Member Avatar for mike.odell.940

Installed new video card and no signal problem. I've upgraded my ram from 512 mb to 2 gb. And went to turn on computer I got a no signal from my monitor. The compute boots up and everything. So I replaced the old g-force 7300gs card with a g-force gt 610. And I am still getting no signal. So I even went as far as putting the old ram back in. And switching monitors and still nothing. And the onboard video does not work either. Any ideas.

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Brief summary and likely cause: the RS480M board (ATI IXP family), the old GeForce 7300GS and the GT 610 should physically fit a PCI‑Express x16 slot, and PCIe 2.0 cards are generally backward‑compatible with PCIe 1.0 slots. The single most common, easy-to-miss reason for "no signal" after a card swap on an older system is a connector mismatch — a modern GT 610 often provides DVI‑D/HDMI (digital only), while the older monitor or cable may be VGA (analog). A passive DVI→VGA adapter will not work if the card's DVI is DVI‑D.

Practical checks (in order of cost/time and without addressing the reader directly):

  • Confirm the monitor is plugged into the discrete card output (not the motherboard) when the GT 610 is installed. Inspect the DVI connector: DVI‑I (analog+digital) has four small pins around the flat blade; DVI‑D does not. If the card is DVI‑D and the monitor is VGA, use a monitor with DVI/HDMI input or an active DVI‑to‑VGA converter.
  • Try a minimal boot: one known‑good RAM stick, CPU, and either onboard video or the old 7300GS (whichever previously produced a picture). Listen for POST beeps (ensure the motherboard speaker/header is present). If POST fails entirely, clear CMOS (remove battery for a few minutes or use the jumper) and retest.
  • Swap components: test the GT 610 in a second working PC, or test a known working card in the RS480M. Check that the GPU is fully seated, secured, and not shorting on a misplaced standoff.
  • Power/system firmware: although the GT 610 needs little extra power, verify the PSU is healthy. If a card initializes in another system but not on the RS480M, a BIOS/Option‑ROM incompatibility or damaged PCIe slot is likely; a BIOS update can sometimes help but must be done cautiously.

Context from the thread: ’s suggestions about identifying the board and using minimal memory are useful; likely meant onboard video setup in BIOS (not the NIC), and is correct that the network adapter itself does not affect display. The connector/type mismatch is the highest‑yield test given the symptoms.

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Member Avatar for BigPaw

We need to know the make and model of your motherboard, and the spec's of your memory (the 2GB) and the video card, please.

Did you handle the cards and memory by their plastic edges and use an anti-static wrist strap, or some other means of ESD safety measure?

If you remove the video card and any memory (so that there is no memory fitted at all) and then reconnect the power cord and turn on the PC you should hear a beep error. That's a good sign. If you don't get any beep errors then there could be a fault with the motherboard.

Disconnect your PC from the power and press the PC power button. Being aware of ESD, fit the 512MB, but not any of the video cards. Using the onboard video, now reconnect the power and turn it on.

If that works then follow the process of disconnecting the power, etc, as you did above. Now fit your old video card. Power up, and let us know what happens. Hopefully it should work.

We need to know the make and model of your motherboard, and the spec's of your memory (the 2GB) and the video card, please.

Member Avatar for mike.odell.940

Ati ixp 400 motherboard.
Computer built in 9/21/2009
Model # 6640
Power spec
Amd 64 Athlon
New ram is ddr-400 2gb (1gbx2)
New video card is 1024mb ddr3 Nvidia GeForce gt 610
Old video card is e-GeForce 7300gs
Running windows xp

Member Avatar for BigPaw

Mike, thanks for all of this info. Just one more thing, please. Your reference to Ati ixp 400, is for the onboard video chipset and not the model of your motherboard.

If you don't still have your manuals, etc, then you will very likely see the model number on the motherboard itself. It won't be on any of the chips you see, it'll be on the motherboard. For example it may be written in large white letters and look similar to this "K8AE-LM", but with different letters and numbers.

Member Avatar for mike.odell.940

RS480M is what says on the motherboard.

Member Avatar for BigPaw

If the information you have given me is correct, then please note what your motherboard manual says and compare this with the spec of your video card.

Your motherboard manual says:

One PCI Express x16 slot (supports PCI Express Bus specification v1.0a compliant)
Read these specifications also.

nVidia GeForce GT 610 Spec:

Bus Support: PCI Express 2.0

Could you download that manual and just have a look at the images and other data to confirm that we have the motherboard details correct, please.

If the information you have provided is correct then it appears that your new video card is not compatible with this motherboard. Whether a PCI Express 2.0 card is compatible with a motherboard that uses PCI Express 1.0a isn't clear, but doesn't look promising considering your experience here.

Sorry, while writing my reply I accidently tapped the 'down vote' button. As soon as I realised this I removed it. (I use a tablet)

Edited by BigPaw
commented: excelent help given in this post and all others i have read that you post in ,great job +14
Member Avatar for mike.odell.940

Yea the info on the motherboard is correct. Which from what I understand is that my video card the GeForce gt 610 does not work with the motherboard I have. So is there a video card that is supported by my motherboard and that is a good video card?

Member Avatar for BigPaw

This is only my opinion, but while you're making all of these upgrades, have you considered upgrading your motherboard too? You would need to purchase something that would accept your CPU, memory, and video card. (PCI Express 2.0)

Member Avatar for rubberman

A number of systems will default to the onboard NIC unless you disable it in the BIOS, otherwise your add-in card may not work. Plug the display into the on-board port and boot into the BIOS to see if that is the case.

Member Avatar for Rik_

This is a graphics card problem. The onboard NIC will have absolutely nothing to do with it!

commented: Not so! I have seen this on a number of occasions! -2
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