Is my video card broken

walduf · 08-21-2009, 04:26 PM

Hey everyone! only reason i signed up for this forum is to hope maybe one of you can help me with my video card problem.

So here is my story:
I bought a computer (HP Pavilion a1740n) about 4 years ago.
I wanted it to be better fit for gaming so, 1 year later, I bought an Nvidia GeForce 7900GS PCI-E (256MB) video card along with a better power supply (Thermaltake Purepower 500 ATX)
Now, a year and a half later, i have 3 monitors, and i want to hook them all up.. but i can only manage 2 on my current card. So i go out and buy an Nvidia GeForce 9400GT PCI (1GB) video card.
I place it in my computer and everything is legit.
BUT: when i try running any game, it seems to not be able to handle even the lowest graphics. I try taking my older card out and leaving my 1GB, but that doesnt help, everything was slow. Internet games would seem laggy. As if the graphics couldnt keep up.
So i yank out the new video card, and let it sit on top of my computer for about 15 days.

So a friend advised to me to try upgrading my system because my system can be old, and not be able to handle the card.
For about $350 i was able to get a new motherboard, a faster processor, and more memory.

Everything works with the old 7900GS, but now my 9400GT doesn't work at all.

I built my old motherboard into an old chassis, and i try the 9400GT. It doesnt work on that at all...

Now this is the situation:
On my new motherboard, if i have the 9400GT, it seems like my computer doesn't even boot up (i don't hear beeps, or my disks spinning, or the HD going, or the memory modules clicking) BUT the fans on the card, CPU and the rear still spin.

On my old motherboard the computer works fine with the 9400GT sitting in it (the fan spins on the card) but it doesnt seem to work, and i cant attach monitors to it. I can use the on-board VGA on it.

I have tryed to clean the contacts on the 9400GT with isopropyl but that didnt help anything

any suggestions? or fixes? or what i did wrong?

walduf · 08-21-2009, 11:23 PM

UPDATE: the 9400GT works with my old motherboard
How i fixed it: in BiOS the default video input was set to PCI (which is supposed to be since its a PCI card)-- I switched it to PCI-E and the PCI card started working.

08-21-2009, 04:26 PM	#1 (permalink)
walduf Registered User Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 7 OS: vista home premium sp2 32-bit	Is my video card broken Hey everyone! only reason i signed up for this forum is to hope maybe one of you can help me with my video card problem. So here is my story: I bought a computer (HP Pavilion a1740n) about 4 years ago. I wanted it to be better fit for gaming so, 1 year later, I bought an Nvidia GeForce 7900GS PCI-E (256MB) video card along with a better power supply (Thermaltake Purepower 500 ATX) Now, a year and a half later, i have 3 monitors, and i want to hook them all up.. but i can only manage 2 on my current card. So i go out and buy an Nvidia GeForce 9400GT PCI (1GB) video card. I place it in my computer and everything is legit. BUT: when i try running any game, it seems to not be able to handle even the lowest graphics. I try taking my older card out and leaving my 1GB, but that doesnt help, everything was slow. Internet games would seem laggy. As if the graphics couldnt keep up. So i yank out the new video card, and let it sit on top of my computer for about 15 days. So a friend advised to me to try upgrading my system because my system can be old, and not be able to handle the card. For about $350 i was able to get a new motherboard, a faster processor, and more memory. Everything works with the old 7900GS, but now my 9400GT doesn't work at all. I built my old motherboard into an old chassis, and i try the 9400GT. It doesnt work on that at all... Now this is the situation: On my new motherboard, if i have the 9400GT, it seems like my computer doesn't even boot up (i don't hear beeps, or my disks spinning, or the HD going, or the memory modules clicking) BUT the fans on the card, CPU and the rear still spin. On my old motherboard the computer works fine with the 9400GT sitting in it (the fan spins on the card) but it doesnt seem to work, and i cant attach monitors to it. I can use the on-board VGA on it. I have tryed to clean the contacts on the 9400GT with isopropyl but that didnt help anything any suggestions? or fixes? or what i did wrong? Last edited by walduf; 08-21-2009 at 04:29 PM.

08-21-2009, 11:23 PM	#2 (permalink)
walduf Registered User Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 7 OS: vista home premium sp2 32-bit	Re: Is my video card broken UPDATE: the 9400GT works with my old motherboard How i fixed it: in BiOS the default video input was set to PCI (which is supposed to be since its a PCI card)-- I switched it to PCI-E and the PCI card started working.