Jizared97

Okay here is the problem, bought a new graphics card(ATI radeon 2600 pro 512mb) to replace the 128mb ATI that was in the Dell xps 400 desktop. I followed the installation guide and once I got everything plugged back in the computer starts up on its own and runs for about a minute and then cuts off, and keeps doing this until you cut the power. I also upgraded the power supply from a 350 watt to a 650 watt, hoping that a boost in power would be the solution, but it wasn't. Can anyone help?

THe computers spces
Dell xps 400 desktop
3.2ghz proccessor
3 gigs of ram
60gig HD about to be 1TB
128mb graphics card, which is what we are trying to upgrade

K2e2vin

card all the way in?

Also, you do anything with the processor? Bios updated?

You can also try pulling the CMOS battery to try to reset the bios.

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TurboMirage

sounds like you need a higher output power supply.

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Jizared97

The recommended watts were 350, which we had, but we swapped for the 650.

Didn't mess with the processor.
I'll try resetting the bios tomorrow

endlesszeal

you definitely have enough juice, even with the 350watt if its a quality power supply. how many pci-e slots do you have? sometimes if its an sli or cross fire board, it likes one particular slot over the other. also, when you power it on, try getting into the bios and changing the boot order of video to pci-e first. lastly, make sure everything is fully setted and all the power plugs are in. some video cards require an additional 4-6 pin from the power supply to the video card itself.

if you tried all of the above and it doesnt work, try placing your old card it and see if it works. if it does, you might have recieved a DOA card.

keep us posted.

hondasaurus

ur vid card bios could be suspect.
be careful flashing ur vid card bios, u don't really need the most up to date one.
my last vid card had no vid card bios or an old vid card bios, works great if i install software before the card. i know mobo bios version shows up on screen when pc is turned on, wondering if vid card bios version does too. or check vid card manufacturer's site and see if they have had updates for your vid card since it was manufactured.

i say install new vid card software first, or have both vid cards in, set up for dual monitor, and install the new vid card software.
for ur new vid card installation, have you already installed the software?

EDIT: i never flashed my vid card bios or anything even though it prob needed it.

give us more card/mobo specs, esp w/ a dell, many options on that or changes from your own upgrades.
ur card is cheap and maybe old, vid card bios is quite likely.
ur 128 mb card isn't integrated/welded on right? those can be trickier to uninstall.
sure you uninstalled old vid card right?

check card cooling, fan spinning and spinning in correct direction (pulling heat away)? card hot? hot cards can shut off as safety feature, cpu processors do it. might be able to see ur options in ur mobo bios w/ auto shutoff at certain temp.

try new card w/ 350w. if that doesn't work, try disconnecting stuff that takes power and try again. if that works, then try 650w, 650 could be bad.

YBLEGAL

is there a power connector on the graphics card? most new cards want power.

99.9% not a gpu bios issue. upgrades in that catagory are not normally for compatibility but for performance increases.

Adjust the settings in your cmos bios to use your accelerated graphics card instead of on board graphics? Uninstall the old drivers first? Try booting up Knoppix just to see if windows isn't liking it? Because you had an old ATI card I believe the old drivers are the issue.

Does it blue screen and reboot or just power completely off?

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hondasaurus

i misspoke. prob not vid card bios but could be. complete lack of vid card bios could cause big issues, outdated prob not.

old drivers won't shut his card down, would just affect performance. unless we're talking major issues w/ initial launch.

i'm not even sure he has integrated graphics.

Jizared97

The graphics card was bad. Kinda shitty knowing it came from dell brand new.

TurboMirage

dell : made in china.

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See what is done to the little Evo5.

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serrilion

Dell aka lazy mans PC, build a Custom the ONLY way to go, hehe!

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hondasaurus

how'd u check the card?
what specifically was wrong?
i thought my vid card w/o bios was bad, which it sorta is, but works fine w/ the proper install.
i prefer nvidia to ati/amd.
i respect dell driver re-installs more than i used to.

endlesszeal

its not dells fault nor ati's per se. just sometimes u get a bad one that slips through q&a.

if he plugged in the new psu and the old graphics card worked fine, but the new one doesnt then the card was DOA. but to be certain, it could be driver issues in which cause i would boot in windows safe mode and delete the older drivers with driver sweeper and reinstall the most recent driver.

and u should NEVER update ANY BIOS unless you are certain that it needs an upgrade or risk making paper weights. as mentioned, most people update them for performance reasons and since its an older card, dell should have flashed the most recent final BIOS to the card.

YBLEGAL

q&a is questions and answers...

quality control is one step in making a quality product.

dell sucks, regardless. it wasn't a gpu bios issue either.

but sometimes doa's happen. o well g'luck on the rma

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hondasaurus

ok yb what was the problem then?
yeah, stuff happens, not saying ati sux but that they're #2 for me.
some of these 'doa' cards have minor issues that can be worked thru or user issues.
playing w/ bios's can be risky, which is why i never did it for my vid card bios.
i don't know how much he used troubleshooting.
We don't know when he plugged in the new psu, prob w/ the new vid card.
i seriously doubt any manufacturer will check an old product for bios updates, and if necessary open the packaging and update the product.
he could also have had a compatibility issue.

YBLEGAL

get off your bios chair. no one is talking about that. why do you keep going on and on about it? no one is bashing anyone for an old gpu bios.

i'm not getting into the brand war. BUT, dell has proven to be an unreliable computer manufacturer. I'm in the business of building and fixing pcs. and dell computers are among the most serviced pcs. hard drives, cd-rom drives, memory, power supplies, and motherboards die consistently.

what i'm saying is quality control. the vendor who made the card didn't use very much quality control through testing. i prefer brands that go the extra mile and make sure their product is solid. like corsair for instance. get some twinx memory and it's hand picked and tested. but regardless of the testing, doa's can happen from other issues like going from cold to hot environments too quickly, or being thrown around during shipping.

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hondasaurus

lol. ok ok it wasn't the vid bios. the vid bios was just one the suggestions i made, i'm not stuck on that.
i just thought you had some insight on this problem, like from the guy pm'ing you or something since he seems to have disappeared from his post.
i thought since u said it wasn't the vid bios u knew what it was.

endlesszeal

q&a = quality and assurance.

and dell doesn't build any of their components. i cant think of any pc manufacturer that builds their own. not defending them just pointing out some facts. anyway, yes eventually they admitted to their craptastic customer service and high failure rates but they since gotten some of their act together.

another company is antec. they were some of the best back in days but a few years ago they had huge failure rates and they completely sucked ass. now theyve switched manufactuers and probably did some internal shuffling, they have solid products now.

YBLEGAL

dell does build some of their components. more of them they engineer and outsource the production. but for the most part, when it comes to hard drives, cd-roms, memory, those sorts of things, they are made by other companies yes. but it was dell's decision to use those manufacturer's parts. when I build a computer, I use parts that perform, not cost less. they should do more of the same

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