ATI 9600 All In Wonder and 4100 Problem

Question

Greetings everyone,   Before I get to the point, I have searched all the forums and only found 2 post regarding this issue from other users. They never appeared to be resolved. I also called Dell Tech Support. I do not believe I was given the correct information about the situation. I guess I'm saying, I've done my homework.   System: I have a normal, unupgraded Dell 4100 system. I have the latest Bios on the motherboard. (A11 I believe)   Problem:   I recently purchased an ATI 9600 All In Wonder for this system. After installation, the MOBO speaker will beep one long beep and two short beeps. I also get no video on the monitor. (Power indicator on the monitor stays amber and doesn't power up when system is powered up.) Finally, the AB indicators on the back of the system are amber and the CD indicators are green. Since the monitor does not power up, I am unable to get to the bios settings.   Troubleshooting:   Here is what I have done:   1) Reseated the video card to no avail.   2) Because the MOBO info states that when AB indicators are amber I have a memory issue, I have reseated the memory card to no avail.   3) I have replaced the memory on the card with working known working memory to no avail.   4) Replaced the original video card and everything works correctly.   5) Completely uninstalled the previous video card completely from the system to no avail.   6) Changed the AGP bios settings one at a time to no avail.   7) Placed the 9600 All In Wonder in a known working system and the card boots up just fine.   8) Purchased the ATI 9200 All In Wonder card to test if there is an issue with a card from ATI. The card boots up without a problem.   9) I have heard that the 9600 All In Wonder card requires a 300 Watt Power supply. Since Dell uses a different power connecting format for their power supplies, I have ordered a power supply converter and will try a 350 Watt power supply when it arrives. (This could be the case)   10) Called Dell phone support and was given the answer: 'The ATI 9200 AIW card runs on 4x AGP motherboards such as the one you have. The 9600 AIW runs on 8x motherboards. That is your problem.' That is not my problem because the 9600 AIW clearly states that it is 4x compatible. The motherboard is 4x compatible. I do not think that is the problem.   If the upgrading of the power supply does not fix the problem, I am out of options. I specifically need the 9600 All In Wonder for this system for it's TV/Video/Gaming performance. I understand that a few of you will tell me to just upgrade to a better system, but that is not an option due to the cost of a new system. Has anyone else had this problem and found a fix for the situation? Does anyone else have any ideas to what other avenues I can persue to troubleshooting the system and video card?   I appreciate all the help you can give me. I'll keep checking this post regularly. Thanks.   Ninefingers

jankerson · Answer

Try again when you get your new Power supply.

se7en5ive2 · Answer

The 9600 all in wonder does not need a 300 watt power supply like the 9700/9800 Pro's do. Make sure that it is a backwards compatible AGP card and will match the AGP 2X/4X standards for your machine. If it is not return it and gett a different card; some of those are strictly 8X compliant

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http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dzuul/specs.htm#video

Video AGP 2.0 video card (4X or 2X; see manufacturer's specifications for information about the card and any utilities and drivers included)

Ninefingers · Answer

Thanks for the replies,   This is from the ATI website regarding the card:   http://www.ati.com/products/radeon9600/aiw9600/specs.html   From the looks of it, it should work. Am I wrong about that?   Thanks again,   Ninefingers

se7en5ive2 · Answer

Did you remove all remnants of the previous card's drivers before attempting to load the AIW? What OS are you running? Was the card you attempting to replace an ATI card? Follow the uninstall/reinstall of drivers FAQ above and be sure to get the driver cleaner or uninstall software for the card you had in there and run it before removal of old card, reboot and verify that generic drivers are in place, then shut down and install new card, reboot and see if you get to the promised land. Follow the instructions and load the drivers needed for the OS you are running.

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Message Edited by se7en5ive2 on 04-11-2005 04:50 PM

Ninefingers · Answer

Thanks for the suggestions,

I'm running Windows XP Professional.

Replacing the Radeon 7500 64Mb.

Followed the uninstallation FAQ and the installation FAQ for each card. Still no luck. Beeps still occur when I try to boot the system up with the 9600 AIW card. I double checked the 9200 and 9600 boxes and the only difference in the requirements are:

9200 AIW = 2x/4x/8x

9600 AIW= 4x/8x

That's the only difference. Even the Dell tech told me that the board supports 4x AGP.

The power converter (sp) is on its way so I'll let you all know what happens when I try that. If it does, the computer life will get a LOT better.

Ninefingers

Ninefingers · Answer

ALL RIGHT!   I just received my power converter in the mail yesterday. I placed the new 350 Watt Antec power supply in the system and connected the converter. I then connected it to the motherboard. I placed the ATI 9600 All In Wonder back into the system and held my breath.   The machine powered up and the amber monitor light went to green. I then heard 2 short beeps. (Which I remember being a normal thing from using it) The next thing I see is the Windows XP loading screen. The Dell Dimension 4100 computer WILL WORK with the ATI 9600 All in Wonder video card if you go ahead and purchase a 350W power supply and the converter.   (BTW I bought the converter at http://www.centrix-intl.com/. Look under OEM Replacement and then under the Dell section. The name of the product is DellCV. Can't miss it. Thanks for those that posted this website in the forms for me to find.)   So if anyone else is having this problem, now you know the fix. I can only assume that if you put a too powerful card in your 4100 without having a powerful enough powersupply, the computer will give you one long beep and two short beeps. Not sure, but I know it will happen when you try putting a 9600 AIW in your stock 4100.   I'm so happy. I can't tell you HOW long I've worked on bringing this system back from the dead and getting it to run a decent video card. I know I could have bought a better system for this or that much money, but it wasn't an option. Call it a personal technical victory for me. Was doing some praying when I powered it up.   Good luck to anyone out there with a problem. I dug deep in this message board to find a solution to my problem and never found one. I hope that anyone that is having the same problem find this post.   *SIGH*   Have a good one all and thank you for all your advice and help,   Ninefingers

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