help me intall a vid card pls

[Gatotsu0shiki]

I got a vid card from a friend and I puted the card in the brown slot in my computer then plug it into card and turn the computer on but there's nothing on the screen except all black.

Also, my computer doesnt say it found a new hardware. Please help.

[Mistress Sheena]

You'd need the drivers for that video card. And you have to make sure the video card actually works, and that the computer monitor plug is plugged in correctly.

[Gatotsu0shiki]

Do i have to install the drivers before i put the vid card inside the slot?

[Mistress Sheena]

No. You install them after. Windows should run normally, and you pop in the Driver CD (if it came with one.)

If your friend just gave you the vid card as it was, chances are it's a really crappy card. >.>
I'd ask your friend for the Driver CD, or tell them about the problem you're having with it. See if they can help you figure it out.

[Malevolence]

First, so any of this can make sense, what kind of card do you have? Second, third, and so on:

A surprisingly large issue that I find occurs a lot - as silly as it is - is that if you're using an adapter or if you're using a monitor without spring-grips, you may not have screwed the two connectors into the back of the computer correctly. AS odd as it osunds, that can actually account for your monitor not working.

A few other non-technical notes that osunds stupid, but hey, you never know:

• Are you sure you didn't buy a PCI Express version of a card and try to put it into a brown AGP slot? The conenctions look similar, and they seem to lock in, but they definitely won't work.
• Did the video card lock into the AGP slot after you put it in? As in, did the latch click bhehind it, and did you install all the screws properly?
• this one sounds stupid, but it's big: Did your video card require supplemental power from your power source, and did you plug it in? I'm not sure what card you have (as you didn't tell us), but most cards made within the last 2 years require a power connection from the power supply. Check to see if there are any open two, three, or five prong ports on the side, back, top or bottom of the card.
• In relation to the last one, does your power supply actually supply enough power to run all the stuff you have. Check the wattage on your supply. If you're running multiple hard drives, multiple CD drives, and just about anything else, chances are you'll need to upgrae your power supply to a 5000, 550, or 650 W supply.

My last suggestion is to uninstall all the video card drivers on your computer (old card and the new card), then download the drivers for the new card - check the exact item code/name - from the card manufacturer's website. These drivers will be newer and more effective. Other than that, and since I can't actually see your computer...call the Geek Squad, I guess.

[Neo Necron]

Originally Posted by Piroblaze

You'd need the drivers for that video card. And you have to make sure the video card actually works, and that the computer monitor plug is plugged in correctly.

If he's getting a black screen then that's not going to be the problem. Without drivers the card should atleast still provide an image for bootup. The video card can be used without any drivers, you just wont be able to run many videos/games etc.

Malevolence's points would, of course, be good ones to consider.

Anyhoo, I'm moving this thread to digital community.

[Sean]

Originally Posted by Malevolence

First, so any of this can make sense, what kind of card do you have? Second, third, and so on:

A surprisingly large issue that I find occurs a lot - as silly as it is - is that if you're using an adapter or if you're using a monitor without spring-grips, you may not have screwed the two connectors into the back of the computer correctly. AS odd as it osunds, that can actually account for your monitor not working.

A few other non-technical notes that osunds stupid, but hey, you never know:

• Are you sure you didn't buy a PCI Express version of a card and try to put it into a brown AGP slot? The conenctions look similar, and they seem to lock in, but they definitely won't work.
• Did the video card lock into the AGP slot after you put it in? As in, did the latch click bhehind it, and did you install all the screws properly?
• this one sounds stupid, but it's big: Did your video card require supplemental power from your power source, and did you plug it in? I'm not sure what card you have (as you didn't tell us), but most cards made within the last 2 years require a power connection from the power supply. Check to see if there are any open two, three, or five prong ports on the side, back, top or bottom of the card.
• In relation to the last one, does your power supply actually supply enough power to run all the stuff you have. Check the wattage on your supply. If you're running multiple hard drives, multiple CD drives, and just about anything else, chances are you'll need to upgrae your power supply to a 5000, 550, or 650 W supply.

My last suggestion is to uninstall all the video card drivers on your computer (old card and the new card), then download the drivers for the new card - check the exact item code/name - from the card manufacturer's website. These drivers will be newer and more effective. Other than that, and since I can't actually see your computer...call the Geek Squad, I guess.

Since when do video cards require power coming straight from the PSU? Newer video cards including a GeForce 7800GTX, do not.

SLI, on the other hand, does. But that plugs into the motherboard, not into the video card.



Million dollar question: Did you actually plug the monitor into the video card, and not just the onboard video adapter?

I've had this issue before. The card may be bad, or the AGP slot may be bad. Or you may have not even plugged it into an AGP slot at all, but a PCI slot by accident.

"Brown slot" doesn't tell us much.

[Malevolence]

Originally Posted by Sean

Since when do video cards require power coming straight from the PSU? Newer video cards including a GeForce 7800GTX, do not.

SLI, on the other hand, does. But that plugs into the motherboard, not into the video card.

It's a weird mix of cards that require things from the PSU. Any of nVIDIA's recent "leafblower" designs require direct power from the PSU, as do most of nVIDIA's other new cards, such as mine - the FX 5600GT, which isn't a leafblower but has a high-powered cooling fan/heatsink on it, and does more onboard processing and pixel shading to take the load away from the CPU and RAM. Some newer ATI cards also require direct PSU supply.

Originally Posted by Sean

Million dollar question: Did you actually plug the monitor into the video card, and not just the onboard video adapter?

I've had this issue before. The card may be bad, or the AGP slot may be bad. Or you may have not even plugged it into an AGP slot at all, but a PCI slot by accident.

"Brown slot" doesn't tell us much.

As for your first point - yes, that would be a problem. I did it when I first installed my 5600GT, and it caused me endless grief until i realized my silly mistake (this was also, coincidentally, the time that i realized that the card required a PSU connection - three prong for mine)

As for the slot issue, the slot colors, interestingly enough, are standardized. PCI is white, AGP is brown (and also has a locking clip), RAM is either white, brown, or magenta, and situated away from the card bay, and PCI-Express is bright yellow. AGP and PCI-E have similar connection layouts, so they could look similar. I've heard rumors about cards that cna somehow connect to either, but I doubt that's true.

Anyway, brown does mean AGP, so hopefully that part was right.