Windows ME / Graphics Card

[bosco19]

Hello All,

I am having a very big problem with my PC first let me tell you about my PC i have a Compaq Presario MV540. Now the problem i have a Graphics card Creative Geforce 2 MX PCI an old one i know, but when i install this card and start up the PC, i stick in the CD to install the software, i get to desktop and it seems to crash everytime, nothing works i cant open anything and i had to switch the PC off at the plug and take out the new graphics card and keep the old one in and carry on as normanl. I am at a total loss and have no idea what the problem is. So if anybody could help me im in need of some real help or else the PC goes out the window....(LOL). Thank you all.

[imbest123]

Check your cd drive to make sure its working. If you are only looking for the drivers then go to nvidia.com and download them from there.

[HAL9000]

Download the latest drivers and install them instead of using the CD... that should take care of the prob.

[bosco19]

well yes my cd-rom drive works, but surely the drivers would not be on the cd that comes with the grahpics card?

[bosco19]

so when i have installed the card, dont bother with the CD and go and download the drivers for that graphics card i have???? where would i found the right drivers for the creative Geforce2 MX PCI???

[GaryRouth]

You can find WindowsMe "Detonator" drivers from nVidia at http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp

I'm curious about the old card that is working OK. Is this an AGP card, PCI card, or onboard graphics? Many Compaqs come with the onboard graphics type of video... I'm not sure how much better an old PCI card is going to be. See if you can find any details about the model card/onboard graphics that you're replacing. We can look for you, if you post the model number of your Compaq computer. Looks like you accidentally posted the model number of the monitor in your earlier post.

If you have onboard graphics, you'll probably need to disable it in the Bios before installing the nVidia card.

Also, before trying to install the nVidia, switch to the Standard VGA video driver, & uninstall any previous drivers. Then try installing the new card.

To switch to Standard VGA, go to Start/Settings/Control Panel/System/Device Mangager . . . click on the plus + sign next to "Display Adapter", click on Properties, Driver, Update Driver, show all hardware, let me choose from a list, select Standard Display Devices, Standard VGA, and click OK

Did you want to keep both old & new cards functioning as a dual - monitor setup? Or did you simply want to try the nVidia card?

Best of luck
. . . Gary

[p.s. . . . just noticed that this was one of your first visits here: Welcome to the PC Mechanic forums :) ]

[imbest123]

1) the drivers should be on the cd
2) if you need drivers go to nvidia.com and on the top it will say download drivers follow the on-screen instructioins
That should be all. Have a great time on pcmech :)

[bosco19]

Hello, thank you all very much for all your posts, says on the side of my PC 5wv250 im guessing thats the model number. What i want to do is install the Geforce2 MX card because its newer then the graphic card in there now that came with the PC. I know this is not really nice to ask but could somebody give me a run down on how to do what GaryRouth told me to do like a run down list as i dont know about computers that much, i know its time consuming but i dont know what else to do. I bought the damn thing i want to be able to use it.But all i know is when the new card is inside the PC and when the PC boots up and goes to desktop it like freezes and cant do a thing. Thank you very much all.

P.S Thank you for the warm welcomes you all gave me, this is a very good website and im sure i will be using this alot more.

[GaryRouth]

Hi again -

Sorry bosco, if I wasn't clear first time around. Glad you're hanging in there.

First, you can download drivers for your GeForce2 MX card directly from the nVidia website [I'll post direct links for you later in this note]. If you usually use a "Download Accelerator" or "Download Manager" type of program when downloading files from the Internet, disable that for now. [nVidia strongly recommends downloading directly from your browser, with no accelerators in between - http://www.nvidia.com/object/driver_installation_hints.html ] . You can create a temporary folder to put the download in - go to your Start button, then to Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and double-click on Windows Explorer. From the "File" menu, choose "New" then "Folder", and give it a name you can easily remember (Like "GeForce Drivers Download"). When you select the WindowsMe driver on the nVidia website, it will ask you where to download the file ---> click on the "Browse" button, and select the folder you created. The download will begin, and will be located in that new folder.

Before installing the new card and drivers, reboot your computer in Safe Mode by tapping the f8 key while the computer is starting. In Safe Mode, click on your Start button, then on "Settings", then on "Control Panel", then on "System". You will notice that one of the tabs displayed says "Device Manager": click on that tab. Then click on the plus (+) sign next to "Display Adapter" on the list. To keep things simple, let's have you simply click on each adapter listed, and then click on "Remove" untill no display adapters are listed. Then shutdown your computer, and unplug the power cord. Insert the new video card in an open PCI slot.

Look in the back of your pc. Was the monitor plugged into an add-on video card before? or was it plugged into a connector that looks "built-in" to the motherboard (and Not into a card in a slot).

If it was in a card in a slot - just remove that older video card. Reboot your computer. If Windows offers to look for drivers, just click "Cancel". Then click the Start button, then the "Run" button, and then the "Browse" button. You then click on the folder where you downloaded the nVidia driver. Then double-click on that file. Then in the Start/Run box, you should see your installation file listed. Click OK, and the installation will start.

If you find out that you didn't have a separate card for your video, then you have an extra step when you reboot: you Must enter your computers "Setup" screens immediately after you press your power button. There should be a banner message that says "Press F10 (or some other key) to Enter Setup". Press whatever the banner asks for: this should bring up your Bios Setup screens. One menu will be for Integrated Peripherals - or perhaps Onboard Devices - just keep looking untill you see a menu item that says Onboard Video, and set that to "Disabled". When you leave the Bios screens, select the options "Exit Saving Changes" (or similiar). Then follow the same instructions in the previous paragraph, following "Reboot your computer".

That should do it. Let us know if you have questions.
. . . Gary

WindowsMe MS Certified Driver for GeForce2 MX PCI:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/det_xp_win9x_29.42.html
(there are more recent versions, but for your machine this one is a little more reasonable in terms of size of the download, and what your system needs - this file is from June 2002)

More details from nVidia:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_20011116_3824.html
Best of luck!

[bosco19]

Hello Gary,

Thank you for taking the time to write that post, i did all that i installed the new card then i got to desktop and carried on as normal and about 5-10 mins into the PC being on it freezes up every single time, i cant even do a hard boot, i have to switch of at the plug and when i revert back to the orginal card im stuck in Standad PCI display and dont have a clue how to go back to normal, but i would like to get this new graphic card to work im not letting it beat me. any ideas????


Thank you
Bosco

[GaryRouth]

Hmmm . . . Try the nVidia card again - only this time try running with the case open and a house fan blowing cool air at the video card and system board. You'll need to go through the Safe Mode procedure to remove the adapters again, before you try a reinstall with everything open.

[Tell you what, just to make sure, this time, just after you remove the display adapters in Safe Mode, try a run of RegClean 4.1 - just to make sure that it's not Registry leftovers mucking things up. RegClean is easy to download and easy to use. Make a folder for it, download it to that folder. When you double-click on the download, you can unzip it to that folder. Then you just double-click on the regclean.exe file to run it = details are in the ReadMe file after you uzip the download. http://download.com.com/3000-2094-881470.html?tag=lst-0-1 ]

See if the fans are spinning like they should - if there's a fan on the GeForce 2 MX: is it working? If the system freezes up --->check the video card right away = is it "hotter than a pepper sprout?". And check on your cpu and system temps, too [if you don't have a Windows program to do this for you, you can go into Bios Setup, there should be temp reading in there somewhere (sometimes called "PC Health" or "Environment" or "Hardware Monitor") -- you want to be running under 60 degrees under load if possible]

Post too, whether it was a card (sounds like it) or onboard graphics in there originally.

And - while your case is open, have a look over at the power supply = post here what wattage it lists on its label (150wt, 200wt., 250wt, 300wt). . . . I wonder if the GeForce and system cpu are getting enough juice.

See how it goes . . .
. . . Gary

[does the system Ever freeze up with the older card like it does with the newer?]

[bosco19]

Hello Gary,

One last question, im in Standad PCI Graphics (VGA) at the moment and i want to go back to normal how do i revert back???? the old card by the way was a PCI Nvidia Lant is it?

Thanks
Bosco

[GaryRouth]

Hi again

Too me a while to answer you, I had to work late last night, into the morning ZZZzzzzz. . .

To go back to the way things were before, simply install the old drivers for the old card. I'd give installing your new card another try first [since that's the card you prefer, and it takes about the same amount of time].

If you already tried all the steps in my last post (open case, fans, RegClean, etc) and it didn't work - you can try again, same process, but this time with the power off move the card to another PCI slot, if possible.

"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again"
. . . Gary

[There are so many model variations on Compaqs, if you can find the motherboard model you have, we can then check the manual for your board. I'm assuming you've bought this system (used) recently, did you also get all the disks and manuals? They can help a lot. -- Did you mean to say that the older card is a nVidia TNT2 Vanta? ]

[bosco19]

Ok Gary my old card is a Nvidia Vanta Compaq LT could you please help me locate the right drivers for that card please, you seem to know a lot about computers, so if i ask you i know i will be downloading the right drivers.

Thank You
Bosco

[GaryRouth]

Hi Bosco - There are actually two ways to go back to your old card 1)you can try System Restore and choose a point from before you installed the newer card, or 2) Download and try the nVidia driver for your Compaq (funny thing is, since it's a "unified" driver - one that autosenses what model card you have, it might work with the new card, too!)

Here's the Compaq version of the nVidia Detonator Video driver:
http://h20015.www2.hp.com/en/any/na/cpq/softwareDownloadIndex.jhtml?reg=&cc=us&softitem=30629&prodId=compaqpres93910&lc=en&sw_lang=en&pagetype=software

[just to see what happens, why not try this first with the new card? . . . . be pretty cool if it works]
. . . Gary