The GPU from hell

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Schofieldliam

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Sep 5, 2014
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I'll try to be quick with this one, but I'm at my wit's end at this point. I got a new MSI Geforce 640 in the mail yesterday, and replaced my Geforce 210 with it. I deleted all of the old drivers for the 210, but I can't install any new drivers for the 640! Whenever I try to run the driver installation, the setup wizard tells me "This graphics driver could not find compatible graphics hardware".
I have literally tried everything. I've disabled on-board graphics, I've updated BIOS, I've reset BIOS, and I'm sure it's not a hardware problem. My PSU can handle the new graphics card, and I've got 7gb of DDR3 ram.
Whenever I boot the computer with the GPU installed, the screen always stays black, but the fan runs at full speed.
I have exhausted every single option at this point, and I'm ready to throw this thing through a window. Is there anything else I can do to try and make it work??
 
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I tried to look up this Dell DX4870 but am having issues. It seems like it does not exist?

Did you mean Gateway DX4870?
Also, could you provide the full model? There might be different DX4870 models like DX4870-UB2B and the DX4870-UB2C (those are both Gateway desktops FYI).

If you can also list out the specs, that would be great too!
You have a 300W PSU, 7 or probaly 8GB of RAM,
You have an i5 processor or something?


I can't think of any other possible solutions as to why your card is not functioning.
If you cannot get the card to work, you may have to return it and look for a different card unfortunately.
I did hear some stories of how PCIe cards with newer PCIe versions such as 3.0 and 2.1 may have issues in PCIe 1.0/1.1 though...
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Cats869

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Aug 16, 2014
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You shouldn't have needed to uninstall the drivers for the Geforce 210 since they share the graphic drivers with the Geforce GT 640.

When you boot the computer, you say that the screen always stay black. I'm a bit confused, do you mean it stays black until you get to the login screen or always black as in anytime the computer is on. Just confused since you said you were able to run the driver installation while the GT 640 was in.

Anyway, what graphic drivers were you trying to install and where did you purchase the Geforce GT 640 from anyway? just curious.
 
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Cats869

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Aug 16, 2014
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That is really weird. Sorry for the late reply by the way. I'm not sure if you managed to solve the issue in the mean time but when you check the BIOS, can you make sure the video graghic setting is set to PCIE and not integrated if possible? I know that you tried disabling onboard but is there another setting where you can set the default/primary graphics? Sometomes it mAight help. Other than that, you may have to try a different card and return the r7 240. I wish I knew exactly what could be the cause of the problem though.

So far it seems like some motherboard compatibility issues with the card but that's very unlikely to see. What motherboard do you have?
 
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Schofieldliam

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Sep 5, 2014
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I have heard people say this over and over again, but my BIOS doesn't have that option at all.
I think I found the problem; my PSU might be to blame, but I'm not sure yet
 
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17seconds

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So you said you "deleted" your drivers. Please tell me you meant to write that you "uninstalled" your drivers using the uninstall function.

You also need to install the new drivers after putting in a new card. The drivers may be the same, but your hardware registry is set up for your old card. To avoid conflicts, always do a proper uninstall then fresh/clean install of the latest drivers.

I also recommend that you update your motherboard drivers to recognize your new PCIe gen. 3 video card. That's the chipset drivers, not the BIOS.
 
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Schofieldliam

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Yeah, I meant to say I uninstalled all of the previous drivers.
Also, I already updated BIOS/motherboard drivers, etc etc
Everything is up to date, but the new video card drivers won't install because the install wizard won't actually detect the hardware.
Like I said, I'm sure the PSU is the problem at this point, and I aim at getting a higher-output unit.

 
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RandomNameDestroyer

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Aug 19, 2014
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Are you running Windows 8? Try disabling Secure Boot, and/or enter legacy settings via the bios. I recall having a very similar issue which was a beotch to fix. May not be your PSU, or maybe it is, I don't know for sure.
 
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Schofieldliam

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Sep 5, 2014
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I installed the 210 drivers from a CD, and I tried every possible method with the 640. Every method won't let me install the drivers, because the motherboard won't detect the gpu
 
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Cats869

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Aug 16, 2014
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Sorry for the late reply but let me see.

Since it has been awhile. Let me try to get the story straight. Correct me if I make a mistake.
Please provide me all the info you can so I can give it my all when trying to help you.
Also, I still would like to make sure if this is a custom built or OEM computer since I heard from others that there are some OEM computers that won't accept medium tier graphics card for some strange reason (heard this from a reputable member on this forum).

I'm going to assume your desktop is an OEM desktop only because you have a 300W psu and most OEMs use low wattage PSUs.
If this is the case, could you please provide me your computer desktop model. If it was actually custom built, please tell me what motherboard you are using and just in case, I would be interested to know what RAM sticks and CPU you have.

So, you have a GT 640 graphics card to replace your Geforce 210.
You got rid of the Geforce 210 and uninstalled the drivers (probably by uninstalling it through Windows built in Uninstaller tool).

You added the GT 640 to your motherboard. (Im assuming you have only 1 PCie x16 slot available)
You booted the computer and there was absolutely no signal on your monitor at all but the GPU fan was spinning at full speed. No signal as in nothing coming through the monitor, and it's not that the screen was black but actually no signal at all.
Because you had absolutely no video signal coming from your video card, you had to use the integrated graphics.
Now, at this point, if the computer cannot display anything at all from the graphics card since no signal, it means theres an issue with the motherboard or graphics card.

If you had another desktop(or know a friend/co worker that has a desktop you could temporarily test in) to test the graphics card, that would be grand since you can isolate which component is the actual problem.

Your GT 640 is new and I'm guessing you probably got it from a reputable source.
Your PSU (though not good) should be at least ok with powering the graphics card (since it wouldn't consume a lot of power during startup/idle) though I could be wrong.

My guess is either a graphics card that is DOA or incompatibility between the graphics card and motherboard.

So my suggestion to you is either find a friend that has a desktop with a PCIe x16 lane slot that you could test.
Let us know what model desktop/motherboard model you have so I could do a quick search to see if anyone else had issues with using it with different graphic cards.
 
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Schofieldliam

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Sep 5, 2014
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That's all correct. I'm using a OEM Dell DX4870. I did try the GPU in another computer today, and it worked like magic. I've looked at my motherboard for any problems (whether or not there was any damage to the mobo, if everything was plugged in properly, etc etc) and I couldn't find anything. I updated my motherboard drivers, and it didn't help any.
 
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Cats869

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Aug 16, 2014
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I tried to look up this Dell DX4870 but am having issues. It seems like it does not exist?

Did you mean Gateway DX4870?
Also, could you provide the full model? There might be different DX4870 models like DX4870-UB2B and the DX4870-UB2C (those are both Gateway desktops FYI).

If you can also list out the specs, that would be great too!
You have a 300W PSU, 7 or probaly 8GB of RAM,
You have an i5 processor or something?


I can't think of any other possible solutions as to why your card is not functioning.
If you cannot get the card to work, you may have to return it and look for a different card unfortunately.
I did hear some stories of how PCIe cards with newer PCIe versions such as 3.0 and 2.1 may have issues in PCIe 1.0/1.1 though I think your motherboard is more relevant and probably has 2.0 unless it might have 1.1.

 
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