Help installing a video card and hard drive

[DrFaroohk]

Hey everyone, newbie and computer idiot posting for the first time! My problem is kinda complicated and longwinded but I'll try my best to be brief.

A while ago I took the old hard drive out of my dead computer and tried to put it in the new one. I was hoping I'd be able to access the files on it, but even if I couldn't, I figured I could at least do with the extra storage space. I hooked it up and couldn't get it to work, but I didn't really think of it as a big deal.

Moving on...

A friend gave me his old video card and I tried to put it in. I have an AGP slot for it, but there's currently something in it. It had "4 meg" and "133 mhz" printed on it, and I assumed that was the crappy video card already in it. I took that out, put in my friend's card, and then while I had the computer open I took out the old hard drive that didn't work anyway. Everything seemed fine. I plugged everything back in, computer booted up, monitor displayed the big DELL image, I was happy.

Then the computer froze and said there were no hard drives! I thought at first that the card I took out of the AGP slot may have been more important than I realized, so I took the new card out and replaced the old one. Still didn't work. Finally I put the old hard drive back in and miraculously it booted up. I have no idea why the computer needs to have a non-functional hard drive in it to start. But anyway...

So having that fixed, I decided to have another go with the video card. While it seemed to work last time, this time it didn't even register that it was connected. The monitor acted like the computer was just off, even though I could hear it turning on and booting up. I know there's stuff to do with drivers and whatnot, but I'm also just plain scared that I'll ruin something.

I've been reading up a bit online about this stuff, and it seems like I have to disable my current video card first and then put the new one, but I'm afraid that if I do that, and this new one just doesn't work, then I'm screwed. Also, I don't have a CD with the drivers, I just have a file my friend sent me.

Any advice, tips, thoughts, warnings, or words of wisdom? I'd really like this new video card to work out so I can do some gaming, and would appreciate ANY advice y'all can throw my way, even if it's "Take it to a pro and sleep well at night".

PS Sorry that was so long and I hope no one got sick of reading it!

[minidv2dvd]

wow, that's quite a first post. i'd check the bios to see what is set as the first display device. it should give you a choice of onboard/agp/pci. set it to agp for the add-in card to display.

check the card for the manufacturer and model so you can download the proper driver for your operating system. if it's not on there, get the info from your friend.

you might ask a friend who's got some experience in building/upgrading a computer to come over and help....

[Nelson37]

OK, first, do ONE thing at a time. Simplify.

The new AGP card should work without any software install or removal whatsoever. Might need a driver install for full functionality, and removing the old drivers eventually might be a good idea, but for initial install absolutely nothing needs to be done other than insert it in the slot correctly. Which brings me to the probable issue, make sure the card is fully seated, also the video cable to the monitor. Do you get beep codes, and try with no card at all inserted you should get series of beep codes. No big deal, but there is usually a specific pattern for no video card present or improperly inserted.

Once you get video working, with the new card or the old one, then look at the hard drives. There are a couple of possibilities, the first being the Master/Slave jumpers on the drives themselves, you do not mention if these were changed. Next would be a Cable Select cable, which has specific positions for Master and Slave drives, this may have been changed. Last possibility is simply that the BIOS is pausing for a long time looking for the missing drive, this can take 5 minutes or so. Go into the BIOS setup and check the hard drives, you should be able to blank out the missing drive and boot normally.

Do not under any circumstances attempt to do both projects at the same time. Assure normal operation by rebooting several times, including full power off, after making either of these two changes.

Make sure and ground yourself, simply touching the bare metal of the power supply while it is plugged in should be sufficient. A carpet spark can be absolutely deadly to PC parts.

[zoobie]

I vote for the friend

[DrFaroohk]

Cool, thanks so far. If it helps any, here's some variables I probably to mention:

When the new video card didn't work the second time (I did in fact have the monitor plugged into the back of the new video card) it also didn't work when I plugged the monitor back into the old one. Maybe I should've mentioned that my current plug is just build right into the thing, it's not a seperate card or anything.

As for the hard drive, the only changes I made were that the original hard drive was originally set on CS (Co-Slave?) and I changed it to master, and then had the "new-used" one on slave. There were two plugs on that IDE cable, and I can't remember which was plugged into which, but do you know what it is or perhaps know how to tell which goes where?

When I was having the major problem with it not booting, I checked in the setup menu and found that no hard drives were listed, although it did still have the CD drive in there. Everything else looked normal. Was the problem that when I removed the new drive, the old one wasn't on the proper settings or plug anymore?

I think that's about it, thank you again thus far. I think I will at the very least get assistance from a more computer saavy friend, or bite the bullet and take it to like a certified computer technician guy or something. But I really would like to do it myself and actually learn some stuff.

[Nelson37]

Yep, that's what I figured. Take a Master/Slave drive combo, remove one drive, the other will not recognize. Set the single, standalone drive to Single or Standalone, or Master with No Slave present. Cable position not important, unless you use the CS jumper setting, meaning Cable Select. Then you would use the one marked Master, usually the end closest to the secondary Slave connector. No difference which method is used.

The video card thing is starting to worry me. This original card that said "133Mhz", did it have a video connection on it? So that originally, there were TWO video connectors, 15-pin three-row female connectors? One of them on the motherboard, and one on this "133Mhz" card. Your new AGP video card would have one, as well.

I am strongly suspecting that you have somehow jammed a video card into a memory slot.

Yes, you have added very important information that was missing in the first post. A large part of solving a problem often involves reversing EXACTLY what was done before.

[DrFaroohk]

That's probably what was - a memory slot. I really have no idea what it was, I assumed it might be something to do with the video but obviously I was mistaken. So I think I'm all set now, just need to find myself a video card I can use now, as I've been told my PCI slots are like obsolete or something.

[redwudz]

Better asked and answered in our Computer Forum. Moving you.

And welcome to our forums.

[Number Six]

I do not see how you could try to put a video card in a memory slot - the VGA connector has to stick out the back of the computer to connect the monitor cable, and there is no way that the card could lock in place and you would definitely destroy the slot.

Could you possibly post pictures of the motherboard, the new video card, and whatever you removed from the slot that you are talking about - it would greatly help us to help you.

[minidv2dvd]

4mb 133mhz isn't a ram memory module. it's most likely an on-board video memory enhancement add-on in the agp slot. dell made them for awhile long ago.

[minidv2dvd]

before you remove the 133mhz 4mb module you will need to go into the bios and set the first display setting to agp. then power down. move the video cable from the motherboard output to the new agp card's and power back up.

[DrFaroohk]

I assume by BIOS you mean that setup screen you can enter just as the computer is booting up. I looked in there, and the closest thing I could find was under "Integrated Devices" it had something for video in there, and the options were "Onboard" and "Auto".

[minidv2dvd]

that would be it. you want to set it to auto, save the bios and shut down. then you can remove the old card, insert the new card and move the monitor cable to the new card.

[DrFaroohk]

Cool. In the off chance the new card just doesn't work, is it as simple as taking it out and putting that smaller card back in?

[DrFaroohk]

Ok so I got it in and working and it was really really easy! Now I can watch youtube videos in fullscreen and when I play DOD it doesn't freeze up every time a grenade goes off! Yay! Yay!

Thanks for all your help!

[minidv2dvd]

yes just reverse the steps.

[Nelson37]

So I had it backwards, it was a Memory card in a Video slot?

Seem to recall reading about these, but don't think I ever actually saw one.

Good you got it going.