Graphics Card Problems

Lump

Ok, I built a new computer but I'm having problems with the graphics card.


After building the computer everything was working ok apart from the card not working. I did a bit of fiddling around and got the computer to boot, installed the drivers etc. I rebooted a few times and everything was working fine. I had to move the computer because it was in the way, when I tried to boot it nothing happened, the monitor just stayed on standby.

I tried the card in another computer (my old one) and it works fine. The card it a Hercullies Guillimont 32Meg card. If anyone has any Ideas please post here, because its really wreaking my head.


Thanks,

John

WhiteWashMan

does your pc boot with the old card in it?
at what stage does it stop booting?
does it post?

Lump

OK, the problem is getting worse I think. The computer powers up, the cpu fan starts turning and the fan on the motherboard also spins up. it sound like the hard drive is accessed, after it also spins up. BUt no agp card works in the system. And also the system speaker doesn't beep once. Im starting to think that the AGP Slot or maybe the motherboard is ****ed. I dont know how it could be ****ed because it was all working fine, I installed windows, installed the drivers rebooted even watched a dvd on the machine, then I turned it off and went in to town for an hour or two, when I tried to turn on the machine when I got back.... Nothing. No-one was in the house so I know it wasn't messed around with. If anyone can help please post here. My next step is to try and get a pci card to see if it is the AGP slot that ****ed.


THanks,

John

WhiteWashMan

ok, remove everything fgrom the system
tale out all cards, remove all ide cables.
all you should have is processor, memory and graphics crad
this is the least you need to post.
if you get a beep after these you know youre on the right track, otherwise one of them os buggered (or system board)
if these three are ok, add other components one at a time starting with first hard drive, then add secind hard drive if any, floppy, pci cards; sound, modem, network.

tell me how you go

Lump

Tried that, got no beep or anything....... I'd day the board is fuked myself.



John

Bosco

Hi folks,

Just thought I'd add my 2 cents....

If it happened just after you moved the computer then one of the following things might have happened.....maybe...

1: A little splinter of metal from the case or the case screws fell into/under one of the expansion slots or memory slots, or into some similar short-circuity place. Solution: inspect the components for metal pieces, and use a small magnet to remove if found in an awkward place.

2: (Only applies if board still mounted in case)
The mainboard slipped slightly on it's mounting 'feet' and moved into a position such that one of the metal standoffs that support the board is touching some exposed conducting surface on the board itself. Solution: build the computer (essential componants only) on a wooden table-top and test. If it works, look for the mounting-point (hole) on the mainboard that is too-close to exposed metal, or any part of the case that might be touching a board.

There are a number of other alternatives I can think of but all require the expertise of the board manufacturers to remedy.

Hope this helps

Lump

NO, its not that, because I took out the board and reseated it. o make sure nothing was being shorted. Thanks for the Idea though.


John

But

I had similar problems with THREE consecutive motherboards, Two were ASUS, then one ABIT. I eventually got one (ABIT) which worked first time. What model is the motherboard ? Where did you buy it ?

Stephen

Lump's board is an Abit KT7A. Dunno anything more specific than that about it

po0k

I had a similar problem with two AT mobos. Gave up. Trashed the shiot out of em.
Sorry, doesn't help much.

I would have said earlier that *possibly* your BIOS is setup to initialize PCi display adapters first, maybe something, dunno.
Sounds like a bit of a short circuit though, like what Bosco said. Could easily happen witha new case/parts, the metal edges probably haven't been scrubbed of the shavings.

Lump

NO, its none of them, I've checked.




John

Superman

what about agp x2 x4 ?
emmmmmmmmm.. defrag?

amp

Originally posted by Lump
Tried that, got no beep or anything....... I'd day the board is fuked myself.

I'd say the same meself John. Bummer

Kegser

Yes, good plan, defragment your HDD. Muppet.

It could indeed be your motherboard; but another thing to check would be your CPU. Ensure it is properly seated, and that there's a thin layer of thermal paste between the CPU and heatsink.

Reseat everything firmly.

After doing this, leave only your CPU, RAM, GC and power cables attached to the MB.

Check the MB manual to find the Clear CMOS jumper and follow the instructions to clear the CMOS.

Pray the machine boots.

If it does, make sure your CPU settings are correct; again you should be able to find these in the MB manual.

Lump

Kegs my friend, I reseated everything except the CPU. I got an e-mail back from ABIT saying that if there isnt a beep it normally means that the board is fúcked basically. Oh and superman, I'll defrag my HD yea, that'll help........CONSIDERING I CANT EVEN BOOT THE FÚCKING MACHINE LET ALONE SEE ANYTHING.


Thanks,


John

But

I would agree with Abit, like I said, I got three faulty boards with this problem, one after the other. The shop even took a new board and CPU off the shelf, and they wouldn't work either. Get a new one, and if I were you, I'd get them to test it first

Lump

Yea thats what Im in the process of doing.



John

astrofool

clear the cmos memory, as in the bios settings, Abit boards can get stuck in an unbootable setup, but won't reset themselves.

sounds like the board got fupped in some way when you moved it

But

Clearing CMOS memory won't fix it. A new board is required...

astrofool

*cough* Abit boards get stuck using their last boot up, even if it was to change to something completely stupid like setting the chip at 2ghz, the board will try to boot at that speed, but the chip won't post, so u get no response despite everything being "on"

This is meant to clear afterthe second boot, but Abit boards are notorious for this not working, leaving a cmos clear as the only option.

I use Abit boards all the time, and always come across problems like this, and have found the solution each time, clear cmos, power supply in wrong etc.

Another problem I had was board wouldn't boot, turned out the problem was the extra metal stands under the board, if they don't line up with a hole, take them out, this can mean the end of the board is unsupported (the RAID side), but will stop a short circuit, my particular case it was if I touched the board in a certain area it booted, but wouldn't otherwise, turned out, the small amount of pressure I applied while touching it was enough to un short the board, and let it boot, removed the spacer and away it went.

Put the insulating rings on the screws also, if u were supplied with them.

http://www.viahardware.com go the the kt7 faq there, has all the info possible on the board.

Board might be fupped, but probs just some silly anomaly, driven mad till found, return, and let them figure it out....

and but, adding that statement with no reasoning behind it was a bit silly and not the best advice to give, through knowledge comes learning and all that.....

po0k

Originally posted by Lump
Kegs my friend, I reseated everything except the CPU. I got an e-mail back from ABIT saying that if there isnt a beep it normally means that the board is fúcked basically. Oh and superman, I'll defrag my HD yea, that'll help........CONSIDERING I CANT EVEN BOOT THE FÚCKING MACHINE LET ALONE SEE ANYTHING.


Thanks,


John

/me LOLs (quite loudly too) at superman

Not that my offerins were much better
I might just try posting those old mobos of mine outside a case after all, a P75 or a P100 would runa Linux software firewall, wuldn't it? I still have a ISA NIC too