So upfront i'm obviously mentally challenged... Moving past that this is the short version...

I have the following:

XP prof
Dell Dimension 8200
AGP Video Card Geforce 5200 (128mb)
2.4 GHZ Processor
1 Gig Ram

I tried to install a new video card for better gaming (Geforce 7300 GT 512mb)... mine wasnt keeping up with the jones so I thought an update was due... I now know the grass isnt always greener...

I couldnt get it installed I tried tech support... they were of no help. So I tried doing some self help... reading forums online, tried a couple of what seemed harmless things (big mistake number 1)... still couldnt figure anything out... So I gave up and decided to plug the old video card back in... Now it wont install either.

The drivers wont install even though they appear to do so when using the CD that came with the video cards... I tried downloading the newest updates from NVIDIA. I also tried completely removing all video drives with some uninstall driver program (this may have been my final undoing)... I later realized my directx is gone. when I goto Run DXDIAG it says "DirectX version: NONE"... I tried installing directx 8.1 and 9C... nothing will install. My screen is jumpy, my monitor isnt listed int he hardware profile, and I cant adjust the resolution without going form one extreme to the other. Now the funny thing is... when I restart my computer the first screen is the only screen that names my video card correctly instead of VGA and surprisingly I can play SIMCITY4 with only some details missing like clouds... but pretty seamless... I dont know how....

I dont know what to do... Can someone please help???

Thank you for taking the time... I await my sentence..

siberadam

Hello...

Will you tell us what problems you were having with the new video card, and what were some of the procedures you did to try to get it to work? This will help us understand where you may have went wrong. Also, you mentioned trying to install DirectX but said you couldn't. What was the error or problem?

Sometimes driver issues can be a real bear.

One of the easiest things to do is to try and get rid of old drivers that may still be present on the computer. Here's a simple way to get started on that process:

Click start -> run -> type cmd and press ENTER.
At the command prompt, type the following two lines:

set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1
start devmgmt.msc

When device manager opens, click View -> Show Hidden Devices.
Expand the Display Adapter section and delete everything in there. If it requests that you reboot, do not reboot yet. Just keep deleting the items found in that section. Some will not disappear if it required a reboot. That's ok.
Now, also look for any section in device manager called "Unknown Devices." Repeat this process for that section.
When done, reboot your computer and let the video drivers reinstall. You may have to reinstall the drivers you downloaded from nvidia's website.

Followed your instructions but did not work. Although it did remove some of the funny lines at the windows log on screen.

Initially I purchased the simcity box game pack... 5 games in one. Simcity would work but none of the others. I worked with their text support for a week and got nothing. I then realized I didnt have the video card I thought I had... I have a Geforce 5200 when the games min requirements were a geforce 5800. thus the reason I tried to upgrade my vid card. Honestly it was showing signs of not being able to keep up with the new technology. I had updated the vid card a few years ago with no problem... I expected the same outcome...

I think somewhere in the middle of this a Directx 11 for vista was downloaded. So later when I couldnt figure out how to install the drivers for the new video card, I put my old vid card back in and it wouldnt work either. So i thought maybe it couldnt decipher the directx 11... One of the forums suggested deleting the Directx registry and restarting. This would force windows to re-install directx 8.1 and then I could re-install directx 9c from there. no such luck. When i go to >>>Start>>>run>>>dxdiag... It brings up the directx diagnostic tool which shows my directx version as NONE. Then under the directx file tab it says "The file gcdef.dll is an old version, which could cause problems."... I have tried installing 8.1 several times but it still says none... I dont even know if i'm looking at this correctly......

When I try and install directx 8.1 it says its been installed. I then try to install directx 9c and it says it was unable to download the files from the internet and that the system was not updated. Not sure if I even download the right directx.

I have tried deleting the vid cards from the device manager and restarting, even ran a program to delete all the vid card drivers then a fresh restart to try and reinstall the drivers. I've tried to install the drivers from their disk and from the latest drivers from nvidia. I've even tried to let windows install the hardware itself. Every time I restart xp wants to load the new hardware but at the end always says there was a problem and the hardware was not installed.

I think if I can get the directx issue resolved we should be able to narrow down some of the problems...

Let me know how to proceed and thank you!!!!

Siberadam

This post has been edited by siberadam: Jun 30 2009, 07:51 PM

Well, seems how this is a recent problem.. My suggestion would be to try this. Remove the new video card and install the old video card (Physically plug it in, do not worry about software or drivers). Then, go into system restore, start -> programs -> accessories -> system tools -> system restore. Try to take your computer back to a restore point right before you attempted to install the new video card.

After the system restore and reboot, see if your old video card is functioning properly and if directx is coming up properly.

Then, we'll go from there.

This post has been edited by appleoddity: Jun 30 2009, 09:18 PM

Tried the restore.... "Windows can not be restored to an early date, no changes have been made". I tried all the available restore dates. For some reason it only had the past two weeks available. I always have the system restore on.... not sure what thats about.



siberadam

What is the current status of your computer? Is the old video card in it still? Did the drivers reinstall automatically, and do things look "normal" with this video card? Can you adjust screen resolution to all the standard settings now?

If the drivers did not install, please download the drivers from the nvidia.com website and try to install them.

I did plug the old video card back in. I have tried to install the most current drivers from nvidia. still nothing. When I scroll down or move windows around they are very jumpy.

I have the following resolution options:
800x600
1024x768
1280x1024
1400x1050

When I select 1280x1024 and 1400X1050 I no longer have a task bar. If I make the task bar really wide or tall before making the change I can no longer see all the icons or the clock on it after setting it 1280x1024 or 1400x1050.

Thanks again for taking a look at my post


siberadam

Sorry, I have been really busy today.

I'm not real sure what the problem is here.

Lets clear out any old monitor drivers, although I don't think I have ever seen a monitor driver mess something up.

Follow the procedure in Post #2 but when device manager opens, expand the monitors section and delete everything in there. Reboot and let windows re-detect your monitor. See if those video resolutions work right now.

Do you have a flat panel display? If so, have you tried pressing the "auto" button on the display to get it to re-adjust its height an width to match your selected resolution? Set your computer to one of these modes (1280x1024) and then press the AUTO button to see if it will make your taskbar and everything show properly.

Try downloading and installing the DirectX 9.0c redistributable here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...;displaylang=en

Let me know what your results are.

I dont seemed to have a monitor listed in the device manager.

I attached a screenshot of the device manager and of my directx diagnostic tool.

I couldnt download the directx 9 as windows could not validate my system for some reason. I always get the latest updates so I'm not sure what that is all about and I DO NOT have a pirated version or anything unethical like that...

Please advise.... Hope the screen shots help.

Ok.. The video driver isn't installed, but you haven't told me you received any errors when you tried to install them?

You said your old card is an Nvidia GeForce 5200. So, download the drivers here: http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_175.19_whql.html

Run the program. Please tell me exactly what happens.

OK - so ya total system melt down lost most everything and had to completely re-install XP. Not happy... Totally my fault. Word of advice... NEVER delete the directx folder in the registry I dont care what others might say

Moving on- After hours of rebooting and installing XP I did manage to get the OLD video cared re-installed. yipeee!

Now then... I have two new video cards sitting here. Believe me I am one step away from returning them both instead of installing them... However I no longer have anything to lose.

I have a BFG GeForc 7300 GT 512MB DDR2 AGP 8x and a EVGA GeForce 8400 GS 512MB DDR2 PCI.

Should these both be compatible with my system? Is one better than the other?

My mother board is probably 4 or 5 years old. It has an AVG slot and 4 PCI slots. I have a voice modem card but removed it so I do have the extra PCI slot. I am assuming this could be utilized for the 8400?

Windows XP Pro
2.4 ghz
1 gig ram
current video card is geforce 5200 128mb ram

I tried to install the GeForce 7300 after windows install before any drivers were loaded.... when I booted the system up the XP flash screen came up but then my monitor went black and the power light flashed on it as if to say it was turned off. So as to not press my luck I installed the old video card back and loaded its drivers without issue. I thought I should.. .you know ASK someone who knows what they're doing first for a change.... you know just for fun.

I also found the CD for my Samsung flat monitor and installed its drivers too.... I know... its a concept

So what are your thoughts beside you think I am a complete nut case??

Thank you for your time...

siberadam

This post has been edited by siberadam: Jul 3 2009, 01:45 PM

Lol.. Sorry to hear about all your problems.

Did you reinstall windows XP over what you had already? Or, did you completely delete and reinstall everything fresh?

I need to clarify one thing. Video cards stopped using a PCI slot a long, long time ago. Then they moved to AGP. And now, they have PCI-Ex (PCI-Express). It sounds like you are talking about standard PCI slots? This would not be the way to go because AGP out performs PCI. However, if you are talking about a PCI-Ex slot then that is the way to go because it is newer than AGP. I don't understand how you can have a better video card (8400) with a PCI slot? Are you sure it is PCI? Most likely it is PCI-Ex, and you are talking about the standard PCI slots on your motherboard. These two slots are not compatible with each other. If your motherboard has an AGP slot, I don't think it will have any PCI-Ex slots, but I could be wrong. So, I would say you're probably going to need to use the AGP card and that the 8400 will not even plug into your motherboard.

If you are having a problem with your monitor staying on when you install the new AGP card, you need to press F8 before windows starts to load to bring up the advanced boot menu. Select "Enable VGA mode," and this will get your computer to start up in a mode that is compatible with your monitor so that you can change to settings that work in control panel.

Try to install the card again, do this F8 thing, and then make sure you have the drivers installed for that card. Now, adjust the screen resolution to the right settings.

Stop messing with DirectX!!!

Oh no didnt "repair" XP I jacked up the registry to the point it would load the desktop but with no icons, start button, or task bar .... I could get the task manager to load but it wouldn't let me start anything. I tried to start Explorer, MSCONFIG, REGEDIT... it shut down and went back to the blank desktop everytime. So that wasnt enough so I used the repair disk consoul thing and eventually it stopped giving me the option to "repair" XP and only to "install" XP. I tried to recover the registry and re-install it and jacked it up any further if thats possible.... I would get the XP startup screen it would go black and stopped loading... nothing just dead... I had to reformat the hard drive and completely reinstall. I've only been doing this since like 6pm yesterday.... was up until like 2am back up at 9 this morning.. and here I am... good times

Thanks for the clarification of the PCI thingy... I will stick with the AGP.... dont know abou the F8 business.... I read about hitting F8 alot but for my system it doesnt seem to do anything.... I have two options in the beginning of startup to hit F2 for setup and F12 for boot options (I think.. I will check).... so maybe its the F12 I should hit and look for "Enable VGA mode,"

I will download the drivers ahead of time and then install them after i install the card and restart.... I'll be back to report shortly.... Seriously cross your fingers.


Thank you!!

Siberadam

This post has been edited by siberadam: Jul 3 2009, 03:25 PM

Well.. Its not F2 or F12.

You are seeing the initial BIOS Post screen. It will give you options like F2, or F12 to enter BIOS setup, etc. When you see this screen, it is the very next step where Windows starts to load and you have to be tapping F8 (multiple times during this stage) before Windows starts to load in order to get the Windows Startup Menu.

So, a moment after you see the F2 or F12 screen, start tapping F8 continually. You will get the windows startup menu with the option to Enable VGA mode.

Good luck.

Yes... after logging off and shutting down.... I got to thinking.... what the hell do I know?... F8 it is.... I also noticed it helps to plug the power adapter thing for the video card into something too... just for fun.


I am happy to report everthing installed. Thank you for hanging in there with me. Have a good fourth take care!


siberadam