[GPXtC02]

Hello Be prepared for a book hehe..
Well first off let me explain the situation.

I've been on a p3 with a 16mb video card for half a decade now, so over the past two months i stockpiled up the newest parts and, having all the needed parts, put it together last night. This upgrade includes, but is not too:
-AMD Athlon XP 3200+
-a7v880 asus motherboard
-2x512 Kingston 180-pin DDR
-500w PSU

So last, but not least, i popped in the ATI Radeon 9600Pro 256mb card that came in just last night. The installation was slicker than ice, connected all the jumpers and etc, the problem i ran into, was when i booted the box up. No video came on. The monitor acted as if it was in a "sleep" mode. Just sat there blinking, telling me it knew it was connected, but there was no signal coming through.

I took the most logical choice of action, and I must've reseated the card at least 10 times to no avail. After that I took the motherboard out, thinking it was a grounding problem, because more times than not bad grounding can cause these kind of problems - no luck.

The monitor works fine with the other computer I own, so I assume plugging it into another monitor would be a waste of time. Realize, this box has never been booted up before up until now, everything is off the shelf, including the hdd, so I assume there are no drivers loaded onto the machine. Before I purchased the card, I talked to various techs and checked out various sites; the card is compatible with the asus motherboard.

What makes this all the more ironic, is the fact that the 9600Pro does the same thing on that old p3 of mine. I get the same effect when I put the old GeForce 16mb in the new, upgraded box. The old card works fine with the old computer though.

So I ask, what is the problem? I assume it has something to do with drivers or some BIOS setings, and I would install the drivers from the disk included with the card, if I could have some sort of visual. Like I said, the monitor just sits there like it's in standby, and it's giving me complete [bleep].
Thanks for the help.

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not sure..but i'm gonna guess that the motherboard has an onboard video card?

if this is the case you have to disable that in bios first.

[dsenette]

not sure..but i'm gonna guess that the motherboard has an onboard video card?

if this is the case you have to disable that in bios first.

[dsenette]

yup....just looked at a picture of the board...it's got onboard video....plug your monitor into the onboard monitor connection...and disable the onboard video in bios....then switch the cable over to the new expansion card and go from there

[jrm20]

Yeah, after you disable the onboard video, turn off the pc. Then hook your monitor up to the new video card socket. Dont leave the monitor hooked up to the onboard socket after you put in a new card, I have seen it many times lol!

Edited by jrm20, 15 November 2005 - 03:45 PM.

[GPXtC02]

Thanks for the information. I'm sure that would solve the problem....
...if this board had onboard video. It doesn't. Get the specs on the wrong board Dsenette? Hehe after that post I scanned the mobo and sure enough, no onboard hehe. Asus a7v880 feel free to prove me wrong hehe. Did you guys have any "backup-plans"? Because I am S-O-L.

[dsenette]

i'm not saying you're wrong....(i can't get a good picture of the board's backside on the asus site..it looks like there's a video port)....but if you say there is no onboard video...then you have to be correct...since the board is in front of you.....

as far as backup plans...have you tried reseting the bios (either by taking out the cmos battery or moving the cmos jumper)?

[jrm20]

Did you install a cd that came with your motherboard? Sometimes that cd has files needed for your pc to run a video card correctly. The chipset drivers on the cd have you tried that?? By chance does that video card have a connector needed for power?

So, the card has never displayed any visuals? If it doesnt there is a possibility that the card is bad.

Edited by jrm20, 15 November 2005 - 04:35 PM.

[GPXtC02]

Yea the idea of a bad card has been nagging at me hehe.
Both are good ideas, but what's the point of resetting the cmos if I can't even see the POST screen nor access the BIOS. I'll go ahead and give it a shot though, keep the ideas coming

No power connector that i can see, although the video card's fan runs fine so I assume it is connected.
No I never installed the cd that came with the motherboard, nor did I install the cd that came with the video card, but how can I when nothing is being displayed on the screen?

Edited by GPXtC02, 15 November 2005 - 05:14 PM.

[jrm20]

You can use an older video card just to install or try to get onto windows. If you have one..

I would try that, try to get a card that will fit that current pc. Then if it works, the 9600 is bad..

[GPXtC02]

I've just got to wonder.
Why does the GeForce *32mb from my old box not work on this new comp, and why this radeon won't work in the old box.

[Billre1967]

What is the computer doing? Does it sound like it is booting up? Do the drives spin up? Your problem might not be the video card. If it isn't booting up then try it with just one memory stick. And then the other. Make sure everything is seated properly. Also, do you have the speaker in the case plugged in? If so, is it giving some beeps when you start up?

[GPXtC02]

Yea the speaker comes auto hooked up, no beep codes are being emitted. I tried reseating the card another 5 times and switched monitors, still nothing..still acting like I put it in hibernate. Although I've got one of those kick-[bleep] SilentBoost CPU fans, i can't hear much of nething around it, so I'm not 100 percent sure the HDD is spinning, but I assume it is seeing how no beep codes are being emitted. Just on that same note, what would be the side effects of the hdd not spinning, booting up? Also, what other things might be causing this? I'll go ahead and mess with the ram as suggested, but keep in mind this card also doesn't work in the old p3 box, just as the geforce doesn't work in this new box.

[dsenette]

you wouldn't get a post beep because of a harddrive...and it wouldn't stop you from seeing the post process....

in light of the fact that that card will not work in your old machine....(assuming it's compatible) i would suspect the card..but at the same time....it doesn't make sense that the old card wont work on the new board...

try taking everything out of the case and placing your motherboard on a piece of cardboard...hook up the psu, the ram, the video card, monitor, and keyboard with the system outside of the case...and see if it will boot (something may be grounding on the case) also...try booting it without ram and see if you get a post beep

also....is this one of those motherboards that needs that extra plug from the psu...the little four pin plug? (i think it's 12v...not sure)..if so...does y our psu have one of these?

[GPXtC02]

in light of the fact that that card will not work in your old machine....(assuming it's compatible) i would suspect the card..but at the same time....it doesn't make sense that the old card wont work on the new board...

That's just what I've been thinking. The idea of a bad AGP port doesn't come into mind though..i've seen posts like mine (google'd) that are encountering the same problems as I am (different mobo's though).

try taking everything out of the case and placing your motherboard on a piece of cardboard...hook up the psu, the ram, the video card, monitor, and keyboard with the system outside of the case...and see if it will boot (something may be grounding on the case) also...try booting it without ram and see if you get a post beep

also....is this one of those motherboards that needs that extra plug from the psu...the little four pin plug? (i think it's 12v...not sure)..if so...does y our psu have one of these?

That is just what I planned on doing tonight hehe. I'll keep you guys updated after I give it a whirl. I'm not sure about the extra plug..but i'll go ahead and scan the board one last time later tonight.

[Billre1967]

you wouldn't get a post beep because of a harddrive...and it wouldn't stop you from seeing the post process....

I wasn't inferring that the hard drive was the problem. But if it isn't starting up then there's a problem with something other than the video card. Even if the video card is bad the rest of the computer would still run fine. I had a computer where the fans would work and the lights would come on. But it wouldn't post and the hard drive did not spin up. Turns out the motherboard was dead.