Changing BIOS to recognize PCIe when on-board graphics is dead

[HiketheWhites]

I have a Gateway DX4860-UB32P with on-board Intel HD 2000 graphics. Intel Core i3 2120, 6GB DDR3 SDRAM. 300W PSU. Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit. Display is VGA. More specs here:

https://www.cnet.com/products/gateway-dx4860-ub32p-core-i3-2120-3-3-ghz-6-gb-1-tb/specs/

The on-board graphics just died. When I turn on the monitor, I get a signal for a split second, then it shuts off (monitor's blue power light stays on, but the display goes dark). I have tested with a known-good monitor and different VGA cable, and the known-good monitor/cable combo does the same thing. Beneath the near-darkness, it still boots fine.

I'd like to add a basic video card, but based on what I'm reading online, I need to get into the BIOS to enable the PCIe slot if I go that route. And I'm not sure how I'll do that if I can't see the display. The split seconds aren't long enough to get any meaningful work done -- just moving the mouse to the proper place to shut it down properly took a few minutes. I can't imagine actually going into the BIOS, which I have rarely ever done on any computer, and am not familiar with navigating. Even getting into Device Manager, if that's an alternative, would be really, really difficult.

Since I'm a bit suspicious that this might be a first sign that the motherboard itself isn't long for this world, and since I don't really do any video-intensive activities (no major gaming), and since I believe the power supply is the 300W stock one that came with it (I'm the second owner, but I doubt the first owner upgraded), I'm looking for something basic and cheap that won't require a new PSU. I just want to get in there, back up my files, then warily use it for as long as the motherboard survives -- which I know could be anywhere from a day to a decade. I'm thinking along the lines of a GEForce GT430, which says it will run on a 300W PSU, and which I can pick up for about $25 on eBay.

However, will this require me getting into the BIOS or Device Manager? And if so, how do I do it if I can't see the monitor?

If I were to just buy an old PCI (not Express) graphics card, would that avoid the BIOS-changing issue? i.e. would it recognize it and use it as soon as I booted up after installing it? If so, are there any minimum specs that I should look for so as to at least match the old Intel HD 2000 on-board graphics? I'm guessing that some of the old VGA PCI cards out there are *really* old and I'm afraid they'd wind up slowing the graphics down.

I've also considered a VGA to USB adapter, but I'm unfamiliar with those and don't know whether those things actually work (or are compatible with USB 2.0, which is I think all I have).

Thanks!

 

[BFG-9000]

You shouldn't need to change anything because if you only hook up one display, when you boot up whatever GPU it's attached to automatically becomes the primary GPU. Then you could go into the BIOS if you wanted to.

I would NOT recommend a PCI card, as there are all sorts of driver problems with a bridge chip. I have a PCI HD5450 that I've never been able to get working because it always BSODs on the first boot after installing any drivers. And USB graphics cards are not intended to be primary display adapters as they don't even work until the drivers load.

The onboard IGP is in the CPU itself, which I would not suggest replacing as it doesn't mean anything else will die soon. A GT430 would work but does use 60w. Something more modern like a $31 GT710 would only use 19w and supports VGA too.

 

[HiketheWhites]

Thank you *so* much! Off to buy the GT710.

I really appreciate your help!