Cannot detect graphics card after crash

unpro · 08-25-2009, 07:28 AM

Hi,

I had a few incidents in the past where the cpu was probably loose which caused the system to completely hang. But after firmly pressing it in place, the problems have faded away since.

However, my computer crashed again in the same way recently. Fearing the same, I pressed the cpu in place. Unfortunately, pressing the power button caused the fans to spin and mouse to light up but totally no reaction from the keyboard, monitor or ANY lights that indicated power on and processor activity. Having no idea of what could be wrong this time, I just repeated the pressing, for it to actually work after a while. My computer booted up, but to my horror the display was back to the original tiny resolution reminiscent of a reformat. Guessing that it might be a driver problem, I popped in the motherboard driver cd, followed by the graphics card cd. While the former installed successfully, the latter gave an error saying no drivers were available for the current hardware. In other words, my 9800GT cannot be found. After a reboot, I found my computer to be using the integreted graphics, ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics. Looking under device manager shows no indication of the 9800 GT... Does anyone have any idea how to resolve this please?

Other possible points of suspicion:
-In Device Manager, under System devices, there is no "Via cpu to AGP", although google suggests there should
-9800GT fans are powered up, monitor cable is plugged in to it
-I tried looking at BIOS, but AMI BIOS differs greatly from the common BIOS. I saw a "Primary Video Controller" option but the choices are only "Always" and "Auto"... and I tried both to no avail.

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+
Chipset: AMD 780G
BIOS: American Megatrends Inc.
Original Graphics Card: 9800GT (Connected to an orange slot, I supposed that's AGP, also the monitor port is connected to this)
Integrated Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics

Please help me

, thank you!

Phædrus2401 · 08-25-2009, 08:11 AM

What do you mean the "CPU was loose"? The CPU or the heatsink? Are you using the stock heatsink, or an aftermarket one?

The 9800GT uses PCIe x16, not AGP.

What power supply are you using? Brand, model, wattage.

unpro · 08-26-2009, 05:23 AM

Thank you for replying.

Well, the symptom for the old condition was complete freezing up. After pressing the CPU/heatsink in place, the problem faded away. I guess that would mean the connection was at fault. Whether it's the heatsink or the CPU I am not too sure. The heatsink is the stock one.

The power supply is "R3-460-PCAR-A3 EXTREME POWER PLUS 460W" by Cooler Master.

I am not too familiar with computer parts and the assembling of one so please bear with me.

08-25-2009, 07:28 AM	#1 (permalink)
unpro Registered User Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 2 OS: Windows XP Home	Cannot detect graphics card after crash Hi, I had a few incidents in the past where the cpu was probably loose which caused the system to completely hang. But after firmly pressing it in place, the problems have faded away since. However, my computer crashed again in the same way recently. Fearing the same, I pressed the cpu in place. Unfortunately, pressing the power button caused the fans to spin and mouse to light up but totally no reaction from the keyboard, monitor or ANY lights that indicated power on and processor activity. Having no idea of what could be wrong this time, I just repeated the pressing, for it to actually work after a while. My computer booted up, but to my horror the display was back to the original tiny resolution reminiscent of a reformat. Guessing that it might be a driver problem, I popped in the motherboard driver cd, followed by the graphics card cd. While the former installed successfully, the latter gave an error saying no drivers were available for the current hardware. In other words, my 9800GT cannot be found. After a reboot, I found my computer to be using the integreted graphics, ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics. Looking under device manager shows no indication of the 9800 GT... Does anyone have any idea how to resolve this please? Other possible points of suspicion: -In Device Manager, under System devices, there is no "Via cpu to AGP", although google suggests there should -9800GT fans are powered up, monitor cable is plugged in to it -I tried looking at BIOS, but AMI BIOS differs greatly from the common BIOS. I saw a "Primary Video Controller" option but the choices are only "Always" and "Auto"... and I tried both to no avail. CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Chipset: AMD 780G BIOS: American Megatrends Inc. Original Graphics Card: 9800GT (Connected to an orange slot, I supposed that's AGP, also the monitor port is connected to this) Integrated Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics Please help me , thank you!

08-25-2009, 08:11 AM	#2 (permalink)
Phædrus2401 Hardware Tech Team Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: New Orleans Posts: 3,861 OS: Vista Ultimate x64 SP1 + Ubuntu 9.04 My System	Re: Cannot detect graphics card after crash What do you mean the "CPU was loose"? The CPU or the heatsink? Are you using the stock heatsink, or an aftermarket one? The 9800GT uses PCIe x16, not AGP. What power supply are you using? Brand, model, wattage. __________________ Good PSU brands: Corsair, SeaSonic, CWT, PC Power and Cooling, Thermaltake Toughpower, CoolerMaster Real Power Pro On 80+ Certification - PSU Information and Selection - Power Supply Myths You don't get what you don't pay for.

08-26-2009, 05:23 AM	#3 (permalink)
unpro Registered User Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 2 OS: Windows XP Home	Re: Cannot detect graphics card after crash Thank you for replying. Well, the symptom for the old condition was complete freezing up. After pressing the CPU/heatsink in place, the problem faded away. I guess that would mean the connection was at fault. Whether it's the heatsink or the CPU I am not too sure. The heatsink is the stock one. The power supply is "R3-460-PCAR-A3 EXTREME POWER PLUS 460W" by Cooler Master. I am not too familiar with computer parts and the assembling of one so please bear with me.