Please read the conclusion to this problem at the end of this message; the problem solution should interest many.
I just built a new desktop using ASUS Z87-Plus MB and HIS Radeon HD5750 graphics adapter. Using either the Radeon or the on-board GPU, Windows sees only Standard VGA Graphics Adapter. I've re-installed Windows 7 both with and without the Radeon with same result. Device Manager reports only Standard VGA. Installing HIS drivers did not help and apparently really did not install, perhaps the utility did not see a Radeon board installed and did not install any Catalyst software. But, GPUx utility reports different details for each GPU but names both Standard VGA. The Radeon board's GPU and memory are correctly reported by GPUx. Both the on-board and Radeon board boot Windows in VGA mode but I can't find a way to get higher resolution set. Using Device Manager to Search for Hardware finds nothing.
I did install all the MB drivers from the ASUS CD and other MB features seem to work ok. This is a Windows 7 64-bit system with 32 GB of RAM. The monitor is connected by DVI.
Who can explain this and offer a solution? Larry
Continued:
I can boot Windows from either graphics adapter by removing the PCIe Radeon card; I move the monitor DVI cable to the Radeon or the MB iGPU connector. Both will boot and display Windows but both are reported as Standard VGA adapters by Device Manager.
The Windows 7 Ultimate and the Radeon card were bought two years ago and never used; the ASUS MB, i7 CPU and RAM are new. The HIS Radeon card is described as usable for Windows 7. I "install" the Radeon drivers by running the CD that came with the Radeon; it completes but does not seem to install anything. That is, I see no "Catlyst" in the program list. This driver install program has a step reported as finding the graphics card; it pauses there for perhaps ten seconds and the progress bar completes without reporting an error but I suspect drivers are not installed because the Radeon card is not identified.
I don't know how GPUx gets the data it reports. That is, does it read directly from the two cards, depending on which is in place when booted, or does it get data from what Windows has already read? Problem is, GPUx never reports the name of the graphics adapter as anything but Standard VGA Graphics Adapter, though iGPU and graphics memory are reported correctly for each adapter.
Why is Windows so fixed on identifying the graphics adapter as only Standard VGA? I would expect Windows 7 to read and correctly identify the adapter in use. I know either will operate as VGA for POST and BIOS review, but when Windows boots I expect it to identify the graphics adapter and report it in Device Manager, but it reports only Standard VGA.
If I were to download new drivers for the Radeon card (I have not yet tried to do so), how would I insist that Windows install them if Device Manager does not identify the Radeon card?
I know there is the option to "Disable" the Standard VGA adapter that Device Manager identifies but I have not done that. If I did and I had a black screen when Windows boots, how would I recover from that? And, would this help in some way?
Device Manager offers to search for new hardware; I've done that but the Radeon card is not reported (though I have not disabled the Standard VGA adapter).
The Radeon driver CD does not show drivers within Windows Explorer but it does have folders, nearly empty, for XP and Vista. I presume all the drivers are somehow hidden on this CD as the CD contains nearly 500 MB of data, though I see only a tiny amount of that shown in Windows Explorer.
It was necessary to install many drivers from the ASUS MB CD; until I did that, for example, even the Intel network adapter was reported as having no driver. This CD installed many Intel and thrid-party drivers for the MB. But, this made no difference in how Windows reports the Standard VGA adapter. Windows seems stable but I can't get it out of VGA mode. I welcome your comments and suggestions!
THE SOLUTION
I now at last have my new desktop computer video graphics working. I thank the several responders who helped. Perhaps the greatest help was being convinced I could not put Windows 7 into a failed graphics mode from which I could not recover.
Recall that I could not get my new Windows 7 desktop out of Standard VGA graphics mode, the default installed when no drivers are found for a high-resolution graphics card. I repeatedly ran the AMD Catalyst graphics card driver installation CD without effect, no mater what I did first within Windows Device Manager. The Catalyst installation program ran, progress bars progressed and there was final notice of completion, with no errors reported. But, no Catalyst application to control the Radeon card ever appeared in the Start menu and clearly no new driver was installed. There was a new Catalyst Error Reporting application with an error log; this error log was... empty. Every time I tried. But, Windows persisted in operating only with a Standard VGA Graphics Adapter.
Yet, folks kept telling me to install the AMD drivers. I surely thought I had done that. What I did finally do was peruse the AMD website hoping to find some guidance. Finally, I noticed a fine print note stating that the AMD graphics installation software requires Microsoft NetFramework 4. NF 4? Four? I checked my Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 installation and found NetFramework 3.5 and not NF 4.
Mind you, the Catalyst installer never reported any failure and there was certainly no notice that a required library was not found. Recall those progressing progress bars! I'm not thinking kind thoughts of AMD software engineers...
So, off I went to the Microsoft website to get NetFramework 4 and install it in Windows 7. In the end, I then took a forced shortcut. I downloaded the latest Radeon graphics card driver installation package (135 MB!) from the AMD website. I left all the Device Manager settings alone and first tried running the AMD Catalyst driver install software but now with NetFramework 4 installed.
That took a while to install! At least, it seemed to be doing something; unlike the graphics card original CD installation software, this newer installer now with NetFramework 4 reported what appeared to be valid info from the Radeon card--at least different from what was shown by the original CD software before I installed NF 4. Following that, there was no display change, but there was a very small note that said the driver installer changed system settings and a re-boot was required. I did that and... it worked!
Following the reboot, Windows fell into 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution. And, Device Manager now lists the actual Radeon graphics card and reports it is working correctly. Gone is the Standard VGA Graphics Adapter, finally. So, if you are trying to install graphics drivers, best check to see if Microsoft NetFramework is needed and what version is required; don't expect the installing software to report the wrong NF version! Larry
I just built a new desktop using ASUS Z87-Plus MB and HIS Radeon HD5750 graphics adapter. Using either the Radeon or the on-board GPU, Windows sees only Standard VGA Graphics Adapter. I've re-installed Windows 7 both with and without the Radeon with same result. Device Manager reports only Standard VGA. Installing HIS drivers did not help and apparently really did not install, perhaps the utility did not see a Radeon board installed and did not install any Catalyst software. But, GPUx utility reports different details for each GPU but names both Standard VGA. The Radeon board's GPU and memory are correctly reported by GPUx. Both the on-board and Radeon board boot Windows in VGA mode but I can't find a way to get higher resolution set. Using Device Manager to Search for Hardware finds nothing.
I did install all the MB drivers from the ASUS CD and other MB features seem to work ok. This is a Windows 7 64-bit system with 32 GB of RAM. The monitor is connected by DVI.
Who can explain this and offer a solution? Larry
Continued:
I can boot Windows from either graphics adapter by removing the PCIe Radeon card; I move the monitor DVI cable to the Radeon or the MB iGPU connector. Both will boot and display Windows but both are reported as Standard VGA adapters by Device Manager.
The Windows 7 Ultimate and the Radeon card were bought two years ago and never used; the ASUS MB, i7 CPU and RAM are new. The HIS Radeon card is described as usable for Windows 7. I "install" the Radeon drivers by running the CD that came with the Radeon; it completes but does not seem to install anything. That is, I see no "Catlyst" in the program list. This driver install program has a step reported as finding the graphics card; it pauses there for perhaps ten seconds and the progress bar completes without reporting an error but I suspect drivers are not installed because the Radeon card is not identified.
I don't know how GPUx gets the data it reports. That is, does it read directly from the two cards, depending on which is in place when booted, or does it get data from what Windows has already read? Problem is, GPUx never reports the name of the graphics adapter as anything but Standard VGA Graphics Adapter, though iGPU and graphics memory are reported correctly for each adapter.
Why is Windows so fixed on identifying the graphics adapter as only Standard VGA? I would expect Windows 7 to read and correctly identify the adapter in use. I know either will operate as VGA for POST and BIOS review, but when Windows boots I expect it to identify the graphics adapter and report it in Device Manager, but it reports only Standard VGA.
If I were to download new drivers for the Radeon card (I have not yet tried to do so), how would I insist that Windows install them if Device Manager does not identify the Radeon card?
I know there is the option to "Disable" the Standard VGA adapter that Device Manager identifies but I have not done that. If I did and I had a black screen when Windows boots, how would I recover from that? And, would this help in some way?
Device Manager offers to search for new hardware; I've done that but the Radeon card is not reported (though I have not disabled the Standard VGA adapter).
The Radeon driver CD does not show drivers within Windows Explorer but it does have folders, nearly empty, for XP and Vista. I presume all the drivers are somehow hidden on this CD as the CD contains nearly 500 MB of data, though I see only a tiny amount of that shown in Windows Explorer.
It was necessary to install many drivers from the ASUS MB CD; until I did that, for example, even the Intel network adapter was reported as having no driver. This CD installed many Intel and thrid-party drivers for the MB. But, this made no difference in how Windows reports the Standard VGA adapter. Windows seems stable but I can't get it out of VGA mode. I welcome your comments and suggestions!
THE SOLUTION
I now at last have my new desktop computer video graphics working. I thank the several responders who helped. Perhaps the greatest help was being convinced I could not put Windows 7 into a failed graphics mode from which I could not recover.
Recall that I could not get my new Windows 7 desktop out of Standard VGA graphics mode, the default installed when no drivers are found for a high-resolution graphics card. I repeatedly ran the AMD Catalyst graphics card driver installation CD without effect, no mater what I did first within Windows Device Manager. The Catalyst installation program ran, progress bars progressed and there was final notice of completion, with no errors reported. But, no Catalyst application to control the Radeon card ever appeared in the Start menu and clearly no new driver was installed. There was a new Catalyst Error Reporting application with an error log; this error log was... empty. Every time I tried. But, Windows persisted in operating only with a Standard VGA Graphics Adapter.
Yet, folks kept telling me to install the AMD drivers. I surely thought I had done that. What I did finally do was peruse the AMD website hoping to find some guidance. Finally, I noticed a fine print note stating that the AMD graphics installation software requires Microsoft NetFramework 4. NF 4? Four? I checked my Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 installation and found NetFramework 3.5 and not NF 4.
Mind you, the Catalyst installer never reported any failure and there was certainly no notice that a required library was not found. Recall those progressing progress bars! I'm not thinking kind thoughts of AMD software engineers...
So, off I went to the Microsoft website to get NetFramework 4 and install it in Windows 7. In the end, I then took a forced shortcut. I downloaded the latest Radeon graphics card driver installation package (135 MB!) from the AMD website. I left all the Device Manager settings alone and first tried running the AMD Catalyst driver install software but now with NetFramework 4 installed.
That took a while to install! At least, it seemed to be doing something; unlike the graphics card original CD installation software, this newer installer now with NetFramework 4 reported what appeared to be valid info from the Radeon card--at least different from what was shown by the original CD software before I installed NF 4. Following that, there was no display change, but there was a very small note that said the driver installer changed system settings and a re-boot was required. I did that and... it worked!
Following the reboot, Windows fell into 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution. And, Device Manager now lists the actual Radeon graphics card and reports it is working correctly. Gone is the Standard VGA Graphics Adapter, finally. So, if you are trying to install graphics drivers, best check to see if Microsoft NetFramework is needed and what version is required; don't expect the installing software to report the wrong NF version! Larry
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