PCI video conflicts with motherboard

[jrtroo]

I have an older motherboard (pcchips 748- yes, I know its crap) running a p3-800 and I'm looking to upgrade from the onboard graphics to a xtasy 9100 64MB (not for gaming, just to surf without tearing and the like). I've changed the bios to PCI, but when I put the card in I don't get so much as a single beep. The fans spin (case, power, video) and the HDD spins when turning the machine on, but nothing else. I have tried all available slots, and have even moved around my network card to use what I know is a good slot. This same exact thing happens with an older xtasy 5332 (with a gforce 2).

The board has the latest BIOS available, and was working perfectly prior to this upgrade attempt, and works fine once I remove any card I'm trying to add. Onboard is AGP and I have put in an older add on PCI card a few years ago, but it died.

Thanks!

 

[pspada]

You probably need to change a jumper setting on the mobo to disable the on-board graphics.

 

[Twsmit]

Originally posted by: pspada
You probably need to change a jumper setting on the mobo to disable the on-board graphics.

Thats probably it. Their website or the manual probably has the info you need to locate where the jumper or possibly the bios setting is.

 

[Peter]

Nope. The integrated video doesn't disable, it is AGP and coexists with any PCI VGA you add. The point is that your PCI card needs to be multi-display capable. I'm rather surprised to see an ATi based card not work, that's not normal. Try to clear CMOS to revert BIOS to its default settings; updating the board's BIOS might also be a good idea (while you're on the integrated video, that is).

 

[jrtroo]

Thanks, but unfortunately this board is jumperless and the only way to fully disable the onboard is to not have any memory in position 1. I tried with and without a 64 stick in the slot - no luck. MB has most updated bios available, and both onboard and each of the ones I'm trying out are supposed to handle multiple monitors. Since there is no startup beep, the only explanation I have found is that possibly the old PS just cannot handle the needs of these newer cards.

Oh, and I have cleared the CMOS several times and have also tried the two preset bios setting available while disabling different bios tasks (virus, usb, modem).

 

[DieHardware]

I guess no one has to ask if you switched the VGA cable to the new card's connector? Do you have another system where you could test that the PCI video card functions properly, and while it's there, flash it with a newer BIOS version (if available)?

 

[Buz2b]

jrtroo,
I think you already nailed it: Power Supply. What kind is in there now? You could try (as an experiment) unplugging some drives, etc to see if you can bring it up.

 

[jrtroo]

Thanks everyone. Here is my plan of attack:

First Im going to track my voltage as I do a few graphics intensive work with the system as is.
Next, I'll unplug everything that isn't needed to post and do a double check
Finally, I'll install the problem card and see how it goes.

If that does not work, I may break down and get a new PS, the one in there is only a 250 W. I'm also gonna research if there is any PS requirement for the vid card. I looked a bit before, so if anyone has seen this posted I'd appreciate a link.

 

[jrtroo]

Ok, so here is what I did, without success:

I took out a duplicate working board I had sitting around and a brand new 300W PS. I put in one stick of good RAM, and old working CPU, both (not at the same time) video cards, and connected the PS and the monitor. I flipped the switch, watched all of the fans turn, but nothing on the monitor to show the card was posting.

Is there anything else I can try? Can I make any conclusions other than these xtasy cards simply cannot work with my MB?

 

[pspada]

Does the board still boot with the video card in but with the monitor still connected to the on-board port instead of the PCI card? I recall a mobo some years ago that would not show the option to switch from the on-board video in the bios until after you booted with the new video card install. the option was similar to the newer bioses where they ask for the video boot options and you can choose AGP/ONBOARD to PCI.

 

[jrtroo]

No, when the card is plugged in nothing posts, there are no beeps, and nothing happends on either the onboard or the card. With the card in, you cannot get to the settings to select the primary video.

 

[DieHardware]

Well did you look for and try a newer BIOS version for the video card that might be as Peter put it "multi-display capable"?

 

[jrtroo]

I have been unable to find a bios for either vid card or a spec showing the power requirements.

 

[Buz2b]

I did a little searching over at another ECS/PCChips forum and found that most who used PCI video cards with this board used older, low end models. Do you have any lower end (4-8 MB) PCI cards around that you could try? It would be an interesting experiment and may lead to some sort of answer for you.

 

[jrtroo]

Thanks, that is a new link for me, I have used an international resource board (I dont have the link but its found by googling "PCCHIPS lottery") a few times, but its not updated very often. Anyhow, I did have an older NVidia card installed at one time (gforce 2 w/ 16MB), but it went bad so I was RMAd the 32 MB version.

I'm gonna check out that board.

 

[Buz2b]

I hope it helps. You might also want to post your question there as they have an excellent base source of ECS&PC Chips users. However, don't forget to post back to us here if you do find an answer.

 

[pspada]

Well, if you do need an old PCI video card, I've got several I'll swap with you.

 

[atlr]

had the same symptoms with an even older board, a Via MVP3 based FIC 503+. It could a a PCI version/ motherboard slot voltage issue but I didn't have time to investigate further. I returned the card for a refund and replaced it with a FX5200.

Check out the visiontek tech support forum for a few similar and unresolved probem reports.
http://forum.visiontek.com/

 

[jrtroo]

I'm thinking it may be a PCI compatibility issue. The box states its PCI 2.1, but I guessing that the mainboard is not, is there any way to cofirm (there is nothing mentioned on the MB mainsite, and I have not yet searched this exact issue out)? The bios on the board is from 1999, and it was made that same year. I suspect the card is going back, but I want to make sure its replacement will work.

EDIT: Just answered my own question, this should not be the issue since 2.1 was established in 95.

 

[pspada]

Originally posted by: atlr
had the same symptoms with an even older board, a Via MVP3 based FIC 503+. It could a a PCI version/ motherboard slot voltage issue but I didn't have time to investigate further. I returned the card for a refund and replaced it with a FX5200.

Check out the visiontek tech support forum for a few similar and unresolved probem reports.
http://forum.visiontek.com/

I've got 2 or three of those 503+ boards! And they all still work just fine, as they have with every video card I ever threw at them.

 

[Peter]

jrtoo, PCI compliance is irrelevant here. Electrically, nothing has changed ever. Logically, the VGA implementation rules haven't changed either. Whether the board is 2.0 or 2.1 or 2.2 doesn't matter at all (it _is_ 2.1 btw, just for confirmation).

 

[Overkast]

jrtoo, when you installed the PCI card, did you remove the AGP card? If so, then I would try putting it back in just for the sake of filling up the AGP slot to see if anything happens.

If you did NOT remove the AGP card, then try removing it and see what happens.

 

[Peter]

There is no AGP card. The existing graphics unit is AGP, but it's inside the chipset.

 

[jrtroo]

Thanks for everyone's suggestions. While I'm waiting for authorization for the other suggested board, is there anything else I could try? I'm willing to do almost anything (bios tweaking, hot swapping, else?).

To summarize, I've confirmed the board is ok, the memory, CPU, PSU, and that the settings are correct for the bios. Also have made sure to have the most recent bios version for onboard video and MB. The video cards are both made by VisionTek, but are based on NVidia and ATI chips. I'm guessing that eitehr this MB just cannot handle these new PCI cards or that the manufacturer has a compatibility issue. Judging from the VisionTek website, they often find these problems and don't do much to help.

Anyhow, If I cannot clear this up by new years I'm gonna try a fx 5200. Altr, who made the card you used?

Thanks again.

 

[Buz2b]

Were you unable to try a "low-end" PCI video card? I don't think getting a newer, faster card is the answer. If you can get hold of an older 8MB PCI card for example, I'm betting it would work. If it didn't, you could safely say that the MB is at fault.