Techie help pleaseFollow

Specifically what type of noise was it making? Also, when you turn the computer on, can you see any video at all, or is it just black from start to power off?

If it is only black, no video ever, that does not mean a video card necessarily. It could also be the processor or the board, or the power supply. If it gets into BIos then freezes shortly after startup, that could be a HDD. but usually afailed hdd will show up as a "non system boot disk" type error. It's probably not the Ram because the system would at least start the POST spinup.

If you have prefferrablky the origional video card that came with the origional system, put that back in and see if it boots. If it still doesn't boot, video card isn't likely the problem. SO now you need to do some detective work with the side of the case off. First, does it have a processor fan spinning when it is on? If yes, continue. if no, you have a big problem.

If the processor fan spins up, next listen for HDD noises. you should hear a faint clicking and whirring sound as windows starts up. If you here a very loud rythmic clicking that sounds like someone turning a deadbolt back and forth several times, then nothing, thats generally a bad sign.

If you have a spun up fan but no HDD activity, likely you aredealing with a failing board, processor or power supply. Swap out the power supply for a new one, since they are relitivly cheap. If that doesn't fix it, consider a motherboard and processor upgrade.

Definitely the card; esp. if the other one works fine. This is also assuming the newer one is also PCI Express.

There's also a chance that there is a honest to goodness compatibility issue between the card and your board; but not much.


Test the card in another machine.


Also; (because the noise thing is odd)
Check your PC for dust.
Check that card if it has a fan if it is spinning ok and isn't just overheating.

If the new video card shows nothing at all, not even BIOS, but the original card still works fine - it's the card. It probably just overheated and burned out. A lot of the high-end gaming cards come overclocked and need better cooling than standard cards.

Ok, if it's the card, that means the last two cards I've tried have been bad. That seems odd. At any rate, I'm sending it back for another. Though I'm skepitcal that a thrid will do the trick.

I'm thinking it might be easier just to upgrade the card that's in there and scrap the pci slot.


Edit: Fans:) There is only one I think, and the cards have both had them little fans on them. My machine does get hot. I often open the side panel to cool it off.


Edited, Sep 29th 2008 5:54pm by Elinda

It came with an nvidia something something 128MB card and an empty pci slot.

I filled the pci slot with another nVidia Card a 512MB (Don't recall exactily which it was). After running it that way for a year, the computer whacked out. After removing the card from the pci slot, the computer worked. The HP techs said it was a bad card. However upon purchasing and installing another pci card, I get black screen. Doesn't boot at all.

That's why I would it would be the slot and not the card. I'd never heard of a 'slot' going bad though.

Ok, wait a minute here, when you say "the card that is in there" what exactly are you referring to? Is this a computer with a video card built directly into the motherboard (i.e. a non removable video port soldierd to the back of the big green rectangle)

You said the origional video card works, the new ones dont. Does the origional video card go into the same location that the new ones go in, or is the origional video card soldiered to the motherboard?

a picture of the inside and back of your case would be helpful at this point.

Yeah, I looked up the specs of that model:



Onboard video is fine, it's the PCI-E x16 slot that is gone bad. Like gbaji said, it could very well be debris of some sort blocking a pin when it otherwise detects the card.

I don't know anything about PCI-E slots (I'm still using AGP) so I don't know if the card(s) can be tried in the other slots.

Any chance that, despite what the specs say, the PCI-E x16 is only wired for x8 (and so the card is objecting to not being able to get all the data through)?