Nvidia GFX 5200 help

AyamaEvonne · 21 May 2011

Hi all,

I upgraded my computer from Windows XP Home 32 bit Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit at the beginning of this year, and have been struggling with my graphics card ever since. It's an Nvidia GFX 5200. When I had WinXP ... it worked absolutely perfectly with no problems what so ever, but as soon as I switched to Win7, it went wonky. When I tried to install drivers for it from Nvidia.com, it gave me the error message "Nvidia Installer cannot continue. This graphics driver could not find compatible hardware". Screen cap here >> http://i56.tinypic.com/1hu0g.jpg . I've tried archived drivers, new drivers, everything, and it's the same story with all of them. I finally ran them in compatibility mode, and got them to install, but still not right. I have no areo effects, my screen resolution is crud (but I found out that that is the fault of a cord), and the Nvidia control panel won't open. I also cannot view movie files on my computer. Windows Media Player and Winamp both give me a black screen, while internet videos, say from youtube, play fine. My monitor is a 1280x800 Acer x230W.

If anyone has any information that may help, or if I can provide you with any info that may help you help me, let me know. I'm willing to do any leg work needed, I just need to know what to do.

Thanks~

Johnathan Lyman · 22 May 2011

I did a bit of poking around, and I am assuming you have the nVidia GeForce FX 5200 (as that's the only 5200 of any kind that nVidia lists). In that, the latest graphics drivers for that card were for Windows Vista and are of the version number 96.85. This is the last version that nVidia plans to release for this card.

ForceWare Release 95

Given that this is an AGP video card, my recommendation is this:

If you want to upgrade your video card, an upgrade to your motherboard may also be in your future. A new processor and RAM may also be in your future depending on the board. It has come down to the fact that your hardware is behind what I call the "upgrade threshold". It's a line that once crossed means upgrading more than one part will be necessary in order to commit any worth-while upgrades.

I hope that information helps.

Ivan the SoSo · 22 May 2011

The cheapest more "modern" card on the egg is:Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100288L Radeon HD 4650 1GB 128-bit DDR2 AGP 8X HDCP Ready Video Card This is a 8X AGP card....

Still two generations back, also needs a 400watt or better PSU with a 6pin connector....while I agree with J.L. on upgrade thresholds, on the other hand you must not be a gamer else the 5200 would be long gone:)

Johnathan Lyman · 25 May 2011

Ivan the SoSo said:

The cheapest more "modern" card on the egg is:Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100288L Radeon HD 4650 1GB 128-bit DDR2 AGP 8X HDCP Ready Video Card This is a 8X AGP card....

Still two generations back, also needs a 400watt or better PSU with a 6pin connector....while I agree with J.L. on upgrade thresholds, on the other hand you must not be a gamer else the 5200 would be long gone:)

Even then, a basic build (new motherboard, proc, ram, and card) can be had for $300 on NewEgg. My very first build I did was an AM3 Asus board with 4GB of DDR3, onboard video (Radeon HD 4200), and an AMD Phenom II x4 925. I had a 650W PSU and an Antec 300 case. I used existing hard drives so my cost was around $450 or so.

Gornot · 25 May 2011

Johnathan Lyman said:

This is the last version that nVidia plans to release for this card.

ForceWare Release 95

+1

I remember having driver problems on my old rig, too, having this GPU, but it was just a matter of wrong set of drivers. I had Aero effects and, though the PC was slow (due to the config and not Win7) the GPU still worked properly.