problem with new video card

[JCook1702]

Yesterday I replaced my old GeForce 2 MX 400 64 Mb card with a GeForce 4 MX 440 128 Mb DDR card.

The first problem came when I started the computer. The screen stayed black, but I could hear that the computer was booting up normally. After several minutes the monitor finally came on. The first thing I noticed was a litle "snow" or "static" on the screen. When a window would close, little bits of it would be left behind.

I went into "NASCAR Racing 2003" to see how the new card would work. I saw the same "static" on the screens and when I got into the car, the textures were blinking on and off. I drove out of the pits and the game promptly locked up.

I have downloaded the newest drivers from the nvidia site. I've changed to Standard VGA and rebooted each time I removed drivers. I've tried older nvidia drivers and I've tried the drivers that came on the CD with the card.

The other weird thing is that when the monitor goes to sleep, it used to pop right back on as soon as I touched the mouse. Now the green light comes right back on but it takes 2 to 3 minutes for the monitor to actually come on.

Also, anytime I scroll the screen, text becomes garbled and unreadable, like pixels are dropping out or something.

I've also downloaded "Nasty File Remover" and "Detonator Destroyer" to make sure there were no remnants of other nvidea drivers installed.

The card is by Inno3D. My computer has an ECS K7S5A motherboard, an Athlon XP 1800 cpu, 512 Mb DDR ram, running Windows 98 SE and Direct X 9.0b. I have one hard driver, a DVD drive, and a CD/RW drive.

My monitor is 6 or 7 years old but worked fine with the GeForce 2. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[killercow]

Welcome to http://pcguide.com/ubb/pcgubb.gif

That mobo should work fine with that card. So that rules out compatibility problems. Did you UNINSTALL the GF2 drivers before installing the new ones? I think on the install of the new drivers it should remove the old ones but try removing the GF2 drivers if they're still there and then install the GF4 drivers.

I've also downloaded "Nasty File Remover" and "Detonator Destroyer" to make sure there were no remnants of other nvidea drivers installed.

Ah wait just scrolled down and read that...
Just to be sure try a "Control Panel" > "Add or remove programs" then search for any remnants of GF2 junk.
Also did you download Direct x 9? It shouldn't have come with the card since I don't think it supports it.

As for the game locking up the only time that happens to me is becuase of a heating issue. Kinda stumped me there.

[ski]

Make sure that the card is fully inserted, and that its fan is running(if so equipped).

If that's ok, then start in Safe mode, uninstall all video card software in Add/Remove Programs, remove all video cards listed in Device Manager(incl. the new one), restart in normal mode, let Windows recognize the new card, and reinstall the drivers.

If no luck, then see if you can install the card in another system.
If the same thing happens, then return it.

[JCook1702]

Well, I did solve one of my problems from reading this board. I've never been able to get this computer to boot into Safe Mode. After reading the threads here, I was able to do it today.

Unfortunately that didn't help my video problem any. There was only one display adapter listed (the correct one). I removed it anyway. Also in the monitor section there were 3 default monitors listed and 2 plug 'n play monitors listed. I removed all but one of each.

Rebooted and let windows find the video card again and install the drivers. It also insisted on installing the monitor again.

Tonight I will open the case again and make sure the card is properly seated and the pins on the connector are ok. Beyond that, I'm lost except for re-installing the GeForce 2 to rule out a monitor problem.

[Budfred]

When you find multiple listings of drivers in Safe Mode (ghost drivers) you need to Remove them ALL. If you leave one behind, you will end up with at least 2 when your reboot and that could be the source of your problems....

[JCook1702]

Thanks, I'll give that a try.

I did check the installation of the video card just now and who knew there was a little latch gizmo on the end of the AGP slot to lock down the end of the card?

I thought I'd found the answer. I removed the card, reseated it, and latched it down but it didn't make any difference.

I'll try safe mode again.

[Budfred]

If it wasn't latched down before, it still might not be in solid. Those AGP cards can be tricky to seat properly and usually you will hear 2 clicks if it goes in properly....

[gwallen4]

This sounds like a bad video card. It's doing stuff that can't be explained by bad drivers. Try to reseat the card again like Budfred said.

You could put the old card back in and see if that cures your problems. If it does, I would take the new card back and try again.

[PrntRhd]

I had the exact same problem with that same card, ended up going with Geforce3 Ti200, the AGP seating issue is good to check though, really hard to get them to seat properly on some boards.

[JCook1702]

The good, the bad, and the ugly:

The good, I put a GeForce FX5200 in my computer today and it cleared up the problem I was having with artifacts, textures, and games locking up.

The bad, I still have the problem of getting no video for several minutes on a cold start or after the monitor has been in sleep mode. On a cold start it takes about 3 minutes for the monitor to show anything (the green light is on) and about the same if it's been asleep for a few hours. If it's only been asleep a few minutes it takes about a minute to come on. On a warm boot, it comes on normally.

Is this a video card issue, monitor issue, power issue or something else?

And the ugly, I bought this card from buyaib.com (Price Watch) and they sent me the 64 bit card instead of the 128 bit card I ordered and was invoiced for. I read somewhere else where this happened to someone else too. I know I can complain but I really don't want to send this back and wait 2 weeks before I get another card. I guess that's what they're counting on. Beware of them!

Thanks for all the help here!

[Budfred]

You might want to check Reseller Ratings (http://www.resellerratings.com/seller2870.html) before you buy from an online vendor again. Pricewatch often gives some of the worst companies out there...

[gwallen4]

Try the monitor on a different computer.