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Question

turn off my onboard graphics in windows xp

Aug 15, 2012 11:06AM PDT

Not sure if this is the right place, If not can someone move it?

i recently bought a hp dc5100 of amazon. Got the computer working with a windows xp home cd i had lying around loaded up my favorite game(World of Warcraft). one it was on i noticed the graphics card could not handle the game.

So i went to my old computer and pulled the graphics card installed it and it prompted me to get a PCI Simple Communications Controller driver which i did. but the computer still sees and is using the on board graphics.

What i would like to know is, How can i get the computer to see and use my graphics card.

My computer specs (upgraded ram to 3,5gigs and took 120gig hard drive from old computer)
https://h10057.www1.hp.com/ecomcat/hpcatalog/specs/provisioner/99/EU817US.htm

Old computer i took the extra ram hard drive and graphics card from.
http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/emachines-t3646/4507-3118_7-32924902.html

Ive also read that you may need my motherboard id and or bios version so here they are
Motherboard id <DMI>
Field Value
Motherboard Name Hewlett-Packard HP Compaq dc5100 SFF(EU817US) pulled from Everest

BIOS Type: COMPAQ
BIOS Date: August 25th 2005
BIOS ID: Unknown-None
BIOS OEM: 786C2 v01.07
Chipset: Intel 2580 rev 4

pulled from http://biosagentplus.com

Discussion is locked

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Answer
just noticed this is the vista forum
Aug 15, 2012 11:08AM PDT

Sorry, can an admin move this to the correct place.

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From memory that board had no such feature.
Aug 15, 2012 12:55PM PDT

Many boards didn't allow or provide such a disable. This one from memory was one of those.
Bob

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Added detail.
Aug 15, 2012 1:33PM PDT

I strongly suggest you NEVER remove the video drivers for the onboard video. I've seen such a move cause XP to run slowly. For now I set which display is primary and I'm done.
Bob

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Just A Thought... If Both Devices Are Installed In.....
Aug 15, 2012 1:03PM PDT

...and show up in Device Manager-Display Adapters, you might be able to "Enable" the video card of your choice and "Disable" the onboard device, although it usually requires you to do so in Safe Mode. But BE SURE the new video card is correctly installed and shows up in Device Manager and can be enabled. If it's not there, restarting in "normal" Windows after disabling the onboard video will cause your display to show up blank.. Restarting in Safe Mode will load basic video drivers and allow you to make changes but the normal display won't work till it's enabled again.

Hope this helps.

Grif

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LOL im dumb
Aug 16, 2012 9:30AM PDT

i went to look for it and did not see it so i pulled it out and looked up the part number. As it turns out i put an old modem in and my old computer had integrated graphics.

so now my question is since you all are so helpful Grin

Whats the best graphics card i can get with out having to upgrade the PSU and play WoW with decent frame rates.

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Well, I'm Not A Gamer, But A Suggestion About That PC
Aug 17, 2012 4:14AM PDT

It's a basic business computer, not really designed to run games.. The power supply is only 200 - 250 watts, and the processor, depending on the machine's configuration, may be at best, a Pent 4... If you're really looking for gaming computer, I'd think about getting a machine which is designed for those stresses. The power supply needs to be double what is normally installed to effectively run a decent video card, more fans, etc.

In the meantime, have you checked the BIOS to see if it will allow you to use more RAM for video? Frequently, you can increase the amount of RAM allocated for graphics by checking the video settings in the BIOS settings.. It might help.

Hope this helps.

Grif

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ty
Aug 17, 2012 3:11PM PDT

i did not even think of that ill have to check that out, And yea i know i need a better computer to game with but i got a kid on the way in a month a strapped for cash. I found a cheap card for now that will work till i can save for a new puter.

Thank You all for your help