Graphic Card not working in Dell Power Edge 840 Server

A server is different from a desktop, and as long as you do not expect it to always work like you would expect a desktop to work, then it can be your friend.  Servers, while they might appear similar to desktop hardware, were designed for a very different life from that of a desktop, and as such, is less versatile but is also more robust and powerful.

Dell servers (except for a handful of their very latest models) have never "officially" supported graphics cards.  That is not to say it won't work, but those who have tried needed to use a significant amount of trial/error to find one that will work.  Complications range from not being able to disable the onboard video in the BIOS (and no method to disable automatically like with many desktops), to insufficient system resources available to allocate to such a card.

I would start with a Google search to see what cards (if any) people have been able to get working in the 840.  I would also make sure your system firmware (BIOS, ESM/BMC, etc.) is up to date.  If your 840 has a DRAC in it, you will probably need to remove it.

Thanks this was already quite helpful. Can i just install every driver when its for a PowerEdge 840 or is there a desktop with the same name too? Mhhh I'm not sure if it has a DRAC, it has a thing in the first PCI slot, which is connected to the hard disks...but when I remove it it didnt boot anymore. Or is a DRAC a program or something? I already checked and the graphic card shares its IRQ with some others, not sure if that may cause the problem...I will ask google for another graphic card. Could you just help me with the DRAC?

The card in the first slot is your RAID/storage controller, which explains 1) why your drives are connected to it, and 2) why it wouldn't boot when you took it out.

The DRAC (Dell Remote Access Card) is a card used to provide access and information remotely even when the server will not boot ... this includes BIOS/POST screens, hardware logs, console redirection, and even remotely mounting floppy and CD/DVD media.  See the documentation below for the location ... the card will have its own dedicated NIC.

If you install Windows 7 and have devices in Device Manager still showing as "unknown" or not working, then you can use a Server 2008 R2 driver in the absense of a Windows 7 driver (Dell has no Windows 7 drivers for their servers - you might be able to find one at the actual device manufacturers' websites).  A Server 2008 R2 driver will obviously not work for Windows 7 32-bit, as R2 only comes in 64-bit ... in this case - and in the absence of a W7 driver - you might be able to simply use a Server 2008 x86 driver.

There is only one PowerEdge 840, and there is no correlation between a PowerEdge model and any desktop model.

Aaaah indeed I have something similiar under the RAID/storage controller thing. But it only has the thing to put the network cable in. I thought it was for the internet. It got no card video connector. Should I remove it? I think the graphic card always shares its IRQ with slot 1 (the RAID thing). Or try the Server 2008 R2 driver first? Actually the only problem showing in the device manager is the PCI-to-PCI Bridge which says Code 12. I think the manager doesnt even show the graphic card up as unknown. Another thing I dont understand is: Im already USING the new graphic card, I put the VGA cable on the new graphic card but the quality is the same as if I put it on the onboard. Can it be that the card is actually working (showing up the startup and such) but not using its "own" power (it has 1GB storage). If the PCI Bridge/Port wasnt working it should just show up a black screen isnt it? :O

It does not have a video connector, because it interfaces with the integrated video ... which is why you have to remove it for any hope of running an add-in controller.  Your DRAC should also show as some "PCI" device in Device Manager, so remove it and see what you have left.

If your graphics card is actually giving you output (I was under the impression it did not work at all), then yes, you need a driver.  Windows 7 driver for that card would be best.  Does your card require additional power to it (above what the PCI slot provides)?

Aah ok so I just remove the hardware isnt it? No need to remove something out of the device manager first? Yes it is giving output, just not in the quality it is supposed to. I installed the driver from the CD already too (came with the card), maybe there are missing some chipset drivers or something? It has no additional power source, just the pci slot.

The chipset and BIOS work together to manage system hardware, to identify the device and its requirements, then to assign the necessary resources to it.  Normally, the chipset driver should be installed first, so that all subsequent hardware can be installed properly, but in this case, there seems to be no chipset driver for this version of Windows.  You could go to Intel.com and let it scan to see if there are any drivers it can find to install/update, but chances are, Windows 7 already has the code.

Ok i visited Intel and it actually found a newer chipset driver but that didnt change anything. updated the drivers for the graphic card too and removed the DRAC thing. Will try around with the IRQ again, cause graphic card still lags...

when I visit Control Panel and check the hardware then display and under resolution there is a adv. settings link. It comes up with the properties of the graphic card. In the info section everything is on not avaiable. Under Properties again it opens up the properties of VGAsave and under Resources  it comes up with 3 conflicts with E/A-areas or something. Any ideas left?

I would be out of ideas at this point, as I don't do IRQ's :)

Good luck!  Let us know if you find a way to get it working ... someone else might benefit :)

Ok well bummer all that didnt help. Anyways, BIG BIG thank you for the help :) will keep you updated, if I make it...:S

A server is a very different beast to a desktop but all is not lost if you don't mind lots of research, making some compromises with your system and also performing some custom modification to hardware :emotion-1:

First thing to do is familiarize yourself with your PE840. Luckily Dell provides various documents that can help you understand your PE850. The Hardware Owners Manual is a useful read (other PE systems also have a Technical Guide Book which can have more detailed info but i have not found this document for the PE 840 during my very brief though s l o w search on the Dell site). Do read the HOM and understand as many of the BIOS settings you can as this is a must before you go further.

Second thing to realize is that the PE 840 BIOS does not allow you to simply disable the integrated video function so you will likely have conflicts when using PCI/PCIe graphics. Some video card may work better than others. Disabling as much of the unused integrated hardware as possible via BIOS may help with such conflicts, or it may not.

Also, there is no x16PCIe slot on your system board so you can't just use a modern PCIe graphics card with ease though you can modify a x16 card to fit a x8 or x1 PCIe slot (but this itself may not resolve system start or power supply and heat issues).

Unfortunately your PE 840 is a little limited in what you want to do as it only has one x8 PCIe slot (which is likely used by your SAS controller card), one x1 PCIe slot (which is likely unoccupied or possibly used by a SCSI card), one PCI slot (likely unoccupied but you would want to use it for a sound card since servers have no sound) and two PCI-X slots (but i don't know if they would accept a consumer PCI sound or PCI video card since there are some voltage differences to PCI). Either you need to remove your SAS HDD's and SAS controller and migrate to SATA HDD on the mobo SATA connectors so you can free up the x8 PCIe slot to use for graphics (almost as fast as a x16 slot in real world terms) OR you will need to use the x1 PCIe slot for your graphics needs (but much slower).

When thinking of using a PCIe graphics card in a server, you should search these forums as there are many that have tried just that, especially with the PE 2950's and 2800's. There is a wealth of information that may help you to decide what to do or whether it is worth your time to even try it. I have made many posts on this subject [:?], search 'video' on the server forum will be a good start. I'd provide you with some links but my internet is so  s l o w  whenever i login to the Dell forum (?) it's painful !

Suffice to say that if you can get around any hardware conflicts and you use a 25W modded PCIe video card, you will see a hug improvement to your video performance (especially with Win7 which needs decent graphics grunt just to work as intended).

"my very brief though s l o w search on the Dell site"

Gosh sky - don't search the Dell site - their site search is horrible, and it would be amazing to ever find what you are looking for.  The only helpful thing their site search does is provide alternate part numbers when you enter some part number (although it does not work all the time).  Anyway ... Google is enough to find what you are looking for on Dell's site ... and I believe the Technical Guides started with the 10G servers (840 is 8G/9G).