Computer Won't Boot with new Graphics Card installed

[Iron124]

Hello all, quite the problem I come with to you today as I've seen this issue before but every solution that worked in the past is not working in this situation. Allow me to explain:

The computer in question is an Acer Aspire M3970, upgrading from an older 500 series graphics card to a new 750 Ti. Here are the problems

1. With the GPU installed the computer will not boot.
2. It will get as far as the large "Acer" logo and show the options to boot into the BIOS, but otherwise nothing.
3. By mashing the "Del" key I can get it to say "entering setup..." at the bottom of the screen, but it never actually does anything.
4. After sitting at the large white "Acer" logo for about 10 minutes, it changes to a blank gray screen with a blinking cursor. Nothing can be done except shut the computer off via power button at this point.

Solutions I've tried:

1. Check for and remove all existing NVIDIA and otherwise video drivers. This was done through Windows AND using Display Driver Remover software.
2. Checked for Bios updates. Came back with nothing, and other updates that are listed on Acer's website mention nothing on GPUs or the PCIe bus, so I can't imagine that being the issue.
3. Ran CCleaner to check for registry issues and the like. Came back with some stuff, but nothing related.
4. Tried to boot with the card in safe mode, can't even get that far.

At this point I'm wondering if the new card is faulty, it boots fine with the Intel Integrated graphics and the older graphics card. Any other suggestions would be highly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[ThatVietGuy]

If you can, test the GPU in another computer. This should confirm whether it's the GPU's fault or not.

In the meantime, try reseting the CMOS on the motherboard (either pulling the battery or jumping the pins). Sometimes new hardware changes need a CMOS reset.

 

[Iron124]

If you can, test the GPU in another computer. This should confirm whether it's the GPU's fault or not.

In the meantime, try reseting the CMOS on the motherboard (either pulling the battery or jumping the pins). Sometimes new hardware changes need a CMOS reset.

Just reset the CMOS via the jumper on the MOBO, no change, still stuck at the Acer screen.

Gonna have to tear my personal rig apart and see if the 750 ti works in there. Not looking forward to it.

 

[junkeymonkey]

some models of store bought computers [dell.hp,acer,ect..] may come with a ''locked or fixed'' bios and may not allow you to change certain hardware as a video card.. this is done to protect them from undue warranty claims and refunds .this is not done to hurt you but to protect them. you really need to see if that upgrade has been proven to work in your model first before you invest money in it .. there are a lot of these threads here at toms to look at some models will allow upgrades and some dont.. and a lot of guys here say ya ya ya when is really no no no...it would be sad you spent $200 on a card that wount post after you installed it as most find out. then get told its your psu and you spend more and end up right back where you are now, but its up to you good luck..


you got to know the the boards in these computers are not like the ones we use to do custom builds witch are open to upgrading with in the boards compatibly . the bios is custom made for there design and just for the parts they authorize to be used on there computers there only guaranteed to work as is out of the box as you bought it ,..

most likely the board may not be able to supply the full 75w to the pci-e slot and acer cut it back just enough to run low end low powered cards so it can be reduced to say 50w at the slot and you new higher end card need the full 75w
and the 750ti is notorious for not working well in prebuilts - I bet you could trade it in for a plain 750 that don't require the power from the psu and it may work fine cause they don't require but about 55w from the slot the 750ti non psu powered needs 60w and the better evga 85w with psu power

acer if the funniest of the bunch theres also a memory limit on some that if say its set for 3 gb and you got 2gb of ram and your card is a 2gb card it will not work cause you over the total system memory limit

like found out here at the end
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1946329/gtx-650-problems.html#12273124

and discovered all that here with this dell thread [ last post ]
https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/551753/driver-updates-causes-infinite-reset-loop/

I never recommend upgrading a prebuilt cause a lot of times this is where they end up -

good luck

 

[Iron124]

some models of store bought computers [dell.hp,acer,ect..] may come with a ''locked or fixed'' bios and may not allow you to change certain hardware as a video card.. this is done to protect them from undue warranty claims and refunds .this is not done to hurt you but to protect them. you really need to see if that upgrade has been proven to work in your model first before you invest money in it .. there are a lot of these threads here at toms to look at some models will allow upgrades and some dont.. and a lot of guys here say ya ya ya when is really no no no...it would be sad you spent $200 on a card that wount post after you installed it as most find out. then get told its your psu and you spend more and end up right back where you are now, but its up to you good luck..


you got to know the the boards in these computers are not like the ones we use to do custom builds witch are open to upgrading with in the boards compatibly . the bios is custom made for there design and just for the parts they authorize to be used on there computers there only guaranteed to work as is out of the box as you bought it ,..

most likely the board may not be able to supply the full 75w to the pci-e slot and acer cut it back just enough to run low end low powered cards so it can be reduced to say 50w at the slot and you new higher end card need the full 75w
and the 750ti is notorious for not working well in prebuilts - I bet you could trade it in for a plain 750 that don't require the power from the psu and it may work fine cause they don't require but about 55w from the slot the 750ti non psu powered needs 60w and the better evga 85w with psu power

acer if the funniest of the bunch theres also a memory limit on some that if say its set for 3 gb and you got 2gb of ram and your card is a 2gb card it will not work cause you over the total system memory limit

like found out here at the end
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1946329/gtx-650-problems.html#12273124

and discovered all that here with this dell thread [ last post ]
https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/551753/driver-updates-causes-infinite-reset-loop/

I never recommend upgrading a prebuilt cause a lot of times this is where they end up -

good luck

Thankfully I wasn't the one that shelled out the cash for this, it was a friend of mine, but being the trained IT technician, I offered to take on the task. I figured the 750Ti would work because it doesn't require power from the PSU, while the previous card (a 560 Ti, also an upgrade) required 2 PCie 6-pin connectors. This could also be an issue, as you mentioned, with the board itself. Acer hasn't posted a BIOS update for this board since 2012. The 560 is from a little before that time, and the 750 Ti significantly after. It could be possible that this was never intended to work, because Acer has all but dropped support for this model not long after it was pulled from the shelves. It is a Frankenstein-level prebuild at this point (new case, PSU, GPU, etc).

Another possibility I'm wondering is the hardware limits. The 750 Ti draws ALL of its power from the PCIe slot. And with this, being the EVGA Superclocked edition, that must be quite a bit to be drawn straight from the board. The card seems to power up, and the fans do spin, but maybe it isn't getting enough power directly from the PCIe slot to fully boot?

I'm grabbing at straws at this point. I'll tear out my R9 270 tomorrow and slap the 750 Ti into my system and see if it works. If it does, it's almost certainly the board in one way or another. I'm starting to doubt that it's software related, regarding the fact it won't even make it to the boot-up phase.

 

[junkeymonkey]

well search around on it and find stull like this

http://community.acer.com/t5/Desktops-All-In-Ones/upgrading-acer-aspire-m3970-with-a-gtx-750-Ti-video-card/m-p/343214/highlight/true#M12407

if that works and you don't mind all the work needed to access the bios afterwards give it a try ?

also did you try the remove one stick of the system memory ?? in case it does have a total system memory lock ??