How do I install my ATI Radeon 128-Megabyte 9200 graphics card?

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July 24th, 2003, 12:58 AM
cybercomputing6

How do I install my ATI Radeon 128-Megabyte 9200 graphics card?

I have a S3 ProSavage 32-megabyte video card. I just bought a 128-megabyte ATI Radeon 9200 graphics card and would like to install it, but don't know how.

I left my old 32-megabyte S3 ProSavage in its slot and inserted the ATI Radeon in another slot, turned on the computer and monitor. The computer monitor had the orange light on like when it’s in off mode, or sometimes referred to as sleep mode (When the computer isn’t used for like say ten minutes the monitor turns black and when you move the mouse the black screen goes away and shows the desktop). Usually when I turn on the computer the light turns orange and then within 5-10 seconds turns green, but this did not happen the light stayed orange and the screen remained black no matter how many times I moved the mouse. So I unplugged the computer and removed the ATI Radeon 128-megabyte graphics card. I then plugged the computer back in. I turned the computer and monitor on and the computer and monitor worked fine.

Please take me through the steps of installing my ATI Radeon 128 megabyte graphics card including the hardware starting from step one. Note that when I inserted the Radeon graphics card in the slot and turned on the computer and monitor I had not installed the driver that was on the CD that came with it. Should I have installed the driver before inserting the Radeon graphics card into the slot?

1) Is a graphics card and a video card the same thing?

2) Do I have to remove my 32 megabyte S3 ProSavage video card in order for my 128 megabyte ATI Radeon to work or can I leave it in?

3) Should I install the driver from the CD before I insert the Radeon graphics card into my computer slot?

4) Do I have to plug the monitor into the 128-megabyte ATI Radeon graphics card where it says VGA monitor or can I leave it in its original slot. If I can leave the monitor plugged in its original slot then please explain what a VGA monitor is and what it is used for and what the VGA monitor slot is used for.
July 24th, 2003, 06:46 AM
Platypus

To help us help you, please let us know what Operating System you're running, and what make and model of computer, or the make and model of motherboard if it's a generic machine. We'll need to be sure the new card will work correctly in the system.

To give some preliminary general answers, video card and graphics card typically mean the same thing, with the exception that early video cards that provided text only, like the IBM's MDA card, were not graphics cards.

You can have two cards in the system if you wish, and use two monitors, or change over to just the new card, whatever suits your purpose best.

The VGA monitor connection is where you connect your standard monitor, as it's been connected to the previous card. It's described thus to distinguish it from alternative connectors the card may also have.

What you should do about installing drivers will depend on what you decide to do about having two cards or one, and what Operating Sysyem you're using.

If one monitor only is connected even though there are two cards, which one it should be connected to will probably be determined by a setting in the BIOS setup.
July 24th, 2003, 09:51 AM
Archer

i take it by your post both are PCI graphics cards [white slot] and not a PCI and an AGP [brown slot] ?
The cards may actually be incompatible together try it with just the new card installed and post back the result.

Depending on the instructions with the card you may have to tell windows to ignore the new hardware when it detects it on reboot.
Then you will have to run the driver installation from the CD provided and reboot again.Once this is done you will have to reset your screen resolution.
July 24th, 2003, 05:25 PM
cybercomputing6

How do I remove S3 ProSavage video card software?

3) Should I install the driver from the CD before I insert the Radeon graphics card into my computer slot?

No. First thing you have to do is to remove the S3 card driver software from your system. Then turn off your computer, remove the S3 card and insert the Radeon. Start the computer, boot into Windows and then install the ATi drivers.

I am running Microsoft windows 98.

How do I remove the S3 card driver software from my system?
July 25th, 2003, 04:58 AM
confus-ed

Here's a general 'how to do it' ....

1. with 'old' card only present remove drivers for it (use add remove programs or if it isn't there, use device manager to 'unistall' - is that option available in 98? - if not 'update' those drivers to 'standard vga' )

2. Turn off remove 'old' card & fit 'new'

3. install drivers for 'new' (windows should spot this change & ask on first boot after new card is inserted, as long as you have pulled the 'old' one) ... job 'hopefully' done.

I think your problem was having both cards present at once ... it is possible to have more than one PCI/agp vga card present in a system (though not two agp cards -unless you have a board with two agp slots !?!) - the problem comes from assignment of resources such as IRQs & memory ranges. Until you pull the 'old' card that'll 'own' the necessary stuff & the 'new' card will cause a conflict trying to grab those resources ...

You seem to have some instructions which explain this ? :confused: ... you just said pretty much what to do ! (with the exception of 'removing' the s3 driver pack)

Oh & welcome to WD :)
July 25th, 2003, 08:25 AM
Platypus

Quote:

Originally posted by Archer
both are PCI graphics cards

Didn't think of that, 128M on the PCI bus... a full second to fill the memory.
July 25th, 2003, 08:36 AM
confus-ed

Quote:

Originally posted by Platypus
Didn't think of that, 128M on the PCI bus... a full second to fill the memory.

Errr umm 'we is wandering off the point' ... However ! :D - 2x agp is only that fast isn't it ? & there's 'lots' (well a few) of cards about that size & that fast ... so does it have an impact ? You hardly ever fill that up with most games most times ? n'est pas ?
July 25th, 2003, 09:05 AM
Platypus

Quote:

Originally posted by confus-ed
Errr umm 'we is wandering off the point' ... However ! :D - 2x agp is only that fast isn't it ? & there's 'lots' (well a few) of cards about that size & that fast ... so does it have an impact ? You hardly ever fill that up with most games most times ? n'est pas ?

Yes we're going off-topic, but that happens 'round 'ere... :D I was just noting Archer picked the likelihood of them both being PCI, I certainly wasn't thinking PCI for a 128M 9200. Does it have an impact, well even a modest chipset like my GF4 MX 440 would have its performance throttled to about half on PCI, in comparison with even 2x AGP which has a 528M/S bandwidth. And no, nothing would be filling 128M that often.