I need BIOS help I think or PCI help please!

[Chubby215]

I have an Older Gateway with a Phoenixlabs MB installed where the BIOS is from 2008 and for Vista. I ran CPU Z to gather all my info on the rig.
The MB model is G33M05G1 and the BIOS is listed as from Phoenixlabs 841P041G. My issue is I have an Nvidea GTS 250 that I want to run. The PS unit I have will work with it. I just bought the Corsair CX650M. I install the card in the PCI slot, connect all cables and the unit won't even start. If I remove the card and plug into the on board display input it fires up just fine. I looked at the BIOS using F2 and I don't see any PCI option which is weird because there is a PCI slot on the board. I thought that perhaps since the BIOS is so old I may need to update it but I cannot find it anywhere. The machine came originally with Vista and I installed 7 Ultimate. This card ran fine with the rig before. I had it stored away and decided to bring it back. The rig runs like a champ with 8GB of RAM and the processor is Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300. I'm dying to play games again and have used this rig for them for years. I have no idea why it won't start with the card installed. I also cannot find updated BIOS for it. Am I looking in the wrong direction thinking the BIOS needs to be updated? I'm almost positive the card works fine as well. I Please help!

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

Not really surprised, no. Some graphics cards will run without the extra power connections attached, some will not and will instead emit a loud warning until the power is supplied.

Reflowing can work, but I've never seen it be anything more than a temporary solution. 6 months may be a tad generous. Further reflows will probably be needed at decreasing time intervals until it's simply too much hassle.

I'm not quite sure the fascination with resurrecting an obvious bad board. It wasn't worth that much when it was shiny and new. If you value your time, you could have already found a used card that would run circles around it, and wouldn't give you the headache of a non-booting system.

On another note, if you knew anything about electronics and had the necessary equipment, or maybe had a friend who liked to explore things as a hobby, it may be of merit to diagnose the 6-pin power delivery circuitry on the graphics card. There could be a fault in just that section if it stopped a surge from your power supply that died. I would still see this as a long shot for little return. It sounds like the card has more sentimental than monetary value.

 

[RALPH50]

acpi is a feature for the operating system to control hardware, don´t think it´s related while post is in process

The ACPI feature in Windows is not the same thing as the ACPI BIOS firmware on the motherboard. The ACPI features in Windows allows you to control your power options, but the ACPI BIOS firmware on the MB is where those options are stored at on registers and tables for each device. On older motherboards, it's the APM firmware (Advanced power management) that controlled the power management. Both firmwares store these tables and registers for all devices connected to the MB. If you change a power option setting in the control panel (ACPI Windows Feature) or you change e.g. a WOL setting on your network card, then that power option is registered in the ACPI BIOS.

If you install new hardware (a new device) on a MB and then when you power up and nothing starts (no power), then that would indicate that the ACPI BIOS is putting the MB in a G3 power state (mechanical off). To get out of that state, you usually have to remove the plug and the CMOS battery for a few minutes and then re-plug back in without the battery installed and try to power up the PC. That procedure will usually clear all the device registers.

The reason I am saying this is because his symptoms are power-to-motherboard related. His PC powers up without the card installed, but does the opposite (not power up) with the GPU card installed. That is a power problem. And yes, you are correct, as this is happening during a POST, which is exactly what the ACPI BIOS checks immediately after the BIOS initializes. A defective GPU card could be the problem causing the power trigger stop, but IMO, the only way to know is to first deal with powering up the PC with the card installed.

 

[helpstar]

you can get a used card for like 10bucks
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=gts%20250&LH_Complete=1&LH_Sold=1&rt=nc&_trksid=p2045573.m1684

or eventually a little more power with the gtx 560 ti for about 20$
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=gtx%20560%20ti&LH_Complete=1&LH_Sold=1&rt=nc&_trksid=p2045573.m1684

 

[RALPH50]

GUYS! Wanna be baffled?!?! Check this out! I took the card to a local computer shop that friends run. We tried the card and the PC wouldn't POST. Dig this... I never tried powering on without plugging in the 6 pin power cable. Why would I you ask? Right? I just installed the card after attempting "reflowing" on the advice of my pal at the shop. He says he does it all the time and you'll get at least 6 months out of it. Here's a link to how I did it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xanr4jkmEc&t=752s

I'm not sure if this helped at all for like I said I never tried loading the computer while teh GPU was installed without connecting the 6 pin supply to the card. I plugged in the card and connected the 6 pin connector. Same thing. No POST. I removed the power cable from the card and VOILA! It fired up! The card is running and the fan in spinning but no signal... I don't have a DVI cable anymore and the VGA cable doesn't send a signal. I tried the HDMI slot to my TV and the TV sees it but no signal. Drivers are your first thought eh? I downloaded the GTS 250 drivers and it said it can't find compatible hardware to fit the drivers. The auto driver find thingy on Nvidia's site always asks me for the java plug in to work which I have... Baffling eh? I'm so freakin dedicated to making this work now that it actually fired up without power connected to it. I guess I'll have to get a new card but what do you all think about this business?!?! The BIOS on the PC seems fine, the clock is correct and the unit works perfectly and fast as all get out. I want this card to work!! HAHA. Any advice now that it actually runs w/o power connected to it but if I connect power the PC won't POST. Should I STILL remove the battery on the board? I can;t have this thing crap out on me. I'm doubting that "reflowing" had anything to do with this issue for as I said... I never tried powering up with no 6 pin connector to the card. Any worries of it not working properly after I remove the battery and put it back in? I've jumped a board before but with a well informed IT pal here who's far more advanced than I am. Thanks!

Did you go into the BIOS and make the GTS 250 your primary adapter?

 

[helpstar]

Did you check the card in another system yet?

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

Did you go into the BIOS and make the GTS 250 your primary adapter?

He can't. The card is defective and prevents the system from getting through POST with display output.

Did you check the card in another system yet?

The card was tested in another system. Same problem. No POST. The graphics card is defective in some way.

This was never a BIOS related issue. Everybody going on about the most obscure problems is digging too deep before sufficient evidence was presented. While the amount of work involved is obviously not proportional, you certainly don't replace a crankshaft bearing the moment a car emits a squeak.

The only hardware the OP has changed, and mentioned, that could affect his system were the PSU and GPU. The rest of the hardware is essentially the same. The GPU worked previously, so we know it was perfectly fine working in the system, with the current BIOS. The most likely time for ACPI configuration issues would be the first time the GPU was ever installed. Without the GPU, the PSU gave zero symptoms of having a problem. Draw your own conclusions, but the GPU was the most likely candidate, and has been determined to be the part causing the issue.