Installing New Video Card

[cyclindk]

I'll start with a few questions that I'd like answered, but this all revolves around installing a new card (Diamond ATI Radeon X1950 AGP 512MB).

Is is at all possible to fit (even if it doesn't work) an AGP card into a PCI slot (not PCI express, just PCI)? Will it physically fit? If not then I am pretty sure I have an AGP slot, it's just that under the "display adapters" tap under system information it shows the card under a "PCI" slot. It doesn't make sense to me. As far as I know the slot types are incompatable with one another physically. So, hoping I do have an AGP slot, which I am also more sure of since I popped in the card and hooked the monitor up to the card and it seemed to work, I mean I was able to start XP and everything, so I assume the card is working and therefore the slot must be AGP. Anyway, I got as far as installing the drivers with the CD and it prompted me to restart, but now the computer never gets passed the main boot up area to the windows startup. It just keeps restarting. I can enter safe mode.

I have an HT Pentium 4 3.06GH processor, 2 Gigs of RAM, previously what I assume is an AGP ATI Radeon 9550 256MB graphics card as I recently missplaced the box, and Windows XP service pack 2 installed. New 550 watt power supply.

Help me please. I can't get ahold of any tech people.

 

[CCT]

'Is is at all possible to fit (even if it doesn't work) an AGP card into a PCI slot (not PCI express, just PCI)? Will it physically fit? If not then I am pretty sure I have an AGP slot, it's just that under the "display adapters" tap under system information it shows the card under a "PCI" slot. It doesn't make sense to me. As far as I know the slot types are incompatable with one another physically. So, hoping I do have an AGP slot, which I am also more sure of since I popped in the card and hooked the monitor up to the card and it seemed to work, I mean I was able to start XP and everything, so I assume the card is working and therefore the slot must be AGP.'


All this isn't a 'problem' to be solved it is a question you could have answered for yourself by looking though the motherboard manual diagrams.

The failure to boot AFTER install is a problem.

Did you install the AGP card drivers then get the failure to boot?

Can you boot using VGA drivers?

 

[k.jacko]

you are right in assuming AGP and PCI are physically different. So that srts that bit out.
So, can you reinsert the 9550 and see if the pc boots properly?
Does the 1950pro require its own power? If so, have you connected it? The 9550 probably doesn't because its a crap card. So check that first.

 

[raybay]

The simple answer is no, no and hell no. Not only will it not fit, it will not work, and you risk ruining your motherboard in the process.

As long as you are sure whether you are talking about PCI or PCI-Express.

The AGP slot is nearly always a different color than the PCI Slots... Usually brown, gold, or blue. But never white.

I think it is merely a language issue. I have seen it before. A lot of the motherboard instructions and responses were liberally borrowed from earlier boards where the video graphics were either on-board, or PCI slots. Remember a lot of the engineering and design work was performed by great engineers who spoke very little english. The onscreen notices have often been screwy with a number of manufacturers. Often times the boards were first used in other countries as a way to perform "live quality control"... when they worked out the bugs, they transferred them into versions for North America. Instructions were transferred by lower level technicians.

Tell us what brand and model of computer, or brand and model of motherboard... and the part numbers off the video card...

What comes up in the BIOS flash when you first start to boot up.... It should give you the ability to look at everything in the BIOS, and that will tell you what the BIOS detects the Video Graphics card to be.

I would reformat and reinstall, just to remove that question of error. Then install the video graphics drivers, BIOS, and Chipset in Safe Mode, if you can.

 

[cyclindk]

Problem Solved

Thanks for responding all. It turns out I neglected to uninstall the old drivers before installing the new ones. That fixed it, works great now. Thanks anyway.