Need help installing graphics card

[calan1981]

Ok to start out i'm not a comp noob i have pretty good experience for the most part wich is why i'm so stumped. I have a dell dimension 3000 and it can only use pci cards i know that agp or better yet pci express is better but its what i have to deal with lol. I got a nvidia geforce 5500 256 mb for it and i put switched onboard to auto in the bios and then disabled the intel extreme graphics turned off the comp installed the graphics card booted the comp up installed the drivers but for some reason its not working right. i know the card is good but the only thing that works is the monitor on the graphics card and i don't even see a screen till the comp loads and i have to type in my password and even though the monitor works on the graphics card its still using the integrated graphics. I have tried to redo this several different ways and i'm at my wits end anymore. If someone either has a dell and had the same problem or just know how to fix this i would deeply appreciate it.

 

[Tmagic650]

Leave the onboard graphics on and try the PCI card

 

[ThaUnknown]

Why dont u take it off auto in the Bios?

 

[calan1981]

i did leave onboard on in the bios but no matter wich way i try it anything that uses graphics is still going through the onboard. The motherboard bios only has onboard or auto settings for graphics. I've seen several people on the net that had the same problem but it was older post on diff sites and i don't think they go on there anymore cause i never got a response. So i know there is a way to fix this but i can't figure it out for the life in me.

 

[redk]

Use the onboard graphics, turn on the PC with the PCI card in place.
Enter Windows.
Install the drivers for the PCI card.
Go to device manager and uninstall onboard.
Restart.
Connect monitor to PCI card.
Enter windows.
Cancel driver install for onboard, and disable it in device manager.

I've done this about half a dozen times in the last year, and that's how I had to do it.
If it doesn't work, hit F8 on boot and enter safe mode, then reinstall the drivers for onboard, but I'm fairly sure it'll work perfectly.

 

[Tedster]

Please use correct spelling and grammar. It is very difficult to read your questions when you use bad grammar and run on sentences.

From what I gather, you need to do the following.

1. Ensure the card is COMPATIBLE with your system.
2. If you have on board video, you will need to turn it OFF in bios. If you cannot, you can't use an external video card.
3. If you CAN, then install the card. Boot the system with default XP drivers. You should have at least VGA graphics and see a screen.
4. Now load the software drivers that came with the card. If you had a previous external card, you have have to uninstall them first.
5. if you have a high end card, you will need to ensure your card has adequate power. Many older systems do not provide enough juice. If your PSU is not at least 350W to 400W for an older AGP system, then you may have power issues. Google PSU calculator and add 30% to the results for cushion. outervision is a good tool.