Okay, this may be a long and complicated story but please, bear with me. I’m losing hope .
I currently run a Dell Dimension 4600, which was equipped with a GF FX 5200 Ultra 256mb card. I decided to upgrade it and purchased an ATI Radeon X800 Pro card (along with a 400watt PSU in order for it to work). Now, I replaced the 5200 for the X800 and everything seemed okay. I just needed to install the drivers for the ATI card. I placed in the CD that came with the card and it says that I need a “standard VGA adapter” in order for the new ATI drivers to take effect. So my first question is, where do I obtain this “standard VGA adapter”?
I then did some quick research but didn’t fully understand. So I uninstalled the ATI drivers so I can reinstall them, perhaps from the ATI site. I did that and it says I needed .NET framework v2.0. I then downloaded 2.0 and even 3.0. But the drivers didn’t install. Actually, the display drivers did but the Catalyst Control Center, which is a vital part of the drivers, didn’t. I then uninstalled the ATI drivers and restarted my computer to start over. I did so and this problem arose: After I reach the Windows XP load screen, where the blue bars indicate that Winxp is loading, the screen stays blank and I can’t access windows. I tried it several times but it didn’t work.
I thought maybe it was because the motherboard was a little too old (though i got this computer in late 2004 compared to the 2005 release of the x800 pro). I then put the FX 5200 card back in and everything worked fine again. According to the ATI Radeon manual, I needed to remove all drivers before installing my ATI card. I don’t know how this existed but I still had my nVIDIA drivers installed. I uninstalled that, put the x800 card in, and restarted. The same problem happened again. After the Xp load process, it doesn’t continue to where I can login to my XP account. I then put my FX 5200 card back in and the same problem happened again.
I went on my sister’s laptop and spoke to a Dell tech via chat and he told me a possible solution is reinstalling winxp with the the restore cd. Though I can see that it’s a good way to resolve this, I still want to end up having my computer run the X800 Pro card. He also told me I can use onboard video, which is what I am using now, and it’s my only way of accessing Windows XP and my files.
I did some more research when I got onto my computer and I learned that I need to update the “AGP driver” for my motherboard (which is an Intel 865PE). My question is..where do I obtain the AGP driver?
I checked the intel site and I downloaded drivers for my chipset, the i865PE, and the desktop board drivers: “Intel? Chipset Software Installation Utility for Intel? Desktop Boards”. I put the ATI card back into the AGP slot, booted, and same problem happened. I got back via onboard and spoke to a friend online. He told me that I should update my BIOS. I went onto the Dell site and downloaded and installed the new BIOS version. This didn’t work either.
I can only use my computer if I use integrated graphics and I really prefer if I can use my new ATI card. I’m starting to get really worried so please help me. I have tried almost every solution I can think of and what my previous help has thought of. Thank you in advance.
recapping so you can understand my situation easier after the read:
-I’d like to know where I can get a standard vga adapter
-BOTH the ATI (x800) and nvidia (5200) have the same problem where I can’t get past the Windows XP load screen
-where do i download agp drivers for my intel/dell motherboard?
my current specs:
Intel 865PE
P4 2.8GHz 533fsb
1024MB 266mhz
80GB
400W PSU
was Geforce FX 5200; now Intel(R) extreme graphics 2
