Error Beeps- Busted Graphics card?

manky · February 27th, 2005, 07:50 PM

I installed a 9800se earlier and got some error beeps (1 long 2 short). I no it means my graphics card is either not seated properly or it is broken. I must have tried for at least an hour jus reseating the card, blowing out dust in the agp slot and turning the computer bac on, but ofcourse the way my luck is goin lately with graphics cards, no breakthrough, just the same beeps. My card shudnt be broke, but if it is, is there anyway of finding out because nothing seems obvious just by looking at it.

Also Just another weird thing, just browsing through everest i was looking at my system slots and noticed that it says my agp slot is free even tho my graphics card is in there. I'm only using 1 pci slot but it says that 2 of them are in use. Does this make sense 2 ne1??????????

large_nostril · February 27th, 2005, 08:21 PM

The 1 long, 2 short beep code means is definitely something with the video card, as you stated. It could be that the mobo just won't support the card or it might be that the card is defective. Sometimes you can tell if the card is defective by looking closely at the core and memory for any blemishes but usually those only occur after use. It could have dozens of issues that you'd never be able to spot without an electron microscope. Best bet is to test it in another system that should support the card. If it works, your mobo might not support it and you might need to update the BIOS. If it doesn't work, chances are it's defective and should be returned.

About the Everest thing, yeah, it does that sometimes. It has to do with the way the mobo's BIOS maps the PCI/AGP bus. I've seen it on a few systems that have passed some serious stress testing so it's not an issue.

radio1_mike · February 28th, 2005, 10:52 AM

If you have another AGP card, try that one to see if the slot is busted.

If not, well it could be that your AGP slot will not support the card, no update of your BIOS will change that. Go to your motherboard's website and check to see what version AGP slot it has. Then check ATI's site and see what AGP slot the card needs.

Other than a busted card/slot or an incompatibility, look in your BIOS and make sure:
1) IRQ is assigned to VGA
2) Boot up video is: AGP slot (Not PCI)
3) AGP voltage: try upping the voltage 0.1v and see what happens.

I hope this helps, good luck!

RetroEvolute · February 28th, 2005, 06:12 PM

Okay, if it's a new Graphics Card, and it beeps at you like that, you may have forgotten to plug in the power to the vid card, if it requires power, which I'd assume so.

manky · February 28th, 2005, 06:41 PM

yeah i do need a power cord but its not the larger connection that the cd drive would use for example. its the type the hard drive uses the littler one i dont know what that type of connection is called.
How would i connect it all up, i have a free connection that comes off my CD Writer dont know if its male or female (it has prongs so i'm guessing male). I've seen a cable with male and female connectors but also with the littler connector aswel what are these called and would that be the one i need?

Just another thing, even tho there is no power connection to my graphics card when i install it and turn on the pc, wudnt the fan still work or am i worrying over nothing? Thanx!

RetroEvolute · February 28th, 2005, 08:31 PM

You usually need power for the fan... but...

Yeah, Just find an extra power cord floating around, and make sure it fits and put it in... Otherwise, if you can't find the right power, or if one doesn't exist, I guess you're about screwed, but can find some kind of way....

If it's too far away from the video card, just get creative.

Later, that's all I can really do from here.

large_nostril · March 1st, 2005, 09:42 AM

I'm not sure about the 9800s but most other cards that require additional power will usually start (including the fan) but will have issues.

The connector that you should need to plug into the card is called a 4 pin molex connector. It looks like this:

Your card should have a connection like this:

And you attach it to the card something like this:

If you're not seeing this on the card, let us know the model and manufacturer so we can better help you.

Also, since the fan isn't doing anything, make sure it's connected to the card as well. The card should have a 3pin (it might be 2pin) connector that the fan connects to.

manky · March 1st, 2005, 11:42 AM

No thats what i said earlier, i dont have that type of connection on my card. The Details are Peak Radeon 9800se 256mb DDR Agp 8x.

Like i said before the type of connection i see is the same as you have for the power connection on an FDD, its smaller than the one in your image large nostril.

I think this is the type of cable i need, see the small connector on the left? thats the type of power connector that is on my graphics card.

RetroEvolute · March 1st, 2005, 05:44 PM

Your Power Supply should also have some of those hangin' around if that's REALLY the right cord... and, I looked up your card...

Couldn't see the female on the card, but they were pretty low qual pics...

Good luck.

radio1_mike · March 2nd, 2005, 09:50 AM

Also, try to keep the power supply for the video card on it's own rail, if possible. Some power supplies do have a separate rail for a video card. If you don't try to configure your rail setup so that you have one draw (video card) or as few draws as possible on the available rail.