Technical information for those buying new video cards...

Larry_OHF · 12-13-2001, 12:16 PM

Some of you know that I recently purchased a new video card. This card is the top of the line thing...a GeForce 2 GTS...I don't even know all of it's name...anyway...people drool when I mention it. Enough said about that. I ordered it online from Pricewatch.com and the store that sold it to me is Future Technologies Inc. They sent me a faulty board that had vertical memory pathways visible on the screen, and the color was not true. So, I uninstalled the drivers that I had placed on my PC for it, but the old drivers did not go back in place. Windows could no longer boot up and so I had to go into Safe mode to try to reset the drivers for the old board again, while making a return on the new card. The drivers would not load in, and the CD Rom is unavailable in Safe mode. I nearly cried last night, as I could not get online to see everyone and participate in the RPGs...
Well, this morining I came to work and mentioned this problem to my help desk tech. friend. He said that Windows 95 and 98 are known to have trouble with replacing software like that, and said that all I had to do, because he had had the same trouble before, is put the video card into a slot that it had not ever been in before. He said that my PC would accept it as a new hardware item, and allow me to boot up the CD ROM and all.
So, if you ever think about buying a new videocard, and are having troubles like this...it is not your fault...you just gotta know the trade secrets around the bugs and crap to get it fixed.
I hope this info will be of use to somebody, so that I can feel that I helped someone not suffer the disasterous depression that I have been in for the past three days.

P.S....Don't ever order important hardware over the internet, because instead of just running down to the store to replace it, you have to pay the freaking $20.00 to ship the crap back and another $20.00 for the replacement and if you want to call and ask questions about your warranty and all, and don't speak Chinese, your up shit creek without a paddle!

Sazerac · 12-13-2001, 12:22 PM

Thanks for sharing that, Larry! Very valuable information.

Good ol' "Plug n' Pray"...now let's hope your video card problem gets solved as well! [img]smile.gif[/img]

Cheers,

MILAMBER · 12-13-2001, 01:05 PM

Dude, send it back anyways. The GF2 GTS is an old card. It's still pretty good, but it's old. They are on the Titanium GeForce 3 series now. You can get a GF2 Ti200 a GF3 Ti200 or a GF3 Ti500. I personally really like the Visiontek GF3Ti500. That's what I'm running right now.

Also, I've never really had much of a problem buying stuff online. It's usually cheaper and 9 times out of 10 it will work fine. I'd say the reason you had a bad experience is because you're buying a card that's at least a year old.

MILAMBER · 12-14-2001, 04:22 PM

I just saw eight of these cards selling for $33.00 on UBid as the final price.

12-14-2001, 10:30 PM

If you are able to swap its slot then this is not an AGP board which means its a PC or ISA card which means it is old, as for swapping drivers all you have to do is before you deinstall the board set your
video driver to the default windows driver...it really isn't as hard as you might think...but it is way easier if you can watch someone else do this stuff before you have to do it yourself...sorry you had such a hard time for somtheing that should have been simple.

MILAMBER · 12-15-2001, 03:53 PM

quote:
Originally posted by MagiK:
If you are able to swap its slot then this is not an AGP board which means its a PC or ISA card which means it is old, as for swapping drivers all you have to do is before you deinstall the board set your
video driver to the default windows driver...it really isn't as hard as you might think...but it is way easier if you can watch someone else do this stuff before you have to do it yourself...sorry you had such a hard time for somtheing that should have been simple.

I don't even think they make a PCI GF2. I'm sure they don't make one that uses DDR Ram.

Bahamut · 12-15-2001, 10:07 PM

did you put it in the PCI slot larry??? hehe

i have GeForce 2 also, i put it, it messed up, well i have been fiddling with my pc ever since i learned how to, so it wasn't of nay surprise... it rebooted, but it kept on hanging after some program runs... SOME... it hurts... when it hangs on IE and all that...

12-13-2001, 12:16 PM	#1
Larry_OHF Ironworks Moderator Join Date: March 1, 2001 Location: Midlands, South Carolina Age: 49 Posts: 14,759	Some of you know that I recently purchased a new video card. This card is the top of the line thing...a GeForce 2 GTS...I don't even know all of it's name...anyway...people drool when I mention it. Enough said about that. I ordered it online from Pricewatch.com and the store that sold it to me is Future Technologies Inc. They sent me a faulty board that had vertical memory pathways visible on the screen, and the color was not true. So, I uninstalled the drivers that I had placed on my PC for it, but the old drivers did not go back in place. Windows could no longer boot up and so I had to go into Safe mode to try to reset the drivers for the old board again, while making a return on the new card. The drivers would not load in, and the CD Rom is unavailable in Safe mode. I nearly cried last night, as I could not get online to see everyone and participate in the RPGs... Well, this morining I came to work and mentioned this problem to my help desk tech. friend. He said that Windows 95 and 98 are known to have trouble with replacing software like that, and said that all I had to do, because he had had the same trouble before, is put the video card into a slot that it had not ever been in before. He said that my PC would accept it as a new hardware item, and allow me to boot up the CD ROM and all. So, if you ever think about buying a new videocard, and are having troubles like this...it is not your fault...you just gotta know the trade secrets around the bugs and crap to get it fixed. I hope this info will be of use to somebody, so that I can feel that I helped someone not suffer the disasterous depression that I have been in for the past three days. P.S....Don't ever order important hardware over the internet, because instead of just running down to the store to replace it, you have to pay the freaking $20.00 to ship the crap back and another $20.00 for the replacement and if you want to call and ask questions about your warranty and all, and don't speak Chinese, your up shit creek without a paddle! __________________

12-13-2001, 12:22 PM	#2
Sazerac Ironworks Moderator Join Date: January 7, 2001 Location: Monroe, LA Age: 61 Posts: 7,387	Thanks for sharing that, Larry! Very valuable information. Good ol' "Plug n' Pray"...now let's hope your video card problem gets solved as well! [img]smile.gif[/img] Cheers, __________________ "And all my days are trances, and all my nightly dreams, Are where thy grey eye glances, and where thy footstep gleams, In what ethereal dances, by what eternal streams..."

12-13-2001, 01:05 PM	#3
MILAMBER Lord Soth Join Date: March 5, 2001 Location: Southern California Posts: 1,948	Dude, send it back anyways. The GF2 GTS is an old card. It's still pretty good, but it's old. They are on the Titanium GeForce 3 series now. You can get a GF2 Ti200 a GF3 Ti200 or a GF3 Ti500. I personally really like the Visiontek GF3Ti500. That's what I'm running right now. Also, I've never really had much of a problem buying stuff online. It's usually cheaper and 9 times out of 10 it will work fine. I'd say the reason you had a bad experience is because you're buying a card that's at least a year old. __________________ \"The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.\"<br />-General George Patton (1885-1945)<br /> <br />Member of CLAN HADB<br />Founder of The Anti Clan Coalition

12-14-2001, 04:22 PM	#4
MILAMBER Lord Soth Join Date: March 5, 2001 Location: Southern California Posts: 1,948	I just saw eight of these cards selling for $33.00 on UBid as the final price. __________________ \"The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.\"<br />-General George Patton (1885-1945)<br /> <br />Member of CLAN HADB<br />Founder of The Anti Clan Coalition

12-15-2001, 03:53 PM	#6
MILAMBER Lord Soth Join Date: March 5, 2001 Location: Southern California Posts: 1,948	quote: Originally posted by MagiK: If you are able to swap its slot then this is not an AGP board which means its a PC or ISA card which means it is old, as for swapping drivers all you have to do is before you deinstall the board set your video driver to the default windows driver...it really isn't as hard as you might think...but it is way easier if you can watch someone else do this stuff before you have to do it yourself...sorry you had such a hard time for somtheing that should have been simple. I don't even think they make a PCI GF2. I'm sure they don't make one that uses DDR Ram. __________________ \"The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.\"<br />-General George Patton (1885-1945)<br /> <br />Member of CLAN HADB<br />Founder of The Anti Clan Coalition

12-14-2001, 10:30 PM	#5
MagiK Guest Posts: n/a	If you are able to swap its slot then this is not an AGP board which means its a PC or ISA card which means it is old, as for swapping drivers all you have to do is before you deinstall the board set your video driver to the default windows driver...it really isn't as hard as you might think...but it is way easier if you can watch someone else do this stuff before you have to do it yourself...sorry you had such a hard time for somtheing that should have been simple.

12-15-2001, 10:07 PM	#7
Bahamut Iron Throne Cult Join Date: March 12, 2001 Location: Manila, Philippines Age: 40 Posts: 4,864	did you put it in the PCI slot larry??? hehe i have GeForce 2 also, i put it, it messed up, well i have been fiddling with my pc ever since i learned how to, so it wasn't of nay surprise... it rebooted, but it kept on hanging after some program runs... SOME... it hurts... when it hangs on IE and all that... __________________ http://makeallthedifference.blogspot.com http://www.bratgirlcentral.com/cgi-b.../ikonboard.cgi

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