AGP card not found, no option in BIOS

malcolm123

15 posts

Geek

#33077 29-Apr-2009 11:34

Hi there, I have been inspired by this forum to get a HTPC going, but have a problem.

I have an ATI Radeon 9800XT AGP Grapics card that I know works, went straight away in another computer. But when installed in an IBM 8189LMZ, Intel Celeron 2.53G, OS Win XP, it doesn't work. There is a bit of talk of some similar models to this having a "dummy" AGP slot, but the manual mentions nothing of this. I also have found an expired listing on TM where a guy sold this same PC with a Nvidia fx5200 AGP.

I have tried installing newest drivers, disabling the onboard in device manager, there is no option in BIOS for the AGP, re flashed (is that the correct term?) BIOS, searched net for similar problems and fixes, looked for references to jumper settings, can anyone suggest anything else to try?

Thanks in advance for any comments, help or criticism.

1gkar

722 posts

Ultimate Geek

#210497 29-Apr-2009 12:25

You stated you have disabled the onboard graphics in device manager. Have you done this in the BIOS? It may be there somewhere. Usually, not clearly stated. But some motherboards just automatically switch over when it recognises a card in the slot & the manual may not even stipulate this: my friend had one such mobo.

Do you have the manual for the motherboard? If so, is there any statements about use of the AGP in the BIOS section? Maybe you could find an old *.pdf file on the net somewhere (don't know how old this model is).

Silverstone LC14 HTPC Case/Intel E4600 CPU/GA-EP35-DS3 MOBO/Asus EN9500GT graphics/2GB RAM/total 2TB HDD space/HVR-2200 & 2X 150MCE tuner cards/LG GGC-H20L BD Drive/MCE2005/Mediaportal/TVServer 1.1.0Final/LG 55"3D LED-TV/Denon AVR-1803 receiver/X1 projector

malcolm123

15 posts

Geek

#210503 29-Apr-2009 12:55

In BIOS, I can select between PCI and Integrated from Devices > Video Setup > Select Active Video, its the only 2 options. In this same screen there is a Graphics Aperture option, the help part of the screen says "Select the size of the Graphics Aperture for the AGP video device."

I found the manual, there is very little about BIOS. Very frustrating.

Nety

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#210515 29-Apr-2009 13:15

Change the bios to use PCI which should disable the intergrated card. Does seem a bit odd that is says PCI and makes no mention of AGP though.

Media centre PC - Case Silverstone LC16M with 2 X 80mm AcoustiFan DustPROOF, MOBO Gigabyte MA785GT-UD3H, CPU AMD X2 240 under volted, RAM 4 Gig DDR3 1033, HDD 120Gig System/512Gig data, Tuners 2 X Hauppauge HVR-3000, 1 X HVR-2200, Video Palit GT 220, Sound Realtek 886A HD (onboard), Optical LiteOn DH-401S Blue-ray using TotalMedia Theatre Power Corsair VX Series, 450W ATX PSU OS Windows 7 x64

malcolm123

15 posts

Geek

#210518 29-Apr-2009 13:27

Tried it, nothing. I'll try again but remove other hardware from the other PCI slots in case of any issues.

I know what you mean, thats why I wondered if it was a dummy socket.

1gkar

722 posts

Ultimate Geek

#210529 29-Apr-2009 14:04

Sounds like the mobo is auto-switchable.

Have you tried clearing CMOS after inserting the graphics card? After resetting, load default settings from within CMOS before customising. If this doesn't work, then there is either an issue with the graphics card or the AGP socket. Can you test either separately?

malcolm123

15 posts

Geek

#210558 29-Apr-2009 15:10

I have done a flash BIOS update from downloaded software,though the most recent version was dated 08/2005! Looked no different to the original one, there was still no AGP option.

The card itself has been tested ok in another comp. Im not sure how to test the socket without another card.

The software with the card will not install because the card is not detected.

Nety

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#210580 29-Apr-2009 16:14

With the card in if you plug the monitor into the AGP card rather then the onboard does anything display? I seem to recall that if it detects a screen plugged into the onboard video it will not enable the addin card.
Need to plug it in with the PC turned off as it checks on boot.

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malcolm123

15 posts

Geek

#210587 29-Apr-2009 16:31

Thanks, just tried it, I have a monitor that is in stand by until it has a signal, it detects nothing from the new card, from startup till its done, and fired up when I move it back to the onboard.

I am starting to think that there is a fault on the board, or it is a disabled slot. The few people on the net who install these cards into this model have found it is plug and play, like the last post here:

http://forums.lenovo.com/lnv/board/message?board.id=A_Series_Thinkcentre&thread.id=948

He has different OS, Windows 7 Beta, so maybe thats it?

I found this:

"Some system boards ship with the AGP slot disabled and plugged. These slots have been disabled at the chipset level and do not work. The plugs should not be removed."

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-4Y6LGT

There was a plug in there, and no plugs in the PCI slots beside it, but all manuals for this model say that it has the AGP slot available. This may have been a special case? If so what do you recommend I do now? This was supposed to be on a budget, now it seems I need more and more hardware!

Nety

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#210616 29-Apr-2009 18:06

Hold on so just confirming you are saying that the AGP slot was plugged? If so then as you have found the slot will be disabled.

Personally I would not consider spending any money on anything less than a computer that has a PCIe slot for video. AGP is just too old and too badly supported now. It is one of those cases where a bit more money now will save you more in the long run.

malcolm123

15 posts

Geek

#210843 30-Apr-2009 10:44

Yep was plugged.

I have a couple of options now: either get a motherboard with the obsolete 478 socket with AGP working, so I can use the hardware I have already, and carry on with the original plan. This will be cheaper, a new MB will cost $90ish, will need microATX case. Some/most of the ones on trade me seem to be only 4x AGP though.

or

Get a new MB with PCIe, meaning I need a new CPU, graphics card, RAM, and other bits I have overlooked. Although there are MB's +CPU's on trade me 2nd hand that look reasonable. What do you reckon? Is option 1 too much like putting money into a system that will let me down? Is putting together systems from 2nd hand parts not worth the trouble?

malcolm123

15 posts

Geek

#212036 4-May-2009 10:01

OK Im back on track. I have been kindly donated an ASUS P4C800E motherboard. Thanks for your comments Nety and 1gkar.

1gkar

722 posts

Ultimate Geek

#212216 4-May-2009 19:51

Sorry I've been away (lost a 500GB partition, aaarrghhh), but glad to see you on track. To answer your query two above, I personally would not purchase anything electronic from Trademe. I'm a firm believer you get what you pay for. But if you check the price structures for most of the resellers on Trademe, you will see they aren't much less, if any, than reputable stores like Playtech & computer Lounge.

I forgot that recently & bought a USB>IRDA dongle. A Chinese knock-off that had poorly written drivers & software & would not install properly to my system. So I took it back & luckily got a refund. Lesson learned.

Also, your query about putting money into an older system would depend exactly what you want it for? If you will be looking at FreeviewHD in the intermediate future, then buy your system now. If not, I guess, only you can really answer that.

malcolm123

15 posts

Geek

#214396 12-May-2009 15:52

Damn computers. I had to get a new case, old case was not ATX, the old power supply didnt fit the new case, got a new power supply, that was all for just under $80, so not bad. Hook it all up and it went after I removed a faulty RAM stick. Now, because of all the new hardware, I get a prompt for an activation code for the Windows XP. It was a legit OS, but I don't have discs. I'm learning a lot though!!

malcolm123

15 posts

Geek

#214579 13-May-2009 11:16

If you were thinking "if its a legit copy, he should simply follow the directions on the screen and get the new code", then you really should have posted that sooner.

Anyway its back on. Now this computer is not connected to the net at all, and Im not planning to, so is there a way to install Mediaportal by downloading to another pc and transfering? I think what you download is some kind of installer.