New
#1
Can't Get New Installaton Out of Standard VGA Mode
This problem is solved but the solution was not obvious. Please read my explanation far below; the actual cause of the driver installation problem may affect others as well so I encourage you to read the solution.
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I just built a new desktop using ASUS Z87-Plus MB and HIS Radeon HD5750 graphics adapter. Using either the Radeon or the on-board iGPU, Windows sees only Standard VGA Graphics Adapter. I've re-installed Windows 7 both with and without the Radeon with same result. Device Manager reports only Standard VGA. Installing HIS drivers did not help and apparently really did not install, perhaps the utility did not see a Radeon board installed and did not install any Catalyst software. But, the shareware GPUx utility reports different details for each GPU but names both Standard VGA. The Radeon board's GPU and memory are correctly reported by GPUx. Both the on-board and Radeon board boot Windows in VGA mode but I can't find a way to get higher resolution set. Using Device Manager to Search for Hardware finds nothing.
I did install all the MB drivers from the ASUS CD and other MB features seem to work ok. This is a Windows 7 64-bit system with 32 GB of RAM. The monitor is connected by DVI.
I can boot Windows from either graphics adapter by removing the PCIe Radeon card; I move the monitor DVI cable to the Radeon or the MB iGPU DVI connector. Both will boot and display Windows but both are reported as Standard VGA adapters by Device Manager. However, I note that when Windows first starts before logging onto my user account, that the screen resolution is higher than 800 x 600 Standard VGA; after loggin onto my user account, the screen resolution drops back to Standard VGA 800 x 600.
The Windows 7 Ultimate and the Radeon card were bought two years ago and never used; the ASUS MB, i7 CPU and RAM are new. The HIS Radeon card is described as usable for Windows 7. I "install" the Radeon drivers by running the CD that came with the Radeon; it completes but does not seem to install anything. That is, I see no "Catlyst" in the program list. This driver install program has a step reported as finding the graphics card; it pauses there for perhaps ten seconds and the progress bar completes without reporting an error but I suspect drivers are not installed because the Radeon card is not identified.
I don't know how GPUx gets the data it reports. That is, does it read directly from the two cards, depending on which is in place when booted, or does it get data from what Windows has already read? Problem is, GPUx never reports the name of the graphics adapter as anything but Standard VGA Graphics Adapter, though iGPU and graphics memory are reported correctly for each adapter.
Why is Windows so fixed on identifying the graphics adapter as only Standard VGA? I would expect Windows 7 to read and correctly identify the adapter in use. I know either will operate as VGA for POST and BIOS review, but when Windows boots I expect it to identify the graphics adapter and report it in Device Manager, but it reports only Standard VGA.
If I were to download new drivers for the Radeon card (I have not yet tried to do so), how would I insist that Windows install them if Device Manager does not identify the Radeon card?
I know there is the option to "Disable" the Standard VGA adapter that Device Manager identifies but I have not done that. If I did and I had a black screen when Windows boots, how would I recover from that? And, would this help in some way?
Device Manager offers to search for new hardware; I've done that but the Radeon card is not reported (though I have not disabled the Standard VGA adapter from Device Manager).
The Radeon driver CD does not show drivers within Windows Explorer but it does have folders, nearly empty, for XP and Vista. I presume all the drivers are somehow hidden on this CD as the CD contains nearly 500 MB of data, though I see only a tiny amount of that shown in Windows Explorer. The CD is marked to show support for Windows 7.
It was necessary to install many drivers from the ASUS MB CD; until I did that, for example, even the Intel network adapter was reported as having no driver. This CD installed many Intel and thrid-party drivers for the MB. But, this made no difference in how Windows reports the Standard VGA adapter. Windows seems stable but I can't get it out of VGA mode. I have installed Windows 7 Service Pack 1 but it made no difference. I welcome your comments and suggestions! Larry
Last edited by lmcdavid; 22 Sep 2013 at 23:59. Reason: Add solution to problem