My new graphics card has broken my computer

[PTNLemay]

I understand the first step is usually to give technical specs, so that people can get a better handle on what the equipment that is having the problems really is. So here it goes.

Acer Aspire One AX3400-E3202
Windows Home Premium (64-bits)
7GB DDR3 RAM
500 GB hard drive
AMD Athlon II X2 220 CPU

Up till this morning there was no dedicated graphics card, just a GPU located on the motherboard, an NVIDIA GeForce 9200. This desktop has a low profile case with a low powered PSU (220 w), so I had to shop accordingly. I got myself an HIS Radeon HD 5450' with 1GB DDR3 that is compatible with my PCIe 16x slot.

As I said, I got it this morning and I plugged it in a few hours ago. I followed the instructions to the letter with one exception, it told me to uninstall my previous graphics card's drivers. I didn't own one so I didn't think I should perform that step. I powered off my computer, unplugged all the wires, put in the card and plugged back all the wires, including the HDMI one that went into the new card. When I turned my computer on, nothing happened, the monitor stayed dark and it's LED indicator blinks like whenthe computer is asleep.

Someone on another forum told me that if the card fails, I should be able to just power off, pull it out, reboot, and the computer will fall back onto the default GPU. This is not happening. I powered off (I had to force it shut by holding down the power button because nothing was happening for 5 minutes), and I pulled out the card. I booted it up again, but the monitor still won't give me anything but a black screen and a blinking sleep sign.

I've tried the old VGA, the HDMI, I even pulled out an older monitor I own just to be sure, nothing is working. I tried to contact HIS, but they re based in Hong Kong, and Acer was of no help, they tell me I can send it back to their factory and have it fixed for 200$, plus shipping and handling.

Please, PLEASE, someone help me. I just wanted to be able to play Starcraft II without having it lag, and now my computer is unusable, I'm scared it's dead. The blue LED turns on, but no video signal comes out. I use my computer every day, and it would suck to have it shipped off for 2 weeks over a graphics card bug.

 

[clarkjd]

Try resetting the CMOS to defaults by removing the battery. Then see if your PC will boot.

 

[PTNLemay]

Where is the battery located? Note that I'm not on a laptop here, do desktops have a battery?

 

[clarkjd]

There should be a little button battery about the size of a nickle located somewhere on the motherboard. Check your owner's manual for exact location and removal procedure.

 

[dormantreign]

Try the battary thing, and if that don't help look for a jumper usually located near the battary and shift it to the other pin to clear the cmos that way, then put it back to its default position. Reboot and try that.

 

[PTNLemay]

Yes! I see it, trying that now, I should leave it for how long, 5 - 10 seconds?

 

[clarkjd]

10-15- minutes ... just to be sure everything resets.

 

[PTNLemay]

I don't want to cry victory prematurely... but it's turning on, I think you just saved me a 200$ bill... Thank you.

I am noticing a few bugs, the notifications to the right of my taskbar are missing. And the computer seems to be acting like MSE is offline... or... acting weird anyway (he's throwing up warning signs when I try and log into Hotmail).

 

[PTNLemay]

The whole user interface is very slow, windows open almost in slow-motion... Is it possible that some driver updates were deleted during the CMOS reset? Do I need to re-update some things?

EDIT: A reboot seems to have helped, but I don't want to jinx it... I will keep you updated. Thanks so much again. It's not just the cost of shipping it off to get repair for something potentially minor, it's also loosing my computer for probably 2 weeks. That's never fun!

 

[PTNLemay]

Best answer selected by PTNLemay.