New video card will not install.

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FlyingBlind

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Jan 26, 2014
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10,510
Okay, here I am again trying to figure out what I did wrong since 90% of the time new installs are carbon based errors. I've listed my system specs again and updated the video card. Thanks again Woldfshadow and Nostall!

Windows 7 x64 OS
MSI P7N SLI Motherboard
2 Nvidia GTX 8800 video cards via SLI
Replaced with 1 Asus GeForce 760 GTX
4GB RAM (DDR3)
CPU Intel Quad Core Duo
Cool Master Stacker full tower
1KW power supply

Now, I unplugged everything and checked to make sure all was good and clean. I started up the computer and get a black screen with white text. I know what's wrong to some extent but I'm not sure how it can be fixed. I went from Nvidia cards to an Asus card and was not able to uninstall the old drivers for the Nvidia cards before getting a new one.

I read that since my mobo is older it may be an issue that the drivers for it need to be updated. Ok so I go to the MSI website, download the driver update on a USB stick and nothing happens when I boot with a USB in the tower. It does seem to read my hard drive but it won't go any further and I can't get to a screen to uninstall the old drivers. Both old cards are dead as door nails. Here's the message that comes up verbatim when I turn it on with the new card installed.

A7380NMS V2.2 120209


DRAM Frequency for DDR2 800 (Dual Channel)

Initializing USB controllers... Done

4096MB OK

USB Device(s): 2 Storage Devices

Auto-Detecting SATA1...

At this point I only had the one USB drive in one port with the new drivers for the mobo on it. Unfortunately between the sinus infection and the awful drugs to combat it have left me with no clue what to do next. I've tried booting without anything plugged in and I've read that the install CDs for these cards may be outdated but I tried it anyway. It didn't work either.

I'm stuck at the same screen and my board isn't shrieking or emitting any beeps either. Frankly I'm just happy the monitor is on and wish I could get a break.

Any ideas on what to do next computer ninjas?

Thanks for all the previous help too. With the plethora of options it's good to get opinions from those who know more than I do.
 
Solution
Dorosh
Alright. I'm a little concerned that the PC is "stuck" trying to uninstall the old drivers.
Try this program:
http://www.guru3d.com/files_details/display_driver_uninstaller_download.html
This program completely removes every driver and any evidence the driver existed.
Before using this tool, create Windows Restore point just in case something goes wrong (not likely, but better be safe than sorry). To do this: Right click on Computer (either on your desktop or in the start menu) -> Properties. In the left hand menu, click on "System Protection." In here, there's a button at the bottom that says "Create." Click on it to make a restore point. Give it any name you want and you're done.
Run the software and it will do the rest...
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Dorosh

Dorosh

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Dec 1, 2013
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Whenever installing a new video card, these days Windows does most of the work for you.
Just plug the card in (dont worry about the old drivers just yet) and boot up to Windows as you would normally do.
Windows will automatically install a "generic" video driver to allow you to be able to see things in a basic resolutions at the least.
From there, to to nvidida.com and download the most up to date drivers; install and you should be good to go.
For a cleaner install, un-install the old nvidia drivers first.
 
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FlyingBlind

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Jan 26, 2014
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Dorosh the problem is that it will not boot into windows. As copied verbatim I'm stuck at the black screen with white text and have no idea what to do next. I've unplugged and reseated the card, making sure all connections are squeaky clean, unfortunately I'm stumped and listed above all other steps.

How do I get into windows when it won't boot past this screen? Is there a keyboard shortcut I'm missing? I would have uninstalled the old drivers first if the both cards hadn't died on me before purchasing a new video card. That's my kind of luck lately.
 
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Dorosh

Dorosh

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Dec 1, 2013
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If there was a problem with the video card, you wouldn't be able to see anything at all on the screen. I'm sure the card is fine.
It can't be a driver issue (yet) either as the drivers work with Windows, and you can't even get this far.
For some reason your MOBO is having trouble detected the hard drives. These are the same hard drives you were using before, correct? When it says "Auto-Detecting SATA1..." is this where your HD is connected to? You might have to start unplugging SATA devices and trying to boot to see if you get past this screen.
Are you able to get into the BIOS settings when booting, or is it not even getting that far?
 
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FlyingBlind

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Jan 26, 2014
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10,510
Dorosh,

You're correct that the only I changed here was the video card. I started unplugging and restarting the computer with each drive separately. I agree. I unplugged the top drive (I'll call it Drive A) and the message came up as follows without allowing me to boot into BIOS when plugged into Drive B:

Reboot and Select Proper Boot Device or Insert Boot Media in Selected Boot Device and press a key.

I turned off the computer and reversed the order of drives. I was able to boot into BIOS. I went into my boot settings sequence and it's trying to read from DVD drives 1 and 2 respectively and it does read the one drive plugged in. That drive is at the end of the sequence and is listed as Boot Device 3. The drives have no media in them but I suspect since I started the computer with the CD the graphics card came with, it may have changed the sequence.

Prior to this I had a problem with one hard drive and it was refurbished years ago. I suspect two 500GB Seagate HDs may be reaching their expiration date. When I turned on the computer I didn't think there would be an issue with a hard drive. I'm not sure if I can get into Windows since my install CD was stolen by the idiots who "built" my computer. Hard lesson learned. One drive is a back up for another and I do use external hard drives to pull files off for storage or backup.

Okay, I reset the boot sequence and it booted into Windows where I'm trying to get the old drivers to uninstall with no luck. It just keeps uninstalling and did so for 45 min. I doubt it's supposed to take that long and go nowhere. Should I use the installation CD that comes with it?

 
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Dorosh

Dorosh

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Go back into your BIOS, under "Advanced BIOS Features" you'll see a "Boot Sequence" option near the bottom. Arrow down to this option and press Enter.
In this menu you'll see the list of devices to boot from. Highlight "1st Boot Device" and press enter. This should give you a list of your installed devices. Select the HD that has Windows installed on it, press enter again (if it's set to 3rd boot, it should now swap them).
Now exit (usually ESC key a few times), but make sure to "save changes and restart." This should fix your boot order problem.
Once you've chosen the right booting HD and only then, if windows crashes while trying to boot do you have an HD problem.
Let me know the results.
 
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FlyingBlind

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Jan 26, 2014
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10,510
Ha ha! Got it to boot into Windows and now I'm trying to get it to uninstall drivers through the Control Panel. It seems to be taking forever and going nowhere. It's been running steady for 5 hrs with no issues so far. However it just doesn't want to uninstall the drivers from the old card - I was smart enough to write them down. I see nothing new or different for the drivers and am hesitant to try and install the new drivers. So far it's only uninstalled one driver after five minutes. Unfortunately none of the others have uninstalled.

Glad I remembered some BIOS issues and thanks for the dead on directions! Thank you so much. As for the drivers should I try to download an app to uninstall them? I've tried uninstalling only to have the system do nothing and stay at the "uninstalling X driver" for 30 min. or more. It didn't take that long to install so I think there's still an issue.

Thanks a lot Dorosh. You're keeping me sane right now.
 
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Dorosh

Dorosh

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Dec 1, 2013
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Alright. I'm a little concerned that the PC is "stuck" trying to uninstall the old drivers.
Try this program:
http://www.guru3d.com/files_details/display_driver_uninstaller_download.html
This program completely removes every driver and any evidence the driver existed.
Before using this tool, create Windows Restore point just in case something goes wrong (not likely, but better be safe than sorry). To do this: Right click on Computer (either on your desktop or in the start menu) -> Properties. In the left hand menu, click on "System Protection." In here, there's a button at the bottom that says "Create." Click on it to make a restore point. Give it any name you want and you're done.
Run the software and it will do the rest. Follow their instructions - it should be pretty straight forward.
If during this uninstall, your PC seems to "freeze" again (it should take more than a few minutes), then I'm suspecting issues with the HD. If so, run an advanced disk check - Right click on your C:\ drive in windows explorer (computer) -> Properties -> click on the 'tools' tab at the top -> click on 'check now' -> In here, make sure to select "scan and attempt to recover bad sectors" and Un-check "automatically fix errors."
This will take several hours, so maybe run it over night.
Let me know the results.
If the DDU utility works, you'll have to restart. Make sure you un-plug from the internet so windows doesn't search for drivers. When you get back into windows it will install "generic" drivers and you'll only see a small screen resolution just like you first installed windows. After the install is done (a few minutes after you've restarted) you can plug back into the Internet, and just go to nvidia.com website to download the newest drivers.
 
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Solution
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FlyingBlind

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Jan 26, 2014
12
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10,510
Alright, I followed the directions and the old drivers were uninstalled with the program pretty quickly. The program I downloaded to uninstall them worked perfectly! It shut down after uninstalling, I restarted the computer, and installed the new drivers from from the NVIDIA website. Going through directions for the C drive took about three hours and aside from typical stuttering when the updates on the drivers were done it's been without any issues since. I've read that the Nvidia drivers can be a pain to deal with and aside from a dead drive, I think the other issues are good.

The "scan and attempt to recover bad sectors" while unchecking "automatically fix errors" did take a while but thankfully not as long as I thought it would. I suppose now I have to run a virus check too, defrag the remaining drive, and see about getting a replacement drive. Now I can upgrade to a 1TB HD on the bright side. All in all I can say thanks to you: It's ALIVE!

Thank you Dorosh, it seems you've saved my year! I followed your dead on directions and my computer is purring like the machine it used to be. :)
 
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