How to Know if You Installed Your Graphics Card Properly
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How to install a video card
Initial steps which are common to all installations
System restore is your friend
Before you lot go started, it'due south a practiced idea to prepare for problem. I'yard not trying to scare you lot. Information technology's just a good idea to exist prepared for the worst. Video card installations unremarkably go off without a hitch. But if y'all're the sort who likes to be careful then it's a skilful thought to make a system restore point before you lot start making whatever changes. A system restore bespeak keeps rails of the country of your calculator's software at a given bespeak in time. If something goes wrong with the installation then you lot tin can practice the following:
- Exercise a organization restore to return the state of your software to where it was when you lot made the arrangement restore point. In this case, that's just before you started installing your new video carte du jour.
- Shut the computer off and remove the new video card.
- If you lot accept integrated video then reconnect the monitor to the motherboard video connector. If you don't accept integrated video then reinsert your old video card and connect the monitor to information technology.
- Boot Windows and y'all're back to your previous setup.
- Effigy out what went wrong with the installation and try once again.
Windows ME and XP both accept built-in support for organisation restore points. You need third-party software to go this functionality in other versions of Windows. You can read more about system restores on this page. You don't need to make system restore points if you don't think information technology'south worth the trouble. I change video cards all the time and I never practise. Simply if you're new to installing video cards then you lot might as well accept a minute and brand a restore signal. It tin can make it a lot easier to recover and become your machine working properly if you get into trouble.
Get ambassador rights
If you're running Windows 2000 or XP, and then another affair you need to do before installing your video bill of fare is make certain that yous have ambassador rights. If y'all don't know what those are, then you lot probably already have them. Simply administrators are allowed to install and uninstall drivers and most other software. This folio explains what ambassador rights are and how to get them.
Disable your virus scanner
Ane last thing you should do before getting started with your video bill of fare installation is disable your virus scanner. Both NVIDIA and ATI tell you to disable your virus scanner before installing video drivers. I don't know how frequently they really interfere with commuter installations. I accept seen virus scanners cause problems while installing re-create-protected games. In any case, as long every bit you're running "official" drivers downloaded from the maker of your video carte (or ones which came on the installation CD) then you don't accept to worry virtually viruses in the video driver. It's best to follow their instructions and temporarily disable your virus scanner while your irresolute video cards. But remember to re-enable it once you lot've got your new video card up and running.
Update your motherboard chipset drivers
Your motherboard contains a CPU, some RAM, and expansion slots. Only it as well contains some chips which make all those parts work together. The almost important of these chips are chosen the chipset. They are called that even if it is really only one chip. You need to have chipset drivers installed to brand everything work together properly. Information technology's a skilful thought to update your chipset drivers earlier installing a new video card. Information technology's especially of import for AGP video cards but you should practice it for other kinds of video cards likewise. Some video card stability problems are fixed by releasing new motherboard chipset drivers. Information technology's a practiced idea to make sure you have the "latest and greatest" ones installed before putting in your new video menu. This page explains in detail how to download and install your chipset drivers.
Make sure you know how to avoid zapping your computer with static electicity
You're about to start working inside your computer. This is a good time to talk well-nigh static electricity. It's bad. Okay, it's probably good for some things but it's bad for computers. All you have to practice to destroy a silicon chip is shuffle your shoes across a carpet and then affect a chip inside your calculator. That blows a tiny piddling pigsty (information technology looks like the G Canyon on an electron microscope epitome) inside the chip. And if the humidity is depression then you don't even have to shuffle your feet. Some of the chips in your computer are very sensitive to static electricity so you need to be very careful when working in there.
This is where we get to talk about grounding and you lot need to consider whether your house was wired past a consummate idiot. The power cable which plugs into the wall has iii wires. We only care about the ground wire. (It'southward also called the globe wire or the earth basis wire). The ground wire is continued to the metallic case of your power supply and to the metal parts of the computer case. Y'all can discharge static electricity by touching any bare metallic part of your case because information technology's discharging the static to ground. If your house was wired properly then touching ground is perfectly safe. You're touching ground whenever you walk barefoot outdoors. That's not a joke. Your house's ground wires are probably connected to a metal rod stuck into the basis. But if your house was wired by a complete fool who ignored the rules and so you might get a jolt when you touch footing. Note that information technology would accept to be the world's dumbest electrician and y'all'd probably already be getting lots of jolts if information technology was wired that way. If there'south some possibility that your electrician was an idiot (while wiring that room was he wearing a drool bib with the discussion "stupid" and an arrow pointing upwards?) and then you'd be better off unplugging the power cord from either the wall or the ability supply. That way your case is not connected to the perhaps miswired world footing. If your business firm is properly wired then information technology'southward better to exit the ability cable plugged in while working. But if you're not sure about your wiring (or you're just paranoid) and so unplugging the power cord will keep you from getting whatever jolts. But nevertheless exist sure to touch blank metallic parts of the case to discharge whatever congenital-up static electricity.
While working, you need to brand sure to regularly discharge any static electricity. If you're a complete electronics geek (or you're a stickler for following instructions) then yous may already own an anti-static wrist strap. I've designed electronics and worked with computers for thirty years and I don't take 1 and then don't feel bad if you oasis't got i either (it's really simply a 1 megaohm resistor, a wire, and an alligator prune). If you have 1 then put it on and clip it to a blank metallic part of the case. That volition make sure that you won't zap your chips. For the rest of you (and me), all you lot have to practice is bear on your finger to whatsoever bare metal part of the case to discharge whatsoever static. Some power supplies have paint jobs which human action as an insulator so they're sometimes not the right role to bear upon. Just bear on an exposed metal part of the case. Touch the example every couple of minutes and y'all'll have no problems. If you want to be extra careful then piece of work barefoot. That prevents y'all from edifice upwardly much of a static charge in the first place.
When dealing with expansion cards, information technology'south all-time to handle them merely past the edges or by the rear metal subclass. Attempt not to bear upon anything but the edges of the circuit lath. That helps you avoid touching the silicon fries. If you're following the rules about discharging static electricity and then touching the chips probably won't injure them but you might likewise play it safety and avoid touching them at all. Video cards unremarkably come in special anti-static plastic bags. They are commonly brown or silvery. Those bags help keep it from getting zapped by static electricity. When swapping video cards, yous can store the old video carte du jour in the pocketbook which came with the new i. If you don't take an anti-static bag then y'all tin can actually wrap it in tin foil. It looks a picayune giddy but accomplishes the same thing.
Installation cases
The steps to properly install a video card tin can vary depending on the state of affairs. The diverse dissimilar cases are listed below. Just figure out which of the following cases apply to y'all and then follow the listing of steps for that case. The steps in each listing must be done in order. The underlined steps are links to thorough explanations of how to practise them.
Installation case 1: you're removing your erstwhile video card and installing a new one
This is the simplest case. Basically, y'all uninstall your old display drivers, remove the quondam video menu, insert the new video carte du jour, and then install your new brandish drivers.
- Uninstall your erstwhile display drivers.
- Turn your machine off.
- Open your instance to go access to the expansion slots.
- Remove your old video card from its expansion slot.
- Insert your new video card into an expansion slot.
- Connect the monitor to your new video card.
- Plough your motorcar on and boot Windows.
- Install the display drivers for your new video card.
Installation case ii: you're adding a new AGP or PCI-Express x16 video carte du jour to a motherboard with integrated video and your monitor will be hooked to the new video menu
This is how y'all upgrade the video organization in most shop-bought computers. Unfortunately, this case can exist anywhere from uncomplicated to extremely hard depending on the calculator. Let'southward just be optimistic and list the steps for the simplest example.
- Turn your machine off.
- Open your instance to get access to the expansion slots.
- Insert your new video bill of fare into an expansion slot.
- Connect the monitor to your new video carte du jour.
- Turn your car on and kicking Windows.
- Install the display drivers for your new video card.
In a perfect world, the steps listed above would always piece of work when adding a video card to a car with integrated video. In fact, these steps usually exercise piece of work. Unfortunately, there's no standard way to add a video card to a computer with integrated video. You can always try calling the manufacturer of the figurer to come across if they can explain the steps (it'due south a question they must get a lot) just I've seen lots of cases where they merely have a generic gear up of steps which oftentimes don't work. It's worth calling anyway to run across if they tin help. Figurer manufacturers often have Internet help forums where people tin inquire questions. They often take a often asked questions listing which you can check. If yous tin't go any useful information from the manufacturer (a mutual example), then you can try to come up with a serial of steps appropriate for your estimator.
In many computers with integrated video, installing a video card into an AGP slot or a PCI-Express x16 slot automatically disables the integrated video. You don't need to uninstall or disable the integrated video'south display driver because information technology is automatically disabled the next time Windows boots. This kind of estimator is the nearly common and the steps listed above should do the job.
Some newer computers let y'all to hook i monitor to your integrated video and another monitor to an AGP or PCI-Express x16 video card. That's handy for people who desire to run multiple monitors simultaneously. That kind of calculator doesn't automatically disable the integrated video when yous install a new AGP or PCI-Express x16 video carte. The problem with that kind of setup is that yous have to tell the calculator which of the two video systems is your primary video display. The master video display is where the BIOS and powerup screens appear. It'south likewise the chief monitor in Windows where the taskbar and icons appear. The secondary video display can be gear up upwardly as actress desktop infinite. Some people desire the primary video brandish to exist their integrated video while other people want it to exist their new video card. Well-nigh computers are set up assuming that whatever video card you install is the master video display and your integrated video becomes the secondary video display. But some computers are set upward the other way. And so for this kind of computer, installing a new video carte du jour is a picayune more than complicated:
- Start your computer up and go into the BIOS. Set the chief video display option in the BIOS to the kind of slot used by your new video card.
- Plough your motorcar off.
- Open your case to become access to the expansion slots.
- Insert your new video carte du jour into an expansion slot.
- Connect the monitor to your new video card.
- Boot your car.
- Install the display drivers for your new video card.
If you don't plan to apply your integrated video at all information technology would be nice to make information technology completely disappear. Integrated video borrows its video RAM from motherboard RAM. If you're not using your integrated video and then the RAM it borrows from the motherboard is wasted. Disabling your integrated video besides reduces the likelihood of some kind of conflict between your old and new video systems. The steps to do it are listed below.
- Uninstall your old brandish drivers.
- Turn your machine off.
- Turn your automobile back on and go into the BIOS. Find the BIOS choice which disables the integrated video. Information technology'southward usually in the integrated peripherals section. Set the BIOS option to disable the integrated video. Exit and salve from the BIOS.
- Turn your machine off.
- Open your example to get access to the expansion slots.
- Insert your new video card into an expansion slot.
- Connect the monitor to your new video menu.
- Turn your auto on and kicking Windows.
- Install the display drivers for your new video card.
The steps in a higher place brand the integrated video completely vanish from the computer. Unfortunately, many motherboards practise not allow you to disable the integrated video. If your estimator tin disable the integrated video then the steps listed above are the best ones to use. You lot can tell if your car can disable the integrated video by looking for that option in the BIOS. If you don't know much about BIOSes and so this page shows y'all the nuts. If your BIOS tin can disable the integrated video then use the steps listed in a higher place.
If your new video bill of fare doesn't work then you've got a problem. You merely disabled your integrated video in the BIOS. If yous hook a monitor to it, nothing shows upward on the screen. You can't use information technology to go into the BIOS and re-enable the integrated video. The solution to this problem is to clear the CMOS RAM. That resets the BIOS options for the motherboard to their default states which includes enabling the integrated video. That ways that your integrated video will start working again. If yous had any other BIOS options set up up and then you'll have to do them once again because clearing your CMOS RAM resets all of them to defaults: non just the ones for the integrated video. The transmission for your figurer should explain how to clear the CMOS RAM. If not, you lot tin can find the information on the manufacturer's web site for your computer model. For instance, this page explains how to do it for a Dell Dimension 8400. Generally it involves finding a jumper (a small gizmo which operates similar a switch) on the motherboard and moving the jumper temporarily to the articulate position and then back to its normal position over again. On some motherboards, you clear the CMOS by unplugging the power supply and removing the lithium coin jail cell bombardment (the flat circular bombardment shown in this picture to the right of the blood-red asterisk) for a few minutes and then putting the battery dorsum in and turning the machine on.
If your auto can't disable the integrated video then you may be able to just disable the brandish driver. The list beneath will prevent Windows from trying to reload display drivers for your integrated video the next time it boots. It besides avoids the occasional resources conflicts betwixt your new video card and your old integrated video.
- Disable the display drivers for your integrated video.
- Turn your car off.
- First your computer upwardly and go into the BIOS. Set the chief video display option in the BIOS to the kind of slot used by your new video card.
- Turn your machine off.
- Open your instance to become admission to the expansion slots.
- Insert your new video card into an expansion slot.
- Connect the monitor to your new video carte du jour.
- Turn your machine on and boot Windows.
- Install the display drivers for your new video menu.
So basically, I've given you iv separate lists of steps. So which i should you use? If your estimator can disable the integrated video in the BIOS so you should attempt this list. If your estimator can't disable integrated video or you lot take no thought which listing to try then I'd try this i. If you lot're having serious problems and then y'all tin set up a system restore point as described earlier and simply endeavour all four lists to see if any work.
Installation example 3: you're calculation a new PCI video bill of fare to a motherboard with integrated video and your monitor will be hooked to the PCI video carte du jour
This example is like to installation case 2 but in that location are some differences so read through it before standing here. This case can be dissimilar considering installing a PCI video card never automatically disables the integrated video. Almost all computers allow you to select a PCI video menu every bit the main video display. But sometimes this kind of upgrade is non possible considering some older computers don't allow you lot to tell the motherboard that the PCI video card is your main video display. That kind of motherboard always uses the integrated video every bit its chief video display. Compaq was especially notorious for aircraft that kind of figurer.
If your calculator can disable the integrated video in the BIOS and so I'd try endeavor this list showtime. If it can't be disabled so try this one. Some manufactures have acquired a very bad reputation when it comes to adding PCI video cards to older computers. If you lot take an old Dell reckoner, then take a wait at this message. It may show you the arcane series of steps needed to get it to piece of work.
Installation case 4: you're adding a new video card to a motherboard with integrated video and you will have one monitor connected to the integrated video and another monitor continued to the new video card
Many motherboards automatically disable the integrated video when you lot add an AGP or PCI-Express x16 video card. If you have one of those motherboards then you tin't accept monitors continued to both the integrated video and a new video card at the same time. You can only run one or the other. Every bit long every bit your motherboard tin can run both simultaneously, then the only extra step you demand for installing your new video menu is telling the BIOS which is your master video display. That's going to exist the monitor which displays the powerup and BIOS screens. It will also be the main monitor in Windows which contains the taskbar and icons.
- Showtime your computer up and become into the BIOS. Set the primary video display option in the BIOS to whichever video system is supposed to be your principal video display.
- Turn your machine off.
- Open up your example to get access to the expansion slots.
- Insert your new video carte du jour into an expansion slot.
- Connect a monitor to your integrated video.
- Connect a monitor to your new video bill of fare.
- Boot your machine.
- Install the display drivers for your new video carte du jour.
Installation case 5: y'all're calculation a new video card and standing to use your existing video card with i monitor connected to each card
This is the case for running two video cards with two monitors. I'm not going to go into how to hook up SLI or CrossFire systems for gamers. You can get more thorough information on how to practice that from the user guide which comes with your video cards. This instance is simply for people who are running two separate video cards at the aforementioned fourth dimension.
My feel has been that Windows can get seriously dislocated about which video card is the master video display. That's the i which displays the BIOS and powerup screens besides as the taskbar and icons when in Windows. The solution which normally works for me is to beginning uninstall all display drivers currently in the system. And so close the motorcar down and remove everything except the video card which you desire equally your primary video display. You go through the installation procedure and install the latest display drivers with merely the primary video display in the computer. One time that'south done, so you add the side by side video card. That approach has saved me a lot of grief in the past. Installing both video cards at the aforementioned time seems to exist what causes issues. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Doing the primary video brandish offset and then calculation the secondary display seems to avoid the problem.
You may have to tell the BIOS which video carte is your primary video display. If you lot're installing two PCI cards then the 1 closest to the top of the motherboard (if it'due south in a vertical case) is unremarkably the principal video display. If you're installing one PCI card along with an AGP or PCI-Limited x16 video carte du jour and then you lot'll have to tell the BIOS which 1 is the primary video display.
Both the Radeon and GeForce display drivers support a wide range of video cards. When you lot're running two Radeons or two Geforces, you only install the display driver once. That'due south true fifty-fifty if they are two very dissimilar models. It volition automatically create carve up instances of the display driver for each carte du jour.
- Uninstall all of your old display drivers.
- Turn your machine off.
- Kickoff your estimator up and go into the BIOS. Set up the primary video brandish choice in the BIOS to whichever video system is supposed to be your primary video brandish.
- Turn your auto off.
- Open up your case to get access to the expansion slots.
- Remove any old video cards.
- Insert your primary video carte into its expansion slot.
- Connect the monitor to your primary video card.
- Turn your auto on and boot Windows.
- Install the display drivers for your chief video carte.
- Plough your car off.
- Insert your secondary video carte du jour into its expansion slot.
- Connect the monitor to your secondary video bill of fare.
- Turn your machine on and boot Windows.
- If your secondary video card can utilise the same brandish driver equally your primary video card (they're both Radeons or they're both GeForces), then you're done. If your secondary video card needs a dissimilar display driver than your primary video card, so Install the display drivers for the secondary video card.
Installation steps
These steps are in no particular order. To apply these steps, go to the installation cases section and select which case applies to your situation. Each case contains a list which links to the advisable steps beneath.
Uninstall your old display drivers
Information technology's always a expert idea to uninstall your old display drivers before installing new ones. The display drivers for most brands of video cards actually back up a wide range of video card models. As a result, if you are switching from i video card to another which uses the aforementioned brand of GPU (for example, you lot're switching from i NVIDIA card to another NVIDIA card), you lot can often get away with swapping video cards without updating the display driver. Obviously, if you're changing from an ATI card to an NVIDIA card, or vice versa, and then you're going to need to install a new display driver. Most of the time, you can also get away with installing a newer version of a given brand of display driver without first uninstalling the older version. Don't do it! Yous can cause some very subtle bug by installing new drivers over older ones because vestiges of the old driver may still exist hanging around in your system. The intelligent way to do things is to be thorough and do it properly. Ever uninstall your one-time display driver before installing a new one. It takes a couple of extra minutes but it's worth the extra attempt. This page gives thorough instructions on how to uninstall your brandish drivers.
Disable your onetime display drivers
If you have integrated video hardware enabled in your computer then Windows makes certain that a display driver is installed. If you lot uninstall the display driver then Windows will try to reinstall the driver the next fourth dimension information technology reboots. Information technology can get actually annoying. You uninstall the drivers then Windows reinstalls them. If you lot disable the integrated video hardware then Windows volition cease trying to reinstall the display drivers. Simply if y'all accept to leave the video hardware enabled (lots of computers tin't disable it) so Windows volition always try to make sure that a display commuter is installed. Ane solution to this piddling problem is to disable the display driver rather than uninstall it. Windows 2000 and XP usually permit you lot to disable the display driver. I say "usually" because sometimes it won't allow it. I'yard not sure how Windows decides. Yous can give it a try and find out.
The screenshot above shows what information technology looks like when it'south willing to let you disable a display adapter. You demand to go into the Device Manager (double-click the Control Panel, double-click Arrangement, select the Hardware tab, click Device Director, click the "+" to the left of Display Adapters to open the list of video cards). And so right-click the brandish adapter and select "Disable". Yous'll and then have to reboot and information technology'due south disabled. Windows won't try to reinstall the drivers the adjacent time y'all reboot. They're already installed simply are disabled. If yous desire to re-enable the driver then become through the aforementioned steps as earlier but select "Enable" rather than "Disable".
Fix the primary video display in the BIOS
Windows can back up computers with more than than one monitor. Ane monitor is your main display. It contains the Windows taskbar, the program icons, and it's where most programs open up by default. Your system powerup and BIOS screens ever announced on the primary brandish. You can accept other monitors to give you extra screen space. About of the time you only accept 1 video system in the computer so y'all there'due south no confusion which is the primary display. But if there'southward more than than one video arrangement in the computer so there has to exist a manner to specify which 1 is the primary display. You lot do information technology by setting a menu detail in the BIOS. This page explains the basics on how to enter and navigate a motherboard BIOS.
The two images to a higher place show what the selection looks like for ii dissimilar BIOSes. Unfortunately, at that place's no standard terminology for BIOS options. The pick for the left one is "Graphic Adapter Priority". For the right one it's "Init Brandish Start". Other common names are "Init VGA outset", "Main VGA brandish", and "Primary graphics adapter". The option choice which you select becomes the chief video display. Those choices should be something similar "PCI", "AGP", "PCI-Express", or "onboard video". Some BIOSes will listing the display order priority: "AGP/PCI" means AGP is the primary display, "PCI/AGP" means PCI is the primary display. Some BIOSes have a confusing choice called "Auto". You tin tell what that means by checking the other choices. If you have a motherboard with integrated video and its choices are "Motorcar" and "PCI", then "Auto" means that integrated video is the principal display and "PCI" ways that a PCI video card is the primary brandish. If there'south only one video arrangement in your reckoner then it is always your chief display and the value of this BIOS option is ignored. Once you've set the selection, y'all must leave the BIOS and save the settings.
Open your example to get admission to the expansion slots
Case designers seem to exist thinking 1 of two things when designing a instance: "allow these clever estimator users to have piece of cake access to the within of their computer", or "go along these stupid computer users from getting inside of my computer and screwing it up". Only pray your instance was designed past someone from the easy-to-open school of idea. Those cases have an obvious method which opens them. If it'south not obvious then you probably have a difficult-to-open instance. For those you'll need to find either the case documentation or an 10-ray machine. If you can't observe the documentation and so check the manufacturer'due south website for your computer model. They usually take diagrams which explain how to go into your computer. The tabular array below contains links to where to kickoff for some large computer manufacturers.
| Estimator Brand | First Searching Here |
|---|---|
| Hewlett-Packard | outset here |
| Compaq | kickoff hither |
| Gateway | start here |
| Dell (U.s.a.) | starting time here |
| Sony | start hither |
If you're non certain how to open a example, there are some examples shown below which will give you some thought of what to attempt and what not to effort. Getting the case documentation is the best option. Simply if that'due south not available then you'll just have to figure information technology out.
The example on the left tin be opened by pulling the latch aimed at past the greenish arrow. That'due south the sort of thing you find with an easy-to-open case. There's a nice, user-friendly latch just asking to be pulled. Once you pull the latch you lot can remove the door and get access to the inside of the machine. When people are having issues opening a instance they oftentimes offset removing screws that they should leave alone. The bottom epitome shows yous some screws aimed at by red arrows. Those screws hold the power supply to the case. Nearly cases have 4 power supply screws. Don't remove them unless you'd similar to have your power supply rattling around within your case.
The antiquarian case in the middle (notation the five.25 inch floppy bulldoze) has a couple of thumbscrews on the back aimed at by green arrows. You tin see a closeup of a thumbscrew in the bottom epitome. You open up this kind of example by unscrewing the thumbscrews (in that location may exist more than two) and so lifting the metal cover off of the example.
The case on the right is a low-profile case sold by a big reckoner manufacturer. I think this i was designed by Rubik. Obviously, he felt that the cube was too piece of cake to solve so he designed this thing (Well, that'due south what I heard anyway). The start thing near people effort is to remove the thumbscrew in the back. In this particular case, the thumbscrew actually holds down the expansion cards and doesn't open the example (that Rubik guy is catchy!). This is a good example of the hard-to-open schoolhouse of idea. At that place'due south no obvious way to open up the case. Commonly there's a panel which has to exist pushed or something which needs to exist squeezed or pryed before yous tin can popular the matter apart. This is when you definitely demand the documentation. For this detail instance, yous take to push the "magic panel" aimed at by the green arrow towards the back of the instance. Then you can pop off the side panel.
Remove your video card from its expansion slot
Earlier removing the video carte du jour, make sure the figurer is fully turned off. That sounds obvious just it's really not as uncomplicated every bit you may recollect. Modern computers use an ATX ability supply. When yous press the power button on the front of the example or shut the computer off from Windows, the figurer appears to turn off. But an ATX figurer isn't actually fully off. Information technology just looks like it. Most of the power shuts down merely an ATX power supply is still generating a standby voltage which powers parts of the motherboard. You tin can usually fiddle effectually inside a computer with only the standby ability running but it's not a good idea. It's ameliorate to turn the figurer fully off. Many motherboards have an LED which is lit whenever standby power is applied to the motherboard to remind y'all that information technology's not really off. The way to turn it completely off is to use the power switch on the back of the power supply. Nigh ability supply switches have a "1" for on and a "0" for off. Switch it to off (0). Then wait a minute or press the power button on the front of the case if you're in a blitz. That will plow the power completely off. Some power supplies don't have a power switch on the back in which example your just option is to unplug the power cord. It's better to exit it plugged in so your case is connected to world ground but you lot just have that choice if the power supply has a switch.
Now make sure you keep your static discharged as described earlier. For nearly of you that means touch a bare metal part of the instance with your finger. Locate your video card. If y'all're non sure which ane it is then trace the cable from your monitor to the video carte. Unplug the monitor cable from the video card. Y'all may have to unscrew a couple of bolts on either side of the monitor cable before you can remove information technology. Some people screw them in to keep the monitor cable from accidently popping out of the video card. Most cases hold the video card into the case with a unmarried screw. The red pointer points to it in the image in a higher place. Unscrew it if you take one. Some cases don't use screws. Instead, they take a retention arm which holds the expansion cards in identify. There'southward ordinarily a lever which allows you to motility the retention arm and get at the expansion cards. Consult the documentation for your computer if information technology's not obvious how to do it.
Now y'all accept access to the top of the video card but don't remove it yet. You lot've got to check for retention mechanisms. Almost AGP and PCI-Limited x16 slots have them. Yous accept to unlatch them earlier you tin can remove the video card. They're designed to go along your video card from popping out of its expansion slot during shipping. Some of them also help push the video bill of fare out of the expansion slot when unlatched. They're always at the front of the expansion slot. Some video carte slots don't have a retentiveness machinery. If you accept i then y'all'll demand to unlatch it. Some of them twist. Some slide. Some rotate. They tend to vary quite a flake so you lot'll need to look advisedly to figure out what blazon y'all've got.
The nigh common retention mechanisms take picayune levers which need to be pushed towards the motherboard to release the video card. The image on the left shows the position of the latch when a video card is latched into it. You have to push the lever towards the motherboard to unlatch the menu. The epitome on the correct shows it in the unlatched position. One time information technology's unlatched yous're fix to remove the video menu.
Before you lot remove the video card yous have to wait for auxiliary power cables. Some video cards use too much power to get it from the expansion slot so they demand an auxiliary ability cable. Unplug any auxiliary ability cables from the video card. The video card shown above uses a floppy cable. Some video cards also use 4 pin peripheral cables or 6 Pin PCI-Express cables. Some loftier-end video cards even need two auxiliary ability cables. The cables usually connect near the front of the video bill of fare like the one shown above.
The expansion slots which hold video cards are oftentimes very tight which makes it difficult to remove the card. The easiest way to remove cards is to move the forepart of the expansion carte du jour upwards a little and and then motility the rear upwards a little. And then go back and forth alternating between front and rear until information technology comes out. That minimizes the stress on both the video carte du jour and the motherboard. Try to avoid touching anything other than the edges of the video carte or by the rear metal bracket. Some retention mechanisms will push button the front end of the video card upwardly a little when you release the mechanism. If non, then yous tin first the video carte moving upwardly by sticking a finger below the front end of the video card and pulling up a lilliputian. Be conscientious not to bend whatever components on either the video card or the motherboard while doing this. There's lots of little electronics thingies sticking up from both (generally electrolytic capacitors) and they don't like being pushed. The rear of the video card can be started upwards by sticking a finger underneath the rear of the card and pulling. Or you tin push upwardly on the video connector sticking out the dorsum of the video card. It may take quite a bit of force to go a video bill of fare moving simply they come out very easily in one case they've moved upwardly a little. If you have to pull hard and so concur the pinnacle of the card with your other mitt to make certain the carte doesn't come up flying out. Just be careful. Video cards and motherboards are not built like tanks. One time the expansion menu is out put it into an anti-static bag if yous have one. If you're installing a new video card and so you can utilize the i which it came in.
Insert your video card into an expansion slot
First you need to pick your expansion slot. This motherboard moving picture shows what the various slots look like. If you're installing an AGP carte du jour then it's piece of cake because there's only one AGP slot on a motherboard. If you're installing a PCI carte du jour then there are probably a few to cull from. At that place are slight differences between PCI slots (they use different interrupts) but the video bill of fare should piece of work in any of them. Most PCI-Limited motherboards only have one PCI-Express x16 slot but some gamer-oriented motherboards have two. If yous take one of those dual PCI-Express x16 motherboards and so yous should consult your documentation on how to install the video carte du jour. At that place are usually restrictions on which slot to use if you only have 1 video menu. If you're installing two video cards (for SLI or CrossFire ) then yous'll probably take to move some pocket-size excursion boards or jumpers around on the motherboard before installing the video cards. The motherboard and video card documentation volition explain how to do it.
This is a good time to discharge static electricity by touching some bare metal in the instance. If the slot you've called isn't currently in apply then there'due south probably a bare rear metal bracket that needs to be removed. The epitome on the left shows a couple of blank rear metal brackets. They're in empty slots to reduce the corporeality of electrical noise escaping from your case. If your case uses screws to hold in expansion cards then you'll need to remove the screw (pointed at by the carmine pointer in this epitome). If your case uses a memory arm to hold in expansion cards and so motion the memory arm out of the way. The retentivity arms vary from instance to example and then check the manufacturers instance documentation if it isn't obvious how to move it. The arms commonly clamp down on height of the rear metallic brackets. Remove the bare rear metallic bracket and be sure not to lose the screw if y'all have one.
If your expansion slot has a retention mechanism so you may have to fiddle with it earlier pushing the video card into the slot. You'll accept to take a careful wait and see what kind of retention mechanism you take and go it prepared if necessary. The nigh common kind of retentiveness mechanism has a little lever which has to exist pushed towards the motherboard before inserting the video card. You lot have to push button the lever until it's in the position shown in the image on the correct.
Take the video bill of fare and align it only to a higher place the expansion slot. Remember to handle the card by its edges or the rear metallic bracket. The rear metal subclass on the video carte du jour has a small tab at its bottom. That tab has to fit into a matching pigsty in the baseplate beneath the motherboard shown in the image above with a green arrow. If the tab doesn't line up with the hole so you lot tin can't push the video card down. Information technology's oft a tight fit so you may have to shift the video bill of fare around a picayune earlier it fits. Once everything'due south lined upward and any retention mechanism is prepared, push down on the top of the circuit board. You can use a couple of fingers to push down on the peak of the rear metallic bracket and utilize your other hand to push button downwardly on the top of the circuit board towards the front of the card.
Every now so I come beyond a case, motherboard, and video carte du jour combination which admittedly refuses to fit together. The motherboard slot and the video card match. It should fit. Only it doesn't. More ofttimes than not, it turns out that the rear metal bracket merely won't slide in. Sometimes it's because the tab at the bottom of the video card's rear metal bracket doesn't line upwards with the matching hole in the baseplate. Other times it won't fit because the rear metal subclass pushes up against the rear of the case and that pushes the video card a niggling likewise far frontward to fit into the expansion slot. Basically, it's usually something to practice with the video card's rear metal subclass. Sometimes you lot tin only solve the problem with pliers or tin snips. But often you can solve the problem past moving the motherboard around a little within the instance. You tin exercise that past loosening the little screws which hold the motherboard to the metal baseplate underneath. The blue arrows in the image higher up bespeak at a couple of those screws. You don't have to remove them. Just unscrew them a little. In that location are normally four or more of those screws holding down the motherboard. Later loosening the screws a picayune, yous can nudge the motherboard around within the example while trying to get the video card to fit into the expansion slot. Sometimes you also have to loosen the screws which concur down other expansion cards or motion the retention arm which holds them in identify before the motherboard volition move. Once it fits and you've inserted it into the expansion slot, you lot tin tighten the motherboard screws once again.
Be sure to push the video bill of fare all the mode into the slot. You tin tell that it's all the way in past seeing that the "gilded fingers" on the circuit lath are all the fashion into the expansion slot. One of the near common installation mistakes is not pushing the video card fully into the expansion slot and ending up with a card which seems to be expressionless. The superlative image shows a video menu with the aureate fingers clearly non pushed all the way in. The bottom image shows a menu which is pushed in all the way. Whether the carte du jour in the middle motion-picture show is fully in or needs to be pushed in a little more depends on the video card. The length of the golden fingers varies from bill of fare to card and then some cards volition work fine as seen in the middle epitome and others will not. The best thing to do is to press the video carte du jour firmly into the slot and make certain it won't go any farther in. Some retention mechanisms will click shut when the card is pushed all the way in. Otherwise you'll just take to make sure you've pushed it in all the way.
If your case uses screws to hold the rear of the video menu in identify then screw it back in. If your case uses a retention arm then push it dorsum into position to clench information technology down on the height of the carte's rear metal bracket. Some kinds of expansion slot memory mechanisms demand to be slid or rotated to lock the front of the video bill of fare in identify. The mutual lever type shown in this epitome should latch automatically when the bill of fare is pressed fully into the slot. If not, then pull the lever up a piddling until it clicks.
Now y'all need to connect whatever auxiliary power cables to the video carte du jour. Some video cards draw too much power to get information technology from the expansion slot. They need one or (yikes!) ii power cables to provide enough wattage. If you don't connect the auxiliary power cables and then the video cards will give some kind of warning bulletin quite ofttimes accompanied by an annoying audio from the speaker. The auxiliary ability connector is commonly on the front of the video card as seen in this card and the two cards in the image to a higher place. Older video cards utilise a floppy cable or four pin peripheral cablevision for auxiliary ability. Newer video cards utilize a 6 Pin PCI-Limited cable. If your video card has an auxiliary ability connector then find a matching spare power cable coming from your power supply and plug it in. If yous accept ane of the few video cards which require two auxiliary power cables then be sure to use 2 separate power cables coming from the power supply. Do not use a single power cablevision which has two of the connectors you need and plug both of those connectors from the aforementioned power cable into the video card. If you do that so your video carte du jour has to depict all of its auxiliary current through a unmarried set of wires. If you use power connectors on two separate cables then the current is drawn from two separate sets of wires. That reduces the voltage drib across the wires which can be considerable with high-power video cards. If your video card uses a 4 pin peripheral cablevision for auxiliary power then be sure not to use whatsoever fan-only ability cables coming from the ability supply. Fan-only cables apply the same connector but only have two wires instead of the standard four and they usually take "fan" or "fan simply" printed on the connector. Their voltage changes to control the fan speed so you definitely don't want to connect it to your video menu even though the connector will fit. If you're putting together a loftier-powered computer then you may have to exist careful which ability supply cablevision y'all connect to the video bill of fare. This page gives more information about the wonderful earth of load balancing problems with high-finish video cards. Merely serious gaming computers normally accept to worry most this event. Anybody else tin can just selection any ability supply cable and hook information technology up.
If you lot're an optimist and you're not going to exist installing anything else and then shut the example. I usually leave mine open in case I need to get back in there. It'south likewise nice to make sure that the video card's cooling fan is spinning when you plow it on for the outset time. If that fan isn't spinning then yous can damage your video bill of fare. Plus, leaving the case open makes information technology easier to connect the auxiliary power connector that you forgot to hook up. I forget to connect them all the fourth dimension.
Connect the monitor to your video system
Most electric current video cards have at least two VGA or DVI outputs. You lot tin can read in detail well-nigh VGA on this page and DVI on this page. All VGA outputs are the same and most video cards don't care which i yous use if you take more one. The video card volition sense which one is continued to a monitor and utilize it automatically. DVI outputs also can sense when a monitor is connected then you can utilize any DVI output. But DVI can get a scrap complicated considering different DVI outputs can have different capabilities. It'due south quite common for one DVI output to exist able to support higher resolution monitors than another DVI output. Many video cards accept one single link DVI output and one dual link DVI output. You can read more about single and dual link DVI on this page. If y'all demand to use a dual link DVI output and your video card only has ane of them so you'll need to consult the video card documentation on which DVI output supports dual link. Both DVI outputs will work with a high resolution monitor at lower resolutions only only the dual link DVI output will be able to drive the monitor at high resolution. The DVI outputs may likewise differ in speed. 1 DVI output may use slower DVI transmitters built into the GPU whereas the other DVI output may use a faster external silicon chip. If you lot take problems with 1 DVI output then try the other. They're frequently quite unlike.
Some LCD monitors take both a VGA input and a DVI input. You only need to connect i or the other. Don't connect cables to both. If you're not sure which one to use then just use DVI. It'due south digital and may give you lot ameliorate image quality. In my feel, VGA always works whereas DVI almost always works. If DVI doesn't piece of work then try connecting it to the VGA output instead. VGA is a long-established technology whereas DVI still has a few bugs to work out from time to time. It'southward better in the long run to become with digital (DVI) but it's handy to be able to resort to analog (VGA) if yous need to.
Install the display drivers for your video card
This stride is pretty like shooting fish in a barrel. All you have to do is boot Windows, locate the brandish commuter installer program for your video menu, and run it. Windows can work with your video carte du jour with no brandish drivers installed. It may exist limited to a low resolution screen style which a express number of colors just that's enough to permit you lot to install your brandish drivers. If yous would like to take the safest route to installing your brandish drivers then yous should kicking Windows in VGA mode (or condom mode if you're non running Windows 2000 or XP). It's rarely necessary to install the drivers in VGA style simply you should endeavor it if you're having issues. This page explains how to boot in VGA mode.
One time yous've booted into Windows, you have to run the display driver installer programme. The installer will so guide you through the installation. Information technology's usually nothing more accepting a EULA and then clicking "OK" a few times. Afterwards the installation is finished you reboot your machine and you're done. Your new video bill of fare probably came with an installation CD. Don't use it. Information technology virtually certainly contains outdated drivers. New display drivers have probably been released since the installation CD was manufactured. The best drivers to use are ones which y'all download from the GPU maker (unremarkably ATI or NVIDIA). This page gives thorough instructions on how to download the all-time display drivers and install them.
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Source: http://www.playtool.com/pages/installvid/install.html
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