setting a video card up

Topic: setting a video card up (Read 5139 times) previous topic - next topic

setting a video card up

June 25, 2008, 02:25:31 AM

So i have a video card in my comp, it's installed (hardware) and monitor is plugged into it, but now i'm told i need to go into bios or boot menu (one or the other, can't remember which) and set it as default, but that's where it gets hazy for me, as I can't seem to find what i need to look for to do this. I know how to get to bios and boot selections (F2 and F10) but other than that, i'm lost.
I've got XP, and an emachines computer, if that helps. Thanks for any ideas!

setting a video card up

Reply #1 – June 25, 2008, 04:43:38 PM

I assume you had onboard video before you installed the card? If this is the case,you need to disable the onboard video in the bios settings.

setting a video card up

Reply #2 – June 25, 2008, 04:50:41 PM

yea theres a setting in bios for turning off your onboard, and on the slot that the card is in. I forgot to do this when I first put a card in my comp, and just having it made a difference, but once i got it working right, it works awesome!
its been soooo long I forget....

setting a video card up

Reply #3 – June 25, 2008, 08:43:44 PM

Make sure you install the drivers for it too.

setting a video card up

Reply #4 – June 25, 2008, 08:49:11 PM

Be careful adding to much to an E-machine. the power supply is very small in those computers. extra cards and drives take there toll on them.

setting a video card up

Reply #5 – June 26, 2008, 10:58:47 AM

Quote from: daminc;224636

the power supply is very small in those computers. extra cards and drives take there toll on them.

Absolutly correct. Found that one out the hard way.

If my memory serves me, on some of the e-machines in the BIOS you can set three options for your video card.
1) Onboard
2) AGP/PCI
3) Both, with priority to Onboard

If you only have one monitor, turn off the onboard video.

As with onboard video, the video RAM is shared with the rest of the system RAM, so if you turn off the onboard vc, be sure to allocate some of that memory back to RAM. You don't have to, but why waste RAM?

But all in all, daminc is still dead on the mark.

G'luck!

setting a video card up

Reply #6 – June 26, 2008, 03:49:44 PM

Quote from: cougarXLS;224690

Absolutly correct. Found that one out the hard way.

If my memory serves me, on some of the e-machines in the BIOS you can set three options for your video card.
1) Onboard
2) AGP/PCI
3) Both, with priority to Onboard

If you only have one monitor, turn off the onboard video.

As with onboard video, the video RAM is shared with the rest of the system RAM, so if you turn off the onboard vc, be sure to allocate some of that memory back to RAM. You don't have to, but why waste RAM?

But all in all, daminc is still dead on the mark.

G'luck!

I've had tons of those in, when I had my shop. those and all the HPs from SAMs club.

setting a video card up

Reply #7 – June 27, 2008, 12:15:38 PM

Quote from: daboss351;224604

theres a setting in bios for turning off your onboard, and on the slot that the card is in.

Can anybody take me a step further with this? I know jack about BIOS...lol

on EDIT: i know how to get to bios, but once i'm there, i dunno where to look, what to do.

setting a video card up

Reply #8 – June 27, 2008, 12:25:30 PM

I can try... what model of e-machine do you have?
I'll google it and find out exactly how to enter your BIOS and change the VC settings... it's been a number of years since I last laid hands on an e-machine.

setting a video card up

Reply #9 – June 27, 2008, 12:27:34 PM

W3118

Thanks for the help, and i'm looking too! :D

setting a video card up

Reply #10 – June 27, 2008, 03:48:31 PM

as per http://help.lockergnome.com/general/Video-card-working-PCI-SLOT-PROBLEM-SOLVED-ftopict48029.html

"To start with I installed the PCI card into a free slot
it did not matter which one I used as during my install and
all the problems i had I actually installed it into all three
of my PCI slots thinking they were not working.
They are and were working! Just letting you know it did not
matter at all which one the PCI card went into.

Also a small note to say I also have a free agp port
Not relevent but just pointing out that it is still emtpy.

That is the hardware sorted now moving on to the BIOS

This process works using Phoenix Award Bios V6 (That is what I have)

Start computer normally

Hit delete to enter BIOS ( You obviously need to do this before Windows welcome screen, if you do not catch it just start again)

When you are in the first screen of the BIOS

Select Advanced Chipset features

When you are in this screen

You will see On-Chip VGA
Set this to Disabled

Finally click F10 or save and exit

Start computer normally.

Your PCI card should work fine all you need to do now
is configure your software to work with 2 monitors.
Which is very easy but will in some cases require you to
restart your computer again to finalise these settings.

I must say it works a treat and the hard work was well
worth the effort. I spent all day one saturday scratching
my head using every search term I could and not really finding
a solution that I understood.

I hope this really helps someone who may have been in my
predicament. Feel free to ask any other questions as I have
told you I think at least every step of the BIOS but only gone
into small details on the hardware but I think that part is a bit
easier to understand for most.

Good luck"

Just so you know, I was a emachines tech support guy for almost a year. You'd be surprised how many people on the phones don't even know what bios means or how to get there. Let me know if you need any further help. Send me a pm or email me.

setting a video card up

Reply #11 – June 27, 2008, 04:13:33 PM

Haystack... HAY!!!
LOL, no word of a lie, I was just browsing the same URL. Great minds think alike

FordTruckFreeek, try what Haystack has suggested.

You could also try, within the device manager of Windows, to disable the onboard video card.
Once you get into the BIOS you should also be able to allocate most/all the shared RAM back to system RAM.

setting a video card up

Reply #12 – June 27, 2008, 08:04:32 PM

i tried the delete to get to bios, didnt work, but F2 does?
as per those directions, couldn't find what they talked about.

also under device manager, it's got the new card only, and nothing of the onboard...

do i hit delete while IN the bios maybe?

setting a video card up

Reply #13 – June 28, 2008, 12:47:50 AM

If this is a newer computer, it should automatically set the new card to default and turn off the old one. When I put a 6600GT in my old HP a320n (that we bought in 02/03), it did that. You say you have the monitor plugged into the new graphics card and I'm assuming it's showing picture since you're talking about going into the bios, so you should be ok anyway. Just be sure to install a fresh set of drivers.

EDIT: Oh, and now I see you're already in device manager...so if the monitor is plugged into the new card and you're already loaded into the OS fine, then there's no need to turn off the onboard since the computer has already done it for you.

However, you do definitely need to be careful as far as having a sufficient power supply.

setting a video card up

Reply #14 – June 28, 2008, 02:55:12 AM

yeah, apparently it auto-sets it i guess. thing is..In-game, all my video settings are still set automatically to low, if i bump em up, the game crashes still...btw, the game is The Elder Scrolls 4; Oblivion.

i've also got a gig of ram, but my processor is only 1.8, and minimum is 2, with 3 recommended....