Video Card Installation Help!

[mayakovsky]

Sorry for the long post. I am just about to give up on installing a new video graphics card. I've tried finding help everywhere and I can get no straight answer from anyone. I've even tried the HP support page and they give me different answers.

First off, I have a Hewlett Packard Pavillion 6475z. (It would be awsome to find someone who has this comp and has successfully installed a video card). Windows '98. I'm trying to install an AGP video graphics card. It is an Invidia geforce4 MX440.

Different people have told me very different things, including the idiots at HP. One will tell me I have to take out the existing video card and the other will tell me that you can't take it out because it is on the motherboard, so I just have to disable it. By the way I am fairly certain that it is on the motherboard because the Display cord that you have to plug into the new video card is plugged into a box that is inside the comp and not into the lone card that is accessible once you remove the side of the tower. (Hope that made sense) And I don't know what that card is but I am pretty sure it is not the video card.

Anyway, when I put the new card in and plug the Display cord into it I get a blank screen and a long beep followed by two short beeps when I start up the comp. I have found out that means that the comp doesn't recognize a video card. The only remedy that I have found is to try and 'reseat' the video card. I have done this many times ending in the same blank screen.

One of the people at HP told me I had to change the jumper settings (another told me not to). So this guy gives me the page for changing the settings and that seems to be contradictory as well. It has a picture of the jumper locations and settings. It shows that the VGAEN is at 3 for Enable (Default). And it says to change it to 1 for Disable. The INT_EN is at 1 for Enable (Default) and to change it to 3 for Disable. Sounds easy enough but right underneath it it has a table for those same jumpers and says that the VGAEN setting is 1-2 for Enable (Default) and 2-3 for Disable. THe INT_EN settings are 2-3 Enable (Default) and 1-2 for Disable. Just the opposite. And whats with the two numbers for each setting?

I don't know. I am certaintly not the most computer literate person in the world so it may just be me. I would be more than thankful if anyone could help me out. But if not, then I guess I will just wait until I buy a new computer to play the cool games out now. At least I can play CIV 3!

 

[Jeratain]

Well, it sounds like quite an interesting problem you've got there. This is why I never buy HP or Compaq pre-made computers.

I don't know much about the model you have, so don't take my word for this. I would reccommend disabling the on-board video card through the jumper settings. Find the settings to disable it and set the jumpers on your motherboard (if you need help on doing this you might want to find a manual or someone to help you - be careful what you do when messing with jumpers because you can change other stuff if you mess with the wrong jumpers by accident.) Then I'd plug in the video card into your AGP slot and see what happens. If it still continues to give you a blank screen with the beep then it could be possible that your motherboard is incompatible with your video card. It might be that you have an older AGP port and the card isn't downward compatible? Don't take my word for it, as I don't know any of the specs of your machine. Wish I could be of more help, but good luck to you.

 

[ainwood]

I'm not sompletely sure, as I haven't tried to install a videcard with onboard video before.

However: You will need to disable the onboard video card. This might be able to be done via the CMOS / BIOS setup, (easiest) or by a jumper on he motherboard.

What I suggest is that you remove the AGP card. Boot up your computer, and when you get the message "Press del to enter setup" or similar, do it. This allows you to get into the BIOS / CMOS set up.

Look through the menus to find an entry something along the lines of "Disable Onboard VGA" and set it to true. Save settings an exit.

If there is not this option, then yes, you will have to change a jumper setting on the motherboard. Look in the motherboard manual for details.


Here are a couple of urls that might help:

http://www.ati.com/support/infobase/3688.html
http://www.ati.com/support/infobase/4061.html

If you can't get much sense from HP, you could try and work out who made the actual motherboard, and check their site for a product manual.

Good luck!

 

[ainwood]

P.S. - in line with what Jeratain said: Before you change any jumpers, note down the previous positions! That way, if you get it 'wrong', then you can put it back how it was.