled
I changed the primary graphics from PCI to AGP, but it still output the video through the onboard card. When entereing windows it didn't detect the AGP card.
I have also tried to change the 32mb to NONE, but this results in no output and 8 beeps (Video error?) on startup.
Any more ideas?
DJ
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PCI IDE BusMaster: Disabled
I think this is your problem.
As far as I know the AGP bus is linked to the PCI bus so it should be enabled.
Hopefully enabling that will allow your card to be detected :)
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Nope it still doesn't detect the card :cry:
I have also switched the 32mb to none - but that results in the 8 beeps.
I think I'll have another go at the weekend and see if I get any further.
DJ
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Did you check the voltages of both the card and the AGP slot ?
Some are 1.5v, some 3.3 v I think.
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What speed graphics card are you using? 2x, 4x, 8x? Does your motherboard support the card you are trying to use?
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Did you check the voltages of both the card and the AGP slot ?
Some are 1.5v, some 3.3 v I think.
I've finally found out that the card can support 1.5v or 3.3v. How do I find out what voltage my motherboard supports?
http://global.aopen.com.tw/Products/vga/mx4000-v64.htm
What speed graphics card are you using? 2x, 4x, 8x? Does your motherboard support the card you are trying to use?
Its 4x or 8x speed, my motherboard is set at Auto, I will try and set it at 4x or 8x.
Will report back soon :laugh:
DJ
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As far as know there are only those two voltages so if your card can use either it wont be a problem.
With the bios set at auto I would have thought that it would be ok for the speed of the AGP card.
I am as confused as you are at the moment :?
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Hi,
I.ve just read through this thread and its very helpful, It looks as though I have exactly the same PC as Reanne and also have the same graphics card FX5200. I also experienced many of the same problems as Reanne but seem to find myself in an unrecoverable position.
I disabled the integrated graphics card via windows and nothing happens
I switch my PC on, I get a chance to go into the bios and have even tried going into windows in the SAFE mode but my screen just goes blank. i have removed the new card and have resigned myself to just trying to recover my computer. If I can get it working again, I will then try Reanne suggested route to getting the new card working.
can anyone advise how I can get my computer back to how it was.
Many thanks in advance
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Hi Neil, and :welcome:
To start with the basics, have you plugged the monitor into the new graphics card? If so, try the old one again. I think, even if you have disabled the integrated graphics via Windows Device Manager, you should still be able to use it, at least to view the screen, providing you haven't disabled it in BIOS. If you have disabled it in BIOS, then the new one should be enabled by default. Either way, one of them should work.
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H Neil, does the screen never get any information on it at all ?
You said you get the chance to get into bios though, so can you actually get into bios ?
If you can then just load bios defaults and your integrated graphics should work again.
If you cant get into the bios then open the case and use the clear cmos jumper to reset the bios to its factory settings.
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Without the new card in the system. monitor plugged into original port. I switch on the PC, I get the DELL screen with the f2 for Bios Setup option.
It then changes to the Windows XP screen for a couple of seconds. the screen then goes blank.......thats it dead!
:cry:
If I plug in the new card, swap the monitor cable into the new card and then switch on the PC, I get the FX5200 text in the top left corner. this then changes to the dell screen with the Bios opton and then follows the same path as above.
If I press F8 just before the Windows screen comes up and go into SAFE mode, the screen scrolls with the names of lots of drivers in the system32 folder before comng to a stop.......thats it dead again! :cry:
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When you try going into safe mode, which graphics are you using? Have you tried it with the new card? What you should be able do is:-
1. Connect to the new card.
2. Go into BIOS and set it to boot from the new card.
3. Reboot into Windows, at which point you will get a low resolution display, but you should then be able to install the drivers for the new card.
Hopefully. :)
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With the new card installed and the monitor plugged into it, I enter the Bios. The only options in there which relate to the card are for integrated devices. I enter this and the only relevant option from the new menu is Primary video controller. If i Scroll to this, and hit the arrow keys there are only 2 options.
1. Auto.
2. Onboard.
from the earlier part of this thread by reanne it seems that the correct choice to pick up the new card would be Auto.
I have selected Auto and saved my changes. the result is the same!
Is there a way to reset my system with an XP disc etc..
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Sorry, i should have said, i have tried safe mode and tried enable VGA but the both fail.
Safe mode produces a list of drivers and then stops.
Enable VGA produces the Windows XP screen and then a blank.
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Sometimes it can take a while to get into safe mode after the last driver is listed, have you waited at that point to see if it continues into safe mode properly ?
You wont be able to install the drivers in safe mode though but it may help you to see whats going on.
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Hi,
thanks to everyone who has contributed so far.
i have tried safe mode again today. The list of drivers comes to a stop. i left the pc for over an hour and it was still the same, a screen full of driver names.
Should I have waited longer? or is an hour ample time and I need to try something else?
Thanks again.
Neil
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You've got the same problem as me with the safe mode thing, Neil, and I haven't found a solution yet.
I'm not sure whether this is the right suggestion, so you might want to wait for confirmation from someone else, but when you get the boot menu up, as if you are going into safe mode, is there an option to use 'Last known good configuration'?
That might be worth a try, as it restores registry information and driver settings that were in effect the last time the computer started successfully. More info here:-
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307852&sd=tech
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Hi Simon,
thanks for this.
Yes there is the option for last known good config. I tried this yesterday but it did not work.
A colleague in work has suggested i try using the XP windows disk and try booting from the CD.
have you any knowledge of this.
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Limited, as it's ages since I had to do it, but I know you can boot from a full Windows CD, and hit 'R' at the Welcome screen, to go into the Recovery console. More info here:-
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=314058
It does look quite complicated, but often these things are easier than they first appear. Sandra is the expert on this, so hopefully she will be along soon, as I'm slightly out of my depth here. :(
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I would say that if it hangs at the last driver for more than 10 minutes thenits not going to go into safe mode :(
Rather than use the recovery console, the Fix MBR command would probably be the best option in that, I would open the case up and use the clear cmos jumper to reset bios defaults.
I think that theres a conflict between the onboard and new gfx card thats causing your problem.
If that still doesnt cure the problem then you will possibly have to try the recovery console option.
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Hi Sandra,
How do I reset the cmos jumper?
And where do I enter the Fix MBR command?
Thanks again.
:cry:
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It varies from motherboard to motherboard but usually its close to the battery on the motherboard.
If you open your case up and can find the make and model number of the mothboard then maybe I can find a picture of it to be certain.
If you dont know about it there are 3 pins that the jumper can fit on.
one position connects pin nos 1 and 2 and the other position connects pins 2 and 3.
Once you identify the clear cmos jumper, with the power off, pull the jumper off and replace it so that it connects the central pin with the opposite end to the one that was connected.
Leave it for a few seconds then move it back to the original position.
The bios is now reset to as it was when it left the factory.
If the pc still isnt right after that and you decide to use the recovery console then go to Simoms link from his earlier post.
Read down to the part about the fix MBR and do as it says.
The reason that it looks a little complicated is because it covers all the commands, the only one that you should require is the Fix MBR one so you can skip the previous and later ones :)
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hi,
I tried fixmbr....quite a simple task but didn't make any difference.
I think I may have found what has caused the problem..
Before buying the graphics card i ran Everest (A diagnositics package) which confirmed that my PSU was 300w. The graphics cards states a min requirement of 300W
Now that i have investigated further with the machine opened up, what looks like the PSU has 200W on the side of it.
Do you think this may be the cause and if so what damage may be done and would the machine be repairable??
Many thanks again.
Neil
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Have you tried removing the new card, setting the BIOS to boot from the onboard graphics, and see if it will boot into Windows, or safe mode? You should then be able to reload the drivers for the onboard graphics from the motherboard CD (if you have one), or by going to the motherboard manufacturers website and downloading the graphics drivers. If you are really lucky, Windows may have saved the drivers, and it may just be a case of updating them from Device Manager. Sorry if this seems like going round in circles. If successful, you should be back to square one, and can perhaps consider getting a more powerful PSU.
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Hi,
I have completely formatted the hard drive and re installed xp from new.
It worked. I'm going through the process of installing drivers for sounds cards, etc. Will try the new graphics card again now.
Nice to confirm that the system isn't ruined.
Many thanks for all your help.
What a fantastic forum.
Neil
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It should create a restore point each time you install the drivers but just in case it doesnt then tell it to make one.
That way when you try and use the new GFX card again if it screws up you can just restore to the previous state, hopefully :)
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Graphics card up and running !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Special thanks to Reanne for the instructions on how to install on a dell dimension.
And big thanks to everyone who helped get me my machine back.
:P :P :P :D :D :D
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Good news :)
I wonder why the procedure is so complicated on the Dell pcs :?