Video Card Issues

[Sadistic Theory]

ok so, I recently installed a hercules 3d prophet 4500 64mb agp 2x video card. After I installed the drivers for it and restarted the computer, the monitor went black and the light on it flashes orange. now everytime i turn the pc on with that card in it the same thing still happens. I've tried swithchng monitors and re-seating the card. The same thing happends everytime unless i use my other card [radeon 9600se] which i am using now. I can't seem to figure out whats wrong. Maby the cards' busted? [oh i'm building a new pc and i want the radeon for it, so i got the hercues to repace it in case you were wondering why i was down-grading] Anyway, I'd really appreciate any help you guys could give me.

System: ASUS A7V333 motherboard, 512mb ram, AMD Athlon xp1700+, AGP 1x/2x/4x, 50gb hard drive, 15" color CRT monitor, windows XP home.

[maxiderm]

did it work before you installed the drivers???
if your running XP, then sometimes they install drivers automatically. what i would do is uninstall those drivers (using device manager) and then run it with no drivers. if it works (even if its at an extremly bad resolution) go to www.microsoft.com and go to "windows update" and look at the driver updates it finds and if that card is on there..... install em! hope this helps!
-Max-

[Sadistic Theory]

Yes, it worked before the drivers, but i uninstalled it's drivers already so I could use the radeon until i found out what was wrong with the hercules card. and ive tried the card like 10x since then and it still doesent work...but the last time i tried it [like a 1/2 hour ago] when i turned the comp. on it said "VGA test failed" what exactly does that mean?

[maxiderm]

when you get the drivers, they run tests when the system boots up. make sure you have the correct drivers..... or...... better yet, the ones that actually came with the card.

[Sadistic Theory]

well i'm putting my exploits with this card on hold for a while...but maby you could help me with something else. i hear that the 9600 will not fit in the newer motherboards...is this true?

[maxiderm]

lol, sounds like some dumb rumor. no, definatly not. they all are AGP slot anyway! you might have been thinking of PCI Express. its a new technology that will go into video cards some time in the near future. but for now, AGP is what all video cards go into. why? you thinkin of gettin a new computer soon? sounds like youre a gamer (having all these video cards). lol, thats what i do for a living! build gaming machines. so trust me when i say that any AGP 4x or 8x card will fit into any motherboard bought recently. when your talking 3 or more years ago..... well, cant help you much there.

[Sadistic Theory]

Yeah i'm into gaming, [tryin to get ready for doom 3.] I have everything for my computer except a video card. Thats why i'm all in a frenzy to get one in. haha. thanks for all your help.

[maxiderm]

OH OH OH, I THINK I KNOW WHAT IT IS NOW!!!!!! i didnt read your first post very well but you said its a AGP 2x card. that wont work in a motherboard that supports 4x! heres how it goes:

AGP 4x and 8x = 1.5v (meaning they use 1.5 volts to function)
AGP 1x and 2x = 3.3v (or something around there... maybe 3.2)

so anyway, the old AGP 1x and 2x style cards run on different ammounts of voltages and depending on your motherboard, it will only run AGP 1x and 2x or AGP 4x and 8x. thats why your radeon works, its an 8x (well, it might be a 4x, but it doesnt really matter). man, i really need to look at posts more closely!

[sechs]

The A7V333 is a KT333 board supporting AGP 4x/2x.

It sounds like the graphics board is bad. If you can, try it in another computer.

[maxiderm]

wow, never seen a mobo that could support both!