Solved Display not showing!

[joseph10444]

My friend has a desktop pc that has a non working graphics card or graphics card slot (im not sure which one doesnt work..)

before, he had the BIOS setting to "onboard" instead of "PCI-E x16" because the graphics card wasn't recognized by the pc (the computer had to use the chipset driver for display driver)
even when installing the driver for the GeForce 8800 GT, it couldn't find compatible hardware, meaning it wasn't connected (when it was, physically)

i tried taking out the grpahics card and putting it back in.
then, i booted into bios, and i changed the primary display adapter from "onboard" to "pci-e x16"

but the thing is, in the pci-e x16, the graphics card is not recognized so when i plug the vga cable into the graphics card, there is no output.

if i try putting the vga cable back onto the motherboard, the primary video adapter is still @ pci-e x16 so there is no output there, as well..

how can i change the setting back to "onboard"?
i tried resetting the bios by taking the battery out and putting it back in, but i think the default setting for the video is "pci-e x16" since the PC came with a graphics card.

should we go out to buy a new gfx card to see if the pc recognizes it and possibly provide output on the monitor?

or should i take out the gfx card and then boot it up to see if it automatically switches to onboard?

i can't think of any more solutions on how to get the display working again.

thanks

 

[paulpicks21]

How long did you leave the battery out for? Sometimes it can take upto 10 mins to work.

I would definitely take the card out and try booting up again , like you say it may switch to onboard again.

Failing that, borrow a card if possible to see if that works.

 

[alphanumeric]

Connect your monitor to the onboard video, take the PCIe graphics card out, bootup and see what happens. If you reset the BIOS, by default it should be set to the onboard video. Coming with, or not coming with an add in Video card won't affect that. I've had a similar situation with a bad video card. In my case it was easy to tell as the video card cooling fan didn't spin. No video from the card, and windows didn't see it. My onboard video still worked though, mine goes in order in the BIOS, PCIe-PCI-onboard, so if the motherboard doesn't detect an add in card it just reverts to the onboard video.

 

[joseph10444]

i left the battery out for only a few seconds. if taking the gfx card out and trying it doesn't work, then i'll try taking the battery out for 10 minutes next time

i'll also chekc if the cooling fan spins or not.
ultimately, im going to take out the graphics card and just try to boot it. onboard video works 100% though, because it was working before i switched the adapter to pci-e x16

and i mightve not reset the bios yet, since i only took it out for 10 seconds or so.

 

[alphanumeric]

There should be a clear CMOS/reset BIOS jumper on the motherboard. It should be close to or next to the battery. Move it with the power off and power cord unplugged, and make sure you move it back to original position before powering up. Instructions should be in motherboard manual. Reset is instantaneous with the jumper.

 

[joseph10444]

well the fan was running which meant the computer did pick it up but the gfx card was broken itself.
after taking it out and booting it, it switched to onboard.

thanks guys.

 

[paulpicks21]

Glad you got it sorted.

Paul