Rebuilt computer not recognizing PCI-E video card

D

DrUnKeNMaX

Posts: 12   +0
I recently put my old computer parts back together (My original store bought Gateway® GT5464 Desktop minus the sata drive and DVD-R drive) and had the system up and running fine with some worthless nvidia PCI-E card that I used for a day some time ago.

I purchased a new video card for my primary machine, a RADION HD5700, and installed it. I now had a INVIDIA Geforece 8600 that needed a home. This card mind you was installed in my original Gateway machine before...and worked great. I shut down the old PC, installed the card, hit the power button...and all I had was a orange light on my monitor.

I tried everything I could think of, then I re-installed windows and attempted to install the drivers while using the onboard display adapter and I was told there "was no hardware assosiated with the driver software"...or w/e. Device manager isn't finding it either. The card powers up and the fans a blaz'n..but the PC can't see it...why not? Please help.

Dane
 
Ok so your gateway had an 8600, but you replaced that with another card.
So you decided to put the 8600 into a different computer without a card?

I tried everything I could think of, then I re-installed windows and attempted to install the drivers while using the onboard display adapter and I was told there "was no hardware assosiated with the driver software"...or w/e. Device manager isn't finding it either. The card powers up and the fans a blaz'n..but the PC can't see it...why not? Please help.
Click to expand...
And just to be clear you tried installing Nvidia's drivers right?

Go into your bios and check if your PCI/PCIE slot is enabled, and if you really feel like it, you should also re-check that 8600 in your gateway.
 
Sorry for any confusion

the Gateway board, and the gefore 8600, worked with each other when that was my primary machine. I bought a new board, used the 8600 with it. Then I bought a new card for the new board, and put the 8600 back into the old board. But now it's not being recognized. So something magically went wrong within that time period. I have another PCI-E card that works fine, and is recognized. Is it posible the 8600 just took a crap all of a sudden?

Yes I ATTEMPTED to install the invidia drivers but wasn't able to because it couldn't find my card. (PC is not hooked up to the internet) The windows I installed has no updates, is that the problem?
 
think you should check the hardware company for issues, check if the port is enabled in your bios, and or if the right drivers fro your new card were installed...if you can swap it with a known good one or in another computer jus to make sure that would help
 
It's dead Jim...

Ok, thanks everyne for your input. I've tried several things to resolve the problem, but all I can come up with is that the video card died. It was three or four years old, and I noticed some discoloration and slight damage to parts of the card...But the fan still spins. Can the card die but still be powered? And if it's dead is that why the computer can't find it?

Thanks
 
very possible that the card has died, they do that--and often. good news is that 8600s are cheap and still easy to find.
 
Yeah I don't need to replace it I have a HD5770 now...I just wasn't expecting it to happen all of a sudden like that. It was just going to sit and do nothing in my old PC anyway. Thanks again.
 
The card is good!

Ok, I decided to stop being lazy(and this persistant problem is driving me nuts!) so I removed my HD 5770 and installed my old geforce 8600. IT WORKS! So now I know that my card IS good. In an earlier post I stated that in my old pc...I used another PCI-E card and it worked..I was mistaken, it was only PCI...duh...so this means my old computer's PCI-E port...is either malfunctioning..or something is wrong in the board...I built my new maching not even 6 months ago...and before that my old one worked fine with the geforce 8600, but now it doesn't even find it.

Here's what I know or what I have tried:

PCI-E is the set as the primary video adapter in bios.

Memory is 128

Under PCI-E configuration in Chipset Configuration, Compliance test pattern is disabled, and PEG negotiated Width says "not detected"

I have removed and reinstalled the card several times.

I have reset CMOS jumper.

I have restored bios defaults.

I can not install drivers because the card is not detected.

I can't find anywhere in bios to disable on board video, can't find it on motherboard (not sure what I'm looking for, labling that is)

PCI cards ARE detected by board.

So hopefully that information will help you fine people help me.

Thanks
 
Like I asked before, what exactly happens when you power up the PC with the monitor plugged into the 8600? Does the screen remain blank?

I suggest you try putting in the HD5770 and checking if the slot is still working. There should be some option in your BIOS under Primary Display Adapter that allows you to select PCI-E.

If nothing works then the slot is damaged.
 
The screen remains blank...with an orange light. If I switch to onboard it lights up and works. I would try the 5770 but I would have to swap psu as well. PCI-E is selected as the primary display adapter under advanced bios settings. The slot worked fine not 5 months ago when it was last used. The computer has been sitting in my garage the whole time, being used for music. So I'm not sure what happend but the PC has just been sitting unused.

I also get "PEG negotiated width - not working",under chipset configuration,pci-e configuration, in bios. There are 3 PCI-E root ports in device manager, system devices. THE VIDEO CARD IS POWERED AND THE FAN IS SPINNING. If the port was bad wouldn't there be lack of power supply?

Thanks
 
The only thing I can suggest for now is to swap the HD5770 and PSU into this board and seeing whether it works.
 
Swapped with 5770...

First off, thank you all for being patient with me I really appreciate your help. I placed my Radeon HD5770 into the PCI-E slot on my old MOBO (Gateway machine, Intel coconut creek board). I hooked my monitor to the VGA port, and turned on the machine. Displayed to me was my welcome page in all it's beauty. So...the PCI-E slot recognizes my new HD5770, but not my old Geforce 8600 GT overclocked. BUT I did test the 8600 in my new machine, and I had display and the card was recognized by the MOBO. So what does that mean?

...I've got secrets in my garden shed...

^ name that song!

Dane
 
The port on the card. Yes this is strange. Especially because just 5 months ago...the board and the card worked together just fine. So between installing the board in a different case with different hd and disk drive, installing windows, and inserting the card again...something went wrong.

It remains to be seen if this issue will ever be resolved.
 
Under normal circumstances I'd say the problem was that the onboard graphics haven't been disabled, but the fact that the HD 5770 works in the slot would seem to rule that out.
I can't find a Gateway BIOS manual so I assume the board is using a stock Intel BIOS.
A quick browse of the Intel specific options shows...
intel_bios1.JPG

Screenshot is a quick mashup in Paint - original source here
From the description for the "PCIE x16 Link Retrain" it seems as though non-detection can be card specific. Past this info I can't be too sure how to advise on troubleshooting since I'm not familiar with your BIOS layout/options.
I would suggest possibly flashing the BIOS (if you think it's worth the risk) and definitely updating the chipset drivers once you have a card installed and OS up and running.

Oh, and "Blackest Eyes".
 
dividebyzero said:
From the description for the "PCIE x16 Link Retrain" it seems as though non-detection can be card specific.
Click to expand...

The point is that this card was being detected before. All of a sudden there seems to be an issue. This is what the OP said:

This card mind you was installed in my original Gateway machine before...and worked great.
Click to expand...
 
To quote Arthur Conan Doyle: "...you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?" (Sign of the Four, 1890)
So looking at it logically...
We have effectively ruled out a dead card/bad socket pins
We have effectively ruled out a malfunctioning PCI-E slot
We have effectively ruled out lack of power delivery as being the cause
The motherboard works

What we do have is an error/warning message in the BIOS

All this would lead me to believe that the boards BIOS is not using the same settings as it did when the card was previously installed. The BIOS probably isn't corrupted since that should show a checksum error or hang (and is functioning ok with the HD 5770 installed).
The BIOS error message seems reasonably specific and is applicable to the one area of the BIOS that the OP hasn't been able to access (onboard graphics).
Why one video card would automatically disable the onboard video, while another card will not seems implausible, but in the absence of any other avenue that I can see, what other course of action can be taken?

@hk
Check post #10.
The OP says that in his troubleshooting he had cleared CMOS and "reset BIOS defaults" -which I presume is the same as "load optimised defaults"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

anarchistpuding
I want to build a PC from 2008
Replies
5
Views
1K
ihaveaname
I
tihon
Got a problem while trying to change my video card
Replies
9
Views
847
neeyik
neeyik
Shawn Knight
Peacock-exclusive NFL wild card game broke US livestreaming records
Replies
7
Views
224
scavengerspc
scavengerspc

Latest posts

Back