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Brand new video card working... suddenly no longer detected

By Carpot Muncher ·
Brand new video card working... suddenly no longer detected
________________________________________
I've been piecing together a new system slowly over the past three weeks,

finally went out and got the finishing touch today, a new graphics card.

ASUS EAH4850 1GB HDMI
http://au.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=...14&modelmenu=1

Put it in, loaded drivers from disc, then loaded new drivers (downloaded from ASUS website, specifically for this product). In retrospect, I now realize that I should have uninstalled the old first prior to loading the latest, but I think that is moot at this point (for reasons below).

So rebooted, switched the monitor signal plug from the on-board graphics to the new card, configured settings, then was curious to see what it could do, so started trying out a 3D game.

Everything seemed to be working fine, spent about an hour then all of the sudden, screen went black. Was not a hard crash, I thought it was at first, but the computer was not shutting down, so I realized I had just lost video.

So I shut it down, then switched back to the onboard graphics, booted up and then one of the supporting softwares that came bundled with the card which starts up on system start up popped up a window saying that the device was not detected. Apparently Vista is not detecting it. Though the fan on the vid card still spins, and the LEDs flash when I power down or up (I have a window on my case so can see it).

So shut down, opened case, double checked that it was in the PCIe slot firmly, double checked the auxiliary power connection. Then plugged the monitor cable back into the card, booted up, and still no video. Each time booting up wold again get teh window from supporting software (a temp monitor for the vid card) that there was no device detected.

So did some research, uninstalled all graphics drivers completely (using Vista's control panel "programs and features" to do it). Including for the on-board ATI 3300. Rebooted and now the device manager no longer shows the new graphics card device either.


So I verified that both vid card and mainboard make use of PCIe2 (as opposed to PCIe1):
http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWebSite/Pro...nuID=1&LanID=0


I checked my power requirement according to the eXtreme calculator:
http://g.imagehost.org/view/0798/Untitled_6
The result is 337 W * 30% Factor of Safety = 438 W
So I think that the PSU is ok.

I read this:

"...All pci-e power supplies must have 26amps on the 12v rail , and be 80%+ efficient , only variance is wattage..."

I don't know exactly how to interpret the specs on my PSU, here is my spec sheet for PSU:
http://www.acbel.com/PDF/P_PC/SingleiPower-560.jpg
I think it means I have only 18 Amps on the 12 volt rails, but perhaps that is offset by having three 12 volt rails(?)


I have two 6+2 pin aux connectors for vid cards coming from my PSU, so I just tried swapping them (thinking that perhaps I somehow damaged the circuit of the first by attempting to draw too much power). No luck, the vid card is still not detected (no plug-n-play new hardware found window, nor is it shown in the device manager where it was when I originally installed it). The fan and LEDs on it are still working.

I also tried the 4-pin connector that plugs into the M-board near the PCIe slots - just quickly plugged a spare fan in on one of the other 4 pins form the same branch, it spun, and I think that's a parallel circuit so that one should have power too.


Then I turned off my onboard video in order to attempt to force Vista to detect my card at the PPCIe slot. That didn?t work so am now without any video. I will reset the cmos in order to restore bios defaults to recover the onboard video.


After that I will try installing the card into the second PCIe slot ? the mainboard manual does not give any indication as to which one to use if using a single vid card, so perhaps switching slots will help.

Any other ideas/suggestions sa to how to get Vista to detect my new graphics card again?

Thanks

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is there any simple process I could follow to check the mainboard?

by Carpot Muncher In reply to Brand new video card work ...

Second PCIe slot did not work either.
I also used control panel "Add Hardware" wizard in order to try to force detect the vid card. No luck there.

I took the vid card back to the shop, had them test it, and they couldn?t get it to work either. So they exchanged it for a new one.

I picked up a new PSU while there, the Corsair 750 TX.

Unfortunately won?t have time to build it tonight as I have to go traveling for a few days, but maybe that?s for the best. Because rather than immediately throw all of this stuff together and possibly have the same result again (vid card not working), I?d like to think about this (solicit experts in these forums for their ideas).

Faulty PSU was suggested and may very well be the root cause, and so I?ve replaced/upgraded that.

And perhaps it was just a defective vid card that went out after an hour?s worth of use, not related to the rest of my system.

But what about the mainboard? Could the mainboard have somehow damaged that vid card? If so, is there any simple process I could follow to check the mainboard?

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could be the motherboard

by .Martin. In reply to is there any simple proce ...

I had the same sort of problem with my last computer.

if the next card does not work either, take the whole computer to the shop and get them to test it, it may be defective PCI slots (which I had)

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some test procedure

by Carpot Muncher In reply to could be the motherboard

I am hoping I can find some test procedure that I might be able to perform myself. Because the technicians here have very low skill level. Every shop I go into, they all handle these components with little care, tossing them around, not using ESD straps, trying to force connectors which obviously don't match, etc. Had two systems configured by the shops here, and they were terribly slow right form the get go (I used Tweakguides to get their performance up to par). So I have a lot more confidence in myself than I do the local techs.

We see all of these software utilities around for monitoring temperature - I wonder if there are any that can accurately measure voltage and current. Or if I can just pick up a voltmeter and find some reference.

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There is no simple procedure

by 2BlueUK In reply to some test procedure

you would have to strip out the entire pci slot to mesure the current, and unless you are a genius with a solder you are never going to put it back. I dont know of any software but have you checked your pci slots on your BIOS, do they come up?
Its very rare that a motherboard PCI is faulty or even rarer that it damages the card.
What MB are you using?

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Mainboard model: ECS A790GXM-A

by Carpot Muncher In reply to There is no simple proced ...

My mainboard model is manufactured by ECS, and the model number is A790GXM-A.

Within BIOS, I can see PCI express available (and I have these selected)within two fields:

Within Advanced Chipset Setup, there is a field titled "Init Display First", and one can select either ON-Board, PCI or PCI Express (I have PCI Express).

And I have also selected the option which choses for the onboard graphics (ATI Radeon 3300) to comliment the vid card. "UMA + Sideport" is selcted within the "Internal Graphic Mode" (other choices are UMA, and disabled).

And under PCI/PnP Setup, I have PCI Express slected (other optins are PCI and on-board).

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Need to know your motherboard make and model....

by Peconet Tietokoneet In reply to Brand new video card work ...

You should know this if you put your computer together.
Also need to know everything you have attached to your motherboard so i can help you further.

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