Author Topic: Computer Upgrade Problem  (Read 3434 times)

Offline Betaray

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Computer Upgrade Problem
« on: February 05, 2006, 10:34:42 PM »
I have a HP Pavilion with a 1.8 gig celeron CPU (dont laugh, I got it for free)

it has 2 RAM slots, the first slot has been used by a 256 stick, the second slot has been empty.  Recently I baught a new 256 stick that is identical to the first, but when I plug it into the second RAM slot the computer will not boot up, no BIOS warning, not beeping sounds that my computer normally does nothing (and I know that the stick works, because I tested it in the first slot, and my computer runs perfactly)

another problem is I recently baught a new vidio card a nvidia G-force FX 5200 128 mb pci card.  The computer recognises it, as in its in the hardware profile in the device manager, and all the required drivers are installed, but it has a single problem, it simply says "the device cannot start code 10" and nothing else, no reasion for the problem, no way to fix it, nothing.

if any of you have an idea, please post it, thanks
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Offline CK9

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« Reply #1 on: February 06, 2006, 01:05:02 AM »
sounds like the slot is damaged
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Offline dm-horus

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« Reply #2 on: February 06, 2006, 01:54:38 AM »
I know whats wrong with both issues because Ive had and dealt with them both.

However, if you could make a reply with your complete system info I could probably track down conflicts for you. Not having that information, I can offer you this:

RAM: Youve got the wrong type of memory. Some motherboards handle mixed ram better than others and it sounds like yours doesnt. Make sure that youve got ram with the right bus frequency and type. capacity and pin # arent the only defining factors. the ram you have in your comp now likely wouldnt have a sticker telling you exactly what type of ram it is (pc3200, for example) so its likely that you bought a stick of ram thinking it was of the same type, but wasnt. I would advise you to bring your old stick with you when you buy the new one and make sure you are buying a match. When you computer makes the beep when you turn it on and it doesnt boot, thats definately a ram conflict. The solution is to make sure your new ram is the EXACT same type as the old.

GFX Card: This is a problem I have had all too often, especially before I could afford to purchase a card that came in a box with printed requirements and profiles. The problem is one of 3 things, the first two being the most likely but hardest to fix. The last being a no-brainer.

1)I had this exact same warning code appear when I bought my BFGTech GeForce 6800 GT OC. It ships in an overclocked state and required 2 molex power connectors to run. I found out that my power supply was maxed out and couldnt power the card. When I installed a power supply with higher wattage, the computer booted fine. You might have to get a new power supply.

2)The second possibility is more common and occurs with pci devices often. Some mobo manufacturers like to have a single pci port that is specialized for a communications card like a faxmodem or nic. Other times they are design for a specialty card designed for use with the motherboard and software bundle that usually includes the card. It should look like an oddly shaped, stunted-looking modem. In years past, manufacturers didnt indicate which pci slot was the specialty one, but usually nowadays they are a different color from the others and are usually the last slot. HOWEVER, some pci slots are arranged to support differnt bus speeds. If your card isnt compatible, well it wont run. My advice in this case is to simply try the card in another pci slot. You might have to try a few times. If youve got a card in a slot that you know is working, remove it and try the gfx card in its place. If it works, youll know which slot is the dead one. I think this is the most likely of the 3 scenarios.

3)Your drivers could be out of date, incompatible or broken. This is the simplest option since it requires you to do nothing more than uninstall and install software instead of messing with hardware, but since it is the easiest to fix its probably not the right solution (thats how it tends to be). But you can still try it. Get online and do windows update. Get everything that comes up. Then surf to your motherboard manufacturer's website and download their drivers. Next, head on over to the GFX card manufacturer website and download their drivers. Its a nVidia card, so the download area can be a bit confusing. Dont stress when you see those 3 little boxes on the download page. Just click on "Graphics Driver," then "GeForce and TNT2," because this includes your software line, then "Windows XP" for  your operating system. Hit "GO!" and your download should start. Remember not to install any of these before you UNINSTALL the old drivers. Also, you might have to do this several times before it will work. Just keep at it and you should succeed, provided this is the solution to your problem. I would recommend trying this option first as it is the simplest and least likely due to its simplicity.

I hope these suggestions help you. Like I said, not being there and not knowing your hardware profile means that the options I offered could be way off, but I tried to cover every option you could take. The one that I didnt offer initially is the most disappointing; your hardware could have shipped broken. The card could be bad or your pci slot could be cooked. Its not so nice to consider, but if all else fails this possibility will appear the most likely aside from a freak failure somewhere else.

Let me know if any of this helps.

Offline BlackBox

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Computer Upgrade Problem
« Reply #3 on: February 06, 2006, 02:37:49 PM »
Yeah, I've had the ram issue before as well. Like Horus said, check the ram speed. It should be no greater than the mobo's specs. And yes, you could check the other stick for this if the other stick is supplied by the manufacturer.

As for the PCI problem. Does the BIOS have any special settings where you have to enable certain PCI ports or something of the like? I'd find it strange if it did, but I know sometimes this is the case for certain ports (Some ports wouldn't work in my system once, I discovered that resources needed to be allocated for them). This probably isn't the case though, as you would probably get a different, more specific error message.

Also on both the RAM and the card, be sure it's not something really simple, like the card not being seated all the way into the slot, or dust stuck in the slot.

I doubt it would be much of a driver issue, because even then Windows should load some sort of default, crappy driver for the card without complaining too much. However, does the vid card work at all? (That is, do you get any picture from it?) If it works but you get the error then it is probably a driver issue.

Anyway, I would consider hardware failure to be the last possible case. However, it could be present. Where exactly did you get this 'free' computer? (In other words, is the reason for it being free something to do with the hardware?)

Offline Betaray

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Computer Upgrade Problem
« Reply #4 on: February 06, 2006, 04:26:24 PM »
well for the computer being free, a friend gave it too me, kinda of a long story

I checked the RAM chips, and they are the same model and manufacturer, and are guarenteed to be compatible (and they are, I am running the computer with the new stick right now) its just that if eather card, old or new, gets put in the second slot, the computer will not run

for the PCI, I got the vidio card to work by takeing out the old modom, and putting it in that slot, but now when I hook the monater into the card it simply shows a blue screen with the win xp logo and it says, "please wait" no anamation or anything, and its been like that for 2 hrs now, I can still run the computer by hooking the monater into the origional plug, which makes me wonder if I have to swich main vidio system, and if so, how

but the way I had the shift the PCI slot, makes me wonder if the manufactures of my computer diliberatly disabled half of the expantion slots, which would be completely retarded, but who knows
I am the nincompoop, I eat atomic bombs for breakfest, fusion bombs for lunch, and anti-matter bombs for dinner

I just hope they don't explode

Offline CK9

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Computer Upgrade Problem
« Reply #5 on: February 06, 2006, 05:19:58 PM »
Check the board for damaged paths.  I know my dad had to bypass some of the paths on a mobo before because they fried (for no apparent reason, they weren't overloaded)
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Offline Betaray

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« Reply #6 on: February 06, 2006, 10:16:21 PM »
would a damaged path make the computer not be able to start up? I would think that if the computer finds an error with a RAM stick, it would just disable it and run off of the working one
I am the nincompoop, I eat atomic bombs for breakfest, fusion bombs for lunch, and anti-matter bombs for dinner

I just hope they don't explode

Offline CK9

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« Reply #7 on: February 07, 2006, 12:35:32 AM »
possibly, the only way to know is to check
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Offline dm-horus

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« Reply #8 on: February 07, 2006, 12:47:24 AM »
is your new stick of ram double sided? something that not alot of manufacturers like to make light of is that older motherboards dont support double sided ram. it may not work because the ram is mixed when used together. on my old mobo, only one ram slot could support double sided memory. this made it more viable to buy a single 1gig stick that is double sided instead of 2 sticks that arent. also, due to manufacturing process and simple physics most mobo's have an "optimal" memory arrangement. my current one works best with two sticks even though it supports three. the old one worked best with 1 stick of double sided ram. it could be that your memory configuration isnt what the motherboard supports. you should look up your motherboard model number and computer manufacturer online.

something else, ive dealt with hp's before. ive jury rigged alot of them and used to do repairs for customers on the trunk of my car and ill tell you that they are designed so that little can be accomplished without premission from and payment to HP. the drives are held in with a plastic housing that can only be (easily) removed with a special tool that im assuming nobody but hp has. does your computer have its original hdd and operating system? i know that hp's dont like when you make hardware changes and it could be getting a software and/or bios conflict because youve added "non-hp" hardware.

do you not have $$? cuz seriously, if you like i can fedex you a motherboard that works. at least then youd have one that has no unknown problems and is well documented.

Offline CK9

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« Reply #9 on: February 07, 2006, 12:57:18 AM »
what does the part holding the housing on look like horus?
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Offline BlackBox

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« Reply #10 on: February 07, 2006, 08:28:00 AM »
Quote
the drives are held in with a plastic housing that can only be (easily) removed with a special tool that im assuming nobody but hp has.
I've never seen such a housing. I've worked on computers of various manufacturers, many of them HP, many of them other brands, and can't recall seeing plastic pieces. Of course this could be something really recent, I haven't worked on those types of computers for a year or two now.

Even then, I don't see why you couldn't pry out the housing, if one did exist, with a couple screwdrivers, or perhaps just break it off.

They're just standard ATX cases. Really, they shouldn't complain too badly if you're putting new hardware in.

As for the ram issue, how old is your mobo and what chipset does it use? I know most semi-recent intel chipsets should handle double sided and single sided sticks of ram together. Many of the mail order manufacturers are using intel-derivative chipsets in their motherboards.

Regarding the PCI slots: it could be possible that the video card wasn't getting enough power from the PCI bus. (Until you removed the modem, that is).
Most of these mail order computers have hideously low-wattage PSUs. (My gateway, which I use now, only has a 200W PSU in it  <_< )

Speaking of, I'm surprised that the modem was PCI. Most internal modems are ISA.

As for the "please wait" screen, boot up with the first video card, and then check your display properties. You might have to get it setup for multiple monitor output.

Also, is it possible that the video card won't start if a monitor or other output isn't plugged in? (Thus creating the error) I have had video cards that have done that.

 

Offline Betaray

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« Reply #11 on: February 07, 2006, 02:19:34 PM »
well for the vid card, it does the same thing if I start the computer with the monater pluged into it as it does if I plug the monater in while the computer is running

I updated the driver from nvidia's own site and the driver installed sucessfully, but now the monater is just black, its getting a signal from the card, but nothing else

for the RAM chip I got it from crucial, and I downloaded a program to scan my BIOS for compatible RAM sticks, and it said that this one is 100% compatible (which it is, for the first slot, not even the origional stick will work with the second slot)

in removeing parts from the computer, when I first got it, I did not work (thats why I got it for free) and it took me a week to get it to run, I dont remember exactly what I did to it, but I took it apart to the point where the only parts hooked up were the mobo the power supply, and the monater, when it finally started working, and im sure I hooked everything back up as normal and tested everything

im sure its not a power problem, because all the hardware is getting plenty of power

but what do you guys know about computers with internal vidio processers, and how to swich from that to a vidio card? is there some sort of setting that I have to switch or somthing?
I am the nincompoop, I eat atomic bombs for breakfest, fusion bombs for lunch, and anti-matter bombs for dinner

I just hope they don't explode

Offline BlackBox

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« Reply #12 on: February 07, 2006, 02:42:29 PM »
In that case I assume the 2nd slot doesn't work at all.

As for the video card, you need to go into your display settings and set the video card as the primary display device. (I think it marks the primary and the secondary with a 1 and a 2 or something)

The BIOS might also have a feature to disable the onboard video completely, if you so desire. You should probably be certain that the video card works first before you do anything like that (unless you don't mind having to reset your CMOS to get the onboard video again)

Offline Betaray

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« Reply #13 on: February 07, 2006, 05:16:03 PM »
well im happy to say I got the vidio card to work, unfortunally I had to do a complete system whipe to do it, but I saved all my main files, so ill be alright

still wondering about the RAM though
I am the nincompoop, I eat atomic bombs for breakfest, fusion bombs for lunch, and anti-matter bombs for dinner

I just hope they don't explode

Offline dm-horus

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« Reply #14 on: February 08, 2006, 01:27:34 AM »
glad you got it to work! it usually just takes some frustration and effort to do it, which you prolly know by now. good luck! if you have any other queries, shoot me a pm.

Offline Ezekel

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Computer Upgrade Problem
« Reply #15 on: February 15, 2006, 09:12:56 AM »
if not the slot being damaged, perhaps the type of RAM on each chip/stick is different.
generally you want RAM to be exactly the same in make etc.
i think there is usually a label/sticker on the RAM that says what it is
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