need help with installing graphics card

[mugantenshen]

I have a msi nx6800gt agp graphics card and my brother said I have to disable my onboard video in my motherboard to use it how do i do this.

aspire x-navigator case
1 gig ram
80 gig harddrive
biostar p4m80-m4 socket 478

Please help

[Hitman]

You don't have to disable it unless you're having problems. To disable it you will have to go into your Bios, and disable it there.

[mugantenshen]

do you have any hints of were i should go inside of the bios or what setting i should put it on.

[Stormcrow]

First, could you put the specs of your hardware into your sig? That way you don't have to list them every time you have a question.

Normally on newer motherboards the onboard VGA will be disabled when the board detects a card in the AGP/PCI-E slot automatically. However, depending on your Bios you should do a couple of steps to be sure:

1. Check to be sure theres an option to disable the IGP, should be under something titled Onboard Peripherals or of that sort, each Bios is different. Also check for anything marked AGP and look there if you cant find it. The only option should be Enable/Disable, easy enough to decide.

2. If your running Windows, you can go into the Device Manager, click on Display Adapter and disable it. This will disable the IGP while Windows is running, and usually works just as well as disabling it through the Bios. Do this after the next step if you have to use this option.

3. Uninstall the Onboard video drivers. You should be able to find them on the Install/Uninstall Programs part of the Control Panel if your using Windows. The drivers will mention S3 (the company) and UniChrome (the IGP), or something along those lines.

4. After that just turn off the system, open 'er up and pop in the 6800. The thing about integrated graphics is that either: The bios disables them when it detects a new card, not disabled and run fine along with the card, or not disabled and need to be disabled through the OS or Bios so as not to conflict with the card. Either way the above steps will do fine.

5. Turn the system on, see if it POSTs. If it does, just go into the OS and download the latest drivers from nVidia. Restart and done.

If something goes wrong or you cant find something, come back and let us know. If its a Bios question, usually the motherboard's manual will tell you how to do things. Either look at the copy you have, or download the manual from Biostar's website.

[mugantenshen]

I uninstalled the drivers because i couldnt find the device manager but when i hooked up the card the computer wouldnt turn on. Then i tried it with the power not hooked up to the card and when i turned the computer on it just made a loud consistant beep. so i took back out the card and reinstalled the drivers.

Also i was wondering if i cant install this card should i buy a new one (i got this one from a friend) and/or in the meantime how could I figure out what games my onboard video can run.

Thanks

[Yellowhello]

Originally Posted by mugantenshen

I uninstalled the drivers because i couldnt find the device manager but when i hooked up the card the computer wouldnt turn on. Then i tried it with the power not hooked up to the card and when i turned the computer on it just made a loud consistant beep. so i took back out the card and reinstalled the drivers.

Your PSU might be overloaded.


Just a side note, with my mobo, a loud constant beep means a RAM prob. I don't know what it means for your mobo, but look in the mobo manual becuase it might say what the beeps mean.

[[Dr. V]]

I'm pretty sure the beeps aren't PSU-related, but rather the fact that there was no video present. There are different beeps for different issues.

What you should try is disable the video through the BIOS with no video card installed. When you do this, on your computer's next reboot after you save the BIOS settings, you won't see anything (duh?). So turn off your computer but holding the power button. Now, install the video card properly. Plug your monitor into the video card, and power it up.

Be cautious of options such as "Primary Adapter" and things like that. Make sure that isn't OnChipVGA or something similar. If you see some settings in the BIOS you're not sure of, just let us know.

Good luck

[Jokerswild]

When a video card has a extra power connection and you don't hook it up you will get a constant beep most times.

[Yellowhello]

Originally Posted by Jokerswild

When a video card has a extra power connection and you don't hook it up you will get a constant beep most times.

But when he doesn't hook it up, the computer won't even start, leading me to believe it's the PSU. Or am I way off mark?

[Jokerswild]

Originally Posted by yellowhello

But when he doesn't hook it up, the computer won't even start, leading me to believe it's the PSU. Or am I way off mark?

Possible, but mine just did constant beeps when I didn't hook up the power to the video card and it wouldn't start. I put that out as a possible cause.