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PCI Express Card problem, Dim. 8400 - new info!
This is my second post ref. the same subject but I have more infomation now that might allow me to solve my problem if someone would give me a little more guidence.
To catch up: Just a week ago I started getting a message upon startup: "Alert! PCI Express Card is operating in X1 mode. Strike F1 key to continue, F2 to run setup utility." My system video card is a 128MB PCI Express x16 ATI Radeon X300 SE, factory installed. I Think I have learned a little more about all of this now but not enough yet. Using my 8400 owner's manual as a guide, I removed and reseated the Network ethernet INSTEAD of the video card - the manual showed it to be there - I thought! It did work for a while after that but still showed the same alert message. Then my computer would not startup without a loud noise - sounded like a fan riving up louder and louder so I would cut it off. Afraid not to. I was convinced I needed a new video card. Not sure now.
Today I decided to go at it again so I opened the box and re-examined the situation. That is when I discovered it was the Network card I had reseated rather than the video card! It was not in one of the 3 slots the manual showed it should be but rather to the left. (Had I looked outside the box I could have avoided some of my problems regarding location!) So I reseated the video card and attempted to remove as much dust as possible from the blower assembly. Couldn't do much with that - afraid to try to remove it! Then I closed the box and only plugged in the power cord. It started riving up again and I pulled the plug. Then I decided to just let it "happen" so I plugged it in again and, after about 10 seconds of riving up it calmed down and booted quietly. Of course I had no monitor view because it wasn't plugged in. So I plugged everything back in and, once again started the computer. That time the loud riving sound did not happen - it booted OK but, again, that alert message came up! I went into setup and it showed the video controller was set on the factory default, PEG. I changed it to PCI and it made no difference when I let it continue to boot up. Have since changed it back to PEG.
I decided to take a look at the hardware in device manager. Under Display adapters it showed 2 items: Dadeon x300 Series AND Radeon X300 Series Secondary. I disabled the secondary one and it made no difference when I booted again.
I came back to my other computer (XPS 410) and find only one card listed under display adapters. No secondary. SO I am wondering if I should delete the Secondary one on my 8400? Possibly after so many years it has finally decided the network card is a secondary - crazy I know but what else am I to think? It is in a spot the manual says is for video cards! The factory put the network card there a long time ago.
Until or unless one or more of you tell me something different OR that darn computer just quits I am going to press the F1 key when the Alert appears and go about my business. At least I found it wouldn't blow up - yet!
Thanks for reading this long post. Hopefully I will hear from Osprey or someone else with their opinion.
Bessie
JMICHAEL
1.7K Posts
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January 26th, 2011 11:00
I would completely uninstall the ATI driver and software and reinstall. You can uninstall it from the add/remove programs in the control panel. If you do not have the ATI driver on the Dell supplied CDs, then download it from HERE. Download it first to your desktop before removing the old so it is ready for installation. A newer driver downloaded directly from the ATI web site may or may not work for this older card, but could be worth a try if the other fails from HERE. However, you may want to try these instructions HERE first before looking at the newest driver & CCC to make sure you are getting a clean install.
Edit: You may want to stay with this older 2006 Suite Package if downloading from ATI HERE.
bessie
300 Posts
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January 26th, 2011 15:00
Michael
Now I have worse problems than when I started! I cannot install the driver you lead me to after I removed all ATI from my computer. I am told to install a lesser VGA driver - the other wil not install and I get that message every time I try! Also got Bing! Should have been more careful I guess. Anyhow, how do I get an old VGA driver to install? I will search but would rather you tell me quickly so I can get on with my evening!
Thanks, Bessie
JMICHAEL
1.7K Posts
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January 26th, 2011 19:00
Are you saying that the Dell driver will not install? That is an old driver and goes back to 2006. If you want an older driver than this, just click on "other versions" and they will have drivers that go back to 2005 and 2004. There are four to choose from.
bessie
300 Posts
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January 27th, 2011 12:00
JMICHAEL,
I accomplished what you suggested - found I had to download a VGA driver to install untill the other was deleted - had to restart to do that. No other option. It did get rid of the "secondary" video adapter showing in my device mgr/hardware. But still have to press F1 to finish boot up.
Thanks for the help.
Bessie
bessie
300 Posts
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February 4th, 2011 13:00
Michael,
I have another problem directly related to this video card situation. Hopefully, you can help me again. I have tried, without success.
I have purchased a reconditioned video card from ebay. It is an ATI 128MB PCI Express Radeon X800SE rather than the X300SE - the factory installed one. I had no trouble installing it and let it search the net for a driver. It was found immediately and I was up and running. It solved all but one of my problems: Once again, as with the old, this new card has a "secondary" one listed in device manager, hardware. You helped me get rid of that when you suggested I delete all ATI software in add, remove software and re-install drivers. You gave me links to that old cards drivers and I have attempted to use them to get the 800SE driver to no avail. No matter how hard I try, I can't get it! I wanted to do as you taught me - point to the driver to install right there on my desktop. (I saved the drivers I used but the date of the driver the 800SE picked up is not the same as any of them.) Dell still thinks I have that old card installed so that site is of no benefit to me.
My question: If I remove the ATI software without a driver to point to, what do you think my chances are the card would pick up that driver as it did when first installed? I know I have/had to install a VGA driver before I restarted my computer; I still have that driver. But should I take that chance? If you could point me to that X800SE driver I would not have to worry about that. The one it picked up from the web shows: version: 8.23.0.0; date: 2/9/2006.
Or - any other suggestions? When I choose to remove that secondary drive it comes right back at boot up.
Thanks,
Bessie
JMICHAEL
1.7K Posts
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February 4th, 2011 18:00
Generally, it is not recommended to let windows go out and find and install a video card driver for you. Older video cards like the X300SE or X800SE often work better with older drivers. With either card, you should probably look at Catalyst 9.3 or earlier such as HERE. If you install the Catalyst Suite, you must make sure you have Microsoft .Net Framework 2.0 installed first shown HERE. You can just install the driver and then you don't have to worry about this. Only the Catalyst Control Center requires it.
You need to get a clean install. I would uninstall the driver again and then do one of the following:
Download and run Driver Sweeper HERE. Read the instructions and run it in safe mode. Run this after you have uninstalled the ATI driver and software from you add/remove programs.
An alternative method is to manually delete ATI files which I have done before. Again, after you have uninstalled the drivers normally in your add/remove programs, you can go to Start then Search and type in ATI*.* and then delete all ATI files and delete all files under the following two directories only: C:\Windows\System32 and C:\Windows\System32\Drivers
Driver Sweeper is your safest bet so you don't delete wrong files manually. It should clean out the necessary files in your registry. As another method, you could get into your registry and delete old ATI files that are lingering around, but I won't recommend that right now.
bessie
300 Posts
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February 5th, 2011 10:00
JMichael,
You worked so hard to give me so much information and I worked so hard to use it. But this is what I now have: My X800SE card is now seen as a X800GT card and, it too, has a secondary! The driver from Catalyst turns out to be 3 years newer than the one I had on the "SE" card. Feb., 2009 rather than Feb., 2006. That secondary will not go away once the computer is restarted; actually it insists I restart as soon as I choose to delete it! A bit different from before but if I just leave it be, disabled, I think I can live with that. Actually it doesn't seem to make a difference if they are BOTH enabled.
Unless you see a problem with what I now have I believe I will just leave it be. I really appreciate your kind assistance. Reminds me of what it was like in 1999 when I got my first Dell - one of the first Pentium 3's. I also joined Dell WebTalk then - very different than this community that has evolved! A year or so after I joined we ALL had to re-register and start all over again. Then several years ago things changed to the point I didn't use it any more but I now find it is much more user friendly. Quite refreshing! I had many problems solved for me over the years and I hope I helped a few people along the way as well. Never would have had the nerve to do a clean install of windows or, for that matter, know what one was had it not been for this forum. Have done that to many computers since. And, at 78, I expect to learn a few more things before I call it quits. Always something else to learn.
Thanks,
Bessie
freakmarket
2 Intern
2 Intern
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270 Posts
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February 6th, 2011 20:00
just an FYI
it is not odd for ATI cards from series 2400 and earlier to show up as primary and secondary in the device manager listing ... it's because XP is detecting more than one video port on the card. It's normal.
rdunnill
6 Professor
6 Professor
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8.8K Posts
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February 7th, 2011 11:00
Hi Bessie:
You might consider upgrading to a newer video card. Newegg regularly has deals on 4650-based cards that work out of the box. Currently there's a Sapphire for $53 with a $15 mail-in rebate.
bessie
300 Posts
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February 7th, 2011 12:00
Thanks for the suggestion. I tried to buy a card someone else recommended earlier but they were all sold out at that time. Was the reason I got the one I have now. Since I use that computer very little I think I will just hold on and see what happens. At least it is working. Really don't like a computer that doesn't work even if I don't use it!
Bessie
bessie
300 Posts
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February 7th, 2011 12:00
Good to know mine is not the only one that does it. Maybe if I just don't look in that hardware section anymore it won't bother me! I am concerned, however, why it sees an SE card as a GT card. But if it works guess I shouldn't worry. Again, looking in the hardware portion of device manager is the only way I know it. Muct quit that!
Thanks,
Bessie