Member Avatar for maratsade

Hello, all. I'm a relative amateur when it comes to all things IT related so I'm hoping I can find some much needed assistance here. I'll get right to specifics.

Motherboard: MSI G31TM-P35
Chip: Intel Core 2 Duo E4700 Dual Core
RAM: 4GB DDR2
Power supply: Dynex 400W
Monitor: Dell 20' flat screen
HDD: Western Digital 500GB / Western Digital 160GB
Video Card: NVidia XFX 8500GT 512MB DDR2
OS: Windows 7 Professional (new install)

I'm using the aforementioned PC as I type this post. Currently, I'm running the onboard video card and everything works properly. Unfortunately, I have a few applications and games that my onboard can't handle so I'd like to be able to use my nvidia. I recently replaced the motherboard and power supply after a nasty power surge fried both (I also bought a battery backup as a result). I was running Vista64 prior to the burnout, but it was a memory leaking POS so I decided to upgrade to Windows 7 64 when I purchased the new motherboard, powersup, and HDD. I've got the old HDD slaved so I can retrieve stored information from it at my leisure. Anyway, after installing Windows 7 and new drivers for the motherboard, etc.. I booted the PC on the onboard video and everything was fine. I powered down and then added the nvidia to the PCI-E slot and rebooted. Initially, the hardware wizard detected the new card and I installed the appropriate drivers. I booted again with the monitor hooked up to the nvidia and it worked like a charm. Games worked, etc.. It was great... until I ran windows updates. My PC hung on the 17th of 23 updates for about an hour. Eventually, I performed a hard reboot and couldn't get my monitor to come out of power save mode. I can't see POST or anything else but I can tell that windows is booting properly. I even hear the windows boot noises, etc.. My keyboard is responsive and I can even tell when I'm at the windows password screen by the noise I hear. I type in my password and then hear as windows loads, but I can't see anything.

After some trouble shooting, I removed the video card completely and booted on the onboard video. The monitor is not stuck in power save mode. I've messed around in BIOS, change my power save settings, made sure I've selected PCI-E as opposed to internal and the like. For whatever reason though, when I add the video card back to the PCI-E slot, even if I've got the monitor hooked up to the onboard, I get stuck in power save mode everytime I boot the PC. I can only boot it without the nvidia in the slot.

I've reseated everything, disconnected all unecessary items but the video card and tried to boot to no avail. Any information would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by micra55

Dani AI

Generated

Short answer and why: because you lose the BIOS/POST screen as soon as the NVidia card is present this points to a hardware/BIOS/PSU-level problem (card, PCIe slot, or PSU) rather than a runtime driver feature such as PowerMizer. The motherboard runs video initialization before Windows or any driver loads, so a driver-level tweak cannot stop the POST cursor or BIOS messages from appearing. Tom's Hardware: The hardware boot/POST sequence.

Order of things to try (fast, cheap, decisive)

  1. Test the 8500GT in another known-good PC. If it shows POST/BIOS text there the card is probably OK; if it is black in that machine too the card is almost certainly bad and you can stop chasing drivers. This is the single most useful test.
  2. If the card works in the other PC: boot your original machine without the card, run a driver clean (use Display Driver Uninstaller to remove leftover NVidia drivers), then reinstall the card and a Windows-7-compatible GeForce driver from NVidia. DDU official page — NVidia Win7 driver (example legacy build that supports GeForce 8-series).

Other quick isolation steps

  • Clear CMOS / restore BIOS defaults and set the BIOS "Init Display First" / primary display option to the correct value (onboard vs PCI-E). If your BIOS defaults to PCI-E when a card is present and the card fails to initialize you will see exactly the symptom described. Short BIOS/display explanation.
  • Try the card with a different, known-good PSU (even though the 8500GT is low-power — ~30W TDP — a weak/failed rail can still cause no-initialize symptoms). GeForce 8500GT specs (TDP ~30 W).
  • Check connector/adapter compatibility: a DVI-D output will not pass an analog VGA signal via a passive adapter — confirm the card’s DVI type before assuming the monitor is the problem. DVI connector types explained.

Notes on earlier suggestions

  • ’s PowerMizer tip is useful only if the card actually completes POST and you can boot to Windows. Because you cannot see POST, run the hardware/BIOS tests above first. and : testing the card in another machine (as you already planned) is the fastest way to know whether to focus on drivers or replace the card/PSU.

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Member Avatar for maratsade

FYI, I've also removed the nvidia drivers I installed when the card was recognized. I've heard indirectly that it may be windows drivers that were installed when I ran windows update. I understand that windows, by default, will always think the drivers it installed are the most updated versions even if they're not. Should I track down those drivers and uninstall them and, if so, how do I locate the ones I'm looking for? I could be on the wrong track, though.

Edited by maratsade because: n/a
Member Avatar for Biker920

from what I understand Nvidia power mizer and Win 7 power settings butt heads so fix is to disable Nvidia power mizer this fixed video problems for me after vista to Win 7 upgrade. the tool I used-Nv GPU Pro it is a freeware app. Later---

Edited by Biker920 because: n/a
Member Avatar for maratsade

Thanks for the advice. That very well may help the issue. Unfortunately, I can't install nv-gpu pro completely without the NVIDIA card actually in the PCI-E slot. If I put the card in the slot, however, I can't see anything when I boot the computer because the monitor is stuck in power save. I've even tried slapping the card in while the PC is booted, but it won't recognize the card. I'm not sure, but I'm about ready to slap the video card in a friend's computer to see if the GPU is fried.

Member Avatar for Biker920

It may well be turtle dust. best bet like you said test in another computer.even if fried better to find out than bang head on key board that breaks key board & makes head hurt. Good Luck. Later---

Member Avatar for micra55

hi, I have upgraded my graphics card on my dell dimension 4550 pc to a geforce 6600gt and when I powered up the monitor says in power safe mode i have done what the message said pressed any key and still stays in that mode. any ideas how to solve this issue

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