Windows 7 NOT detecting Graphics Card

[rippedfuel]

Ok. I have this computer: HP Compaq dc5750 Microtower PC (RT860UT) specifications - HP Small & Medium Business products.

With the following differences: Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit, 2.5 Ghz Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core 4800+, 2 GB ram, 550w PSU (just installed last night).

I bought the computer used ($100) pretty much to play a couple of MMO games made by Nexon (computer gaming company). I also bought a used Geforce 8600GT graphics card (was told by people on their forums that i could get "very playable" FPS on medium setttings/resolution with it and it was only $18.)

2 days later and i'm not sure what's going on:

- The card cannot be detected by windows. I plug it in - go into Device manager and it is not there. Not even with a yellow explanation point or anything! I also try installing the driver from Nvidia and when entering setup it says that it doesn't detect any compatible hardware and ends installation.

- Now, on the first day i got this - i plugged the card in and turned on the computer and i smelled SMOKE almost instantly. I couldn't see any smoke, but i could smell it. I felt the card and it was VERY HOT! I realized that i hadn't plugged the fan on the graphics card into the PSU - so i hurried up and shut down the computer and plugged it in. I'm not sure if this fried my card or my PCI slot. BUT i can say the card still gets hot when i turn my computer on so it's obviously getting power from somewhere.

- After the card wouldn't work - i looked some things up and realized i needed to upgrade my 300w PSU. Maybe this was the fix? So i went and got a used one with 550w of power. Nope... still didn't work.

I've literally read 10 threads or so online about how to fix this and did everything.

Note 1) I don't have any other PCI items to plug into the slot and see if it'll work.
Note 2) I also don't have another PC to test the card in.
Note 3) My BIOS doesn't seem to have an option to disable onboard video.

Not sure if anyone else has any last ditch fixes before i consider taking to repair shop!

 

[Golden]

From your description it sounds like the card has been damaged through overheating. If you examine the card, can you see any signs of damage (e.g. black burn marks)? Does the GPU fan spin when the PC is turned on?

 

[rippedfuel]

From your description it sounds like the card has been damaged through overheating. If you examine the card, can you see any signs of damage (e.g. black burn marks)? Does the GPU fan spin when the PC is turned on?

Actually, i don't see any black marks on it at all. However, it is possible that i pulled it out before it got to that point and it did take some damage. It's also possible that the thing never worked at all since i bought it on ebay. But before i go and buy another card - is there a way to test if my pci slot is working? Some software or something that'll diagnose it maybe? I guess i could also buy some cheap PCI item and see if it will run it....


The GPU fan does come on, but it's also a 3rd party (zero thermal) fan that connects through it's own power source.

 

[pxsalmers]

Buying computer parts through EBay is always risky. Cheaper is usually never better as far as hardware goes. But it does sound like the card did get damaged. Smelling smoke around computer hardware is never good. If you can, try to get a spare graphics card from a friend or buy and return a cheaper card to test the slot out.