I had just bought a new graphics card, namely this one, and I was 20mins into a game of FIFA 2004, when the monitor went blank, and i had to restart my PC. Even after restarting, nothing showed up on the monitor. I installed my old gfx card again, and everything worked fine, but does this mean my graphics card is bust? What should I do? Am I legible for a refund, or a replacement? Oh yeh, the Radeon was manufactured by Gigabyte

P.S. My old graphics card is PCI, the Radeon is AGP, but my mobo is definitely compatible with both cards.

what did you do with the drivers? did you completely uninstall the old ones before installing the (latest) new ones? Such things have been known to give the occasional problem...

Well no....when i installed my PCI card (GeForce 2 MX400), i didnt have to uninstall my SiS chip graphics drivers....or maybe I did....it was too long ago. Does that mean I can't get a refund or replacement and my AGP gfx card is completely gone to the next dimension? Why do they die so young....

I wouldn't go so far as to say your new vidcard is dead. Not yet.

Here's what I would advice, though other may correct me:

1) Start up the pc with your older card and remove all the drivers of that card
2) Shut down and swap cards
3) Start up and install the new drivers for the new card.

Uninstalling drivers from vidcards can be tricky I think, but I'm no expert at it. There have been threads about it in the past, the search function at the top of the page might yield some usefull results.

The Radeon doesnt't start up at all. My PC just beeps a lot with it inserted, and nothing happens. Oh yeh, and i only put one gfx card in at a time, so that there is no hardware conflict. I've just ordered a GeForce FX 5200 now, so I'm just hoping I can get a refund or replacement for the Radeon. I was really looking forward to that Radeon as well... from what i had heard its a good card:(

When you put in the new card: be sure to uninstall all other drivers first, also check your bios, you never know what options may reside there.

Yep, tried the ubinstallation of both the nvidia drivers and the radeon drivers, but nothing happened. I aslo made sure that Primary VGA display adapter was set to AGP, but nothing still showed up when I switched my PC on with my Radeon inserted. So then, am i legible for a refund or replacemnt, or can it be repaired?

To be 100% sure the card itself is broken, you should test it in anothrer system. However, if it is broken, you may damage the system you're testing on. Quiet the conundrum...

Damn it....I hate when that happens.... :mad:

You didnt happen to be using the version 3.8 drivers on the card did you?

The 9200 series cards were supposed to be unaffected by the problems with these drivers, but you never really know.:rolleyes:

I don't know. I didnt get to even look at the ATI Radeon stuff in Display Properties in Advanced. Plus, I installed what was on the installation disc. BUT CAN I GET A REFUND/REPLACEMENT OR CAN IT BE REPAIRED!!!!:confused:

BUT CAN I GET A REFUND/REPLACEMENT OR CAN IT BE REPAIRED!!!!

Without knowing what went wrong and what caused it I dont know.

You would have to talk to whoever you purchased it from.

Chances are good that you can RMA the card, but it would help to test it first and confirm that it is defective. It is likely that most reputable vendors will take it back anyway, but you may have to pay a restocking fee if it turns out to be okay... Who did you buy it from...

Well I dont know what the rules are in the UK but in the states if the part goes bad within 30 days (or less if it says so) you can take it back to the store you bought it from. They may give you some BS but, if the card is bad they should replace it. Hardware can go bad and it sounds like you didnt over clock it, did you? You didnt try and make the SE a Pro with the driver hack? Drivers shouldnt have blown the card anyway. If it wont boot up in safe mode then the card or the port is most likly toast. I would try the card in another machine before i took it back.

I agree, I would try it in another machine before taking it back. The best thing is a test board, but I realize the average user doesn't have several motherboards lying around so one can be used just for testing...you might take it to a shop and see if they will test it for you, it only takes a couple of minutes if a test board is already set up and all you need is to see or not see video...some shops may charge a lot, some may do it cheap or possibly free. No harm in asking.

If the card is new and still under warranty, chances are you can get it replaced under the warranty. MOst places will work with you especially if it's under 30 days, although some may give you a bit of a hard time...

lol, funnily enuf i do have a spare motherboard.....but its too late for the Radeon now. my GeForce FX arrived this morning, and i installed that and it worked fine.

You didnt try and make the SE a Pro with the driver hack?

lol. No.....I installed the drivers from the cd that came with it remember?
I'll email DABS now and tell them the problem and see if it will work out my way and stuff. I hope i don't have to pay for re-stock, but how is that possible anyway? I already payed for the card, so they can't make me pay double for it....

Did you check the AGP compatibility?
I have a couple of cards which will only run on AGP8 connectors.
You need to ensure that the AGP version on your MOBO is compatible with the AGP requirements of the video card.

For a restocking fee they simply deduct the amount from your refund. If you can establish that the card is bad, they are less likely to do that, but otherwise you have to accept their assessment of the situation.

I hope i don't have to pay for re-stock, but how is that possible anyway? I already payed for the card, so they can't make me pay double for it.... A re-stock fee is just a bit of money that they don't give back to you. It's their way of discouraging people from "renting" hardware. Ie, buy it and use it for a couple weeks, then return and buy something else for a couple weeks. People will try anything! :rolleyes:

The re-stock fee is usually 10-20%, so if you paid $100, you'll get $80-90 back.

If it is truly broken and under warranty there should be no restock fee.

If they do charge a restock on a broken item, find a different vendor for your next purchase.