# Windows can't find graphics card



## ksprite (Sep 28, 2006)

I'm very close to opening up the case, pointing the hard drive to the card and saying "RIGHT THERE, IDIOT! THERE'S THE CARD!"

With that out of my system, here's the issue:

I had on-board graphics [S3 ProSavage DDR] which never seemed to be found. The drivers were installed however, Windows Device Manager said that the device could not be found. I purchased a new card - MSI MX4000-T64, 64 MB DDR, 32 bit - and installed it. I have a display and Windows finds the card, drivers can be installed from the CD it came with or Windows installs them itself and then it finishes with "Windows cannot find the hardware device".

So, I tried new drivers. Nothing.

I tried unistalling and going back to the on-board graphics. Same issue. Granted, this was a pipe dream since they had the same issue as the new card.

I'm running XP Home, SP2. I have an ESC motherboard with a Via p4vmm2 chipset, P4 2.40 GHz and 512 MB RAM.

I'm software savvy but hardware petrified so any help I can get will be appreciated.


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## frybrg (Sep 28, 2006)

You may have tryed but did not say, have you turned off onboard graphics in bios


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## ksprite (Sep 28, 2006)

You're right, at least I think you are, in that I did try it and didn't say. I have the settings in the BIOS to look to the AGP slot first, which is where the card resides. I don't recall any other settings in regards to the on-board graphics, so nothing else in the BIOS has been tried.

As another problem/symptom, I'm having boot issues as well. The BIOS can find the drives and then hangs for 10 minutes [I've timed it with building anger], I get the all good beep and then Windows loads. It's that 10 minute hang after it displays the primary and secondary masters and slaves that gets my stomach extra twisty.


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## Jimmy the Hand (Jul 28, 2006)

This issue with hard drives might indicate a failing HDD. Since you can boot OK, I suspect the primary slave or one of the secondary drives. Check if in BIOS the S.M.A.R.T option is enabled, so that you can get S.M.A.R.T status messages. That will warn you at boot if there's a problem with HDD. Also, a surface check should be carried out on each drive, preferably with the HDD manufacturers' dedicated utilities.

Also, check the HDD jumper settings. If e.g. the Master drive is set as Master, but the Slave is set as Cable Select, though in the Slave cable position, it can cause such delay. (Usually it causes an error message and no HDD recognition, but that's not the case right now.) Make sure that Master is set as Master and Slave is set as Slave.


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## ksprite (Sep 28, 2006)

S.M.A.R.T. wasn't enabled but I turned it on and it says all is well. The jumpers are set right as well. It was worth a shot, though.


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## Jimmy the Hand (Jul 28, 2006)

A few more things to try.

Graphics:
- With some motherboards, you have to install a special driver before you can use AGP slot properly. See if there is such a thing on the MOBO CD.
- Once I met a graphics card that wasn't what it should have been. Don't remember names, but something like it was called Riva TNT but it was actually a Voodoo fx3. Download and install Everest, and see what it says about your AGP card. 
- Check in BIOS if graphics controller has an IRQ conflict with something else.

Boot:
- Remove all HDDs except the one with OS, and see if boot is faster. If so, then re-plug the other HDDs, one at a time. This way you might learn which one, if any, is the culprit.
- Try enable fast POST (Power On Self Test) in BIOS.
- Do a RAM test 
http://www.memtest86.com/


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## Rich-M (May 3, 2006)

Reset the bios to optimum defaults and try again...and I agree hard drive could be at issue and SMART is nearly useless anyway. Now that I see ECS mobo, I would bet that is the problem.
I would do XP Repair and see if that fixes it because that will tell you whether or not software has anything to do with it....
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
If not that it's probably the mobo...sorry but you own the worst!


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## ksprite (Sep 28, 2006)

Rich-M said:


> If not that it's probably the mobo...sorry but you own the worst!


You... are not kidding. Heh. We've fixed most of the start up issues in going to a quick boot. In puddling around on the net, I've found a few diagnostic tools listed plus the ones linked here.

MSINFO32 says that I've got these conflicts from the Conflicts/Sharing category.

I/O Port 0x00000000-0x00000CF7	PCI bus
I/O Port 0x00000000-0x00000CF7	Direct memory access controller

I/O Port 0x000003C0-0x000003DF	VIA CPU to AGP Controller
I/O Port 0x000003C0-0x000003DF	VgaSave

IRQ 5	NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 4000 (Microsoft Corporation)
IRQ 5	VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller
IRQ 5	VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller
IRQ 5	VIA AC'97 Enhanced Audio Controller (WDM)
IRQ 5	VIA Rhine II Fast Ethernet Adapter

IRQ 11	Realtek RTL8139 Family PCI Fast Ethernet NIC
IRQ 11	DAVICOM 9102-Based PCI Fast Ethernet Adapter
IRQ 11	VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller
IRQ 11	VIA USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller

Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF	PCI bus
Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF	VIA CPU to AGP Controller
Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF	VgaSave

I/O Port 0x000003B0-0x000003BB	VIA CPU to AGP Controller
I/O Port 0x000003B0-0x000003BB	VgaSave

Everest says that I have a nVidia GeForce4 MX 4000 (MSI MX4000) card, which is what the box says too so I guess that's a dead end. Unless I'm wrong. I'm frequently wrong.


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## ksprite (Sep 28, 2006)

Good news or bad news - depending on how you slice it. When I boot into Safe Mode, the system hangs on mup.sys.


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## Jimmy the Hand (Jul 28, 2006)

I found a forum where mup.sys was on debate. Well, I found lots of them, but this particular site had an interesting passage:



> >> Re: Windows xp freezes at mup.sys
> I had this problem as well it turned out not to be the mup.sys file that was the problem... it actually loaded it was the last file in the series... what actually fixed my problem was a registry entry that tells xp to look for another keyboard... I changed the 1 to a 0 and viola... booted right up...


As for the graphics card problem, it seems there might be IRQ conflicts. I have no idea if this will help, but I would try changing the VGA IRQ to something unused, first in BIOS then in Windows Device Manager. And, of course, take notes of the present state so that you can restore it if needed.


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## ksprite (Sep 28, 2006)

Yeah. There are tons of them alright and none of them have a nice definitive answer. Before I go futzing in the registry, I want to run one more thing past folks.

Here's my ntbtlog from my safe mode reboot.

Service Pack 210 3 2006 02:27:42.500
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\system32\hal.dll
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\system32\KDCOM.DLL
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\system32\BOOTVID.dll
Loaded driver ACPI.sys
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\System32\DRIVERS\WMILIB.SYS
Loaded driver pci.sys
Loaded driver isapnp.sys
Loaded driver viaidexp.sys
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\System32\DRIVERS\PCIIDEX.SYS
Loaded driver MountMgr.sys
Loaded driver ftdisk.sys
Loaded driver PartMgr.sys
Loaded driver VolSnap.sys
Loaded driver atapi.sys
Loaded driver disk.sys
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\System32\DRIVERS\CLASSPNP.SYS
Loaded driver fltmgr.sys
Loaded driver sr.sys
Loaded driver Fastfat.sys
Loaded driver KSecDD.sys
Loaded driver NDIS.sys
Loaded driver Wsdrv.sys
Loaded driver viaagp1.sys
Loaded driver Mup.sys
Did not load driver Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) PC

----
The rest of the drivers didn't load after that so I guess that's moot. Is my problem child the ACPI?

Also, with the IRQ assignments, any idea how I can change those? I've been looking and I can't seem to find the way to do it. I'm not in a tizzy over that since mup.sys is now my new nemesis.


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## Rollin' Rog (Dec 9, 2000)

Can you clairify this: you say you installed the card, Windows loads the drivers for it and you have a display. Everest identifies the card and I presume the installed drivers. The device is listed in the Device manager, right?

The only apparent "problem" is you get some message about "windows cannot find the hardware device".

Do we know this message is actually referring to the graphics card?

Nothing seems to be wrong except for this message?

Can you update the drivers from here:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_2k_91.47.html

As for mup.sys, try removing any USB devices not required for booting and see if that gets you through. This includes any PCI cards such as a USB controller card.


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## ksprite (Sep 28, 2006)

Rollin' Rog said:


> Can you clairify this: you say you installed the card, Windows loads the drivers for it and you have a display. Everest identifies the card and I presume the installed drivers. The device is listed in the Device manager, right?
> 
> The only apparent "problem" is you get some message about "windows cannot find the hardware device".
> 
> ...


Tried those driver and still the same results, sadly.

I go into display and everything is on the defult VGA settings from Windows and nothing from the drivers for the card. The device is listed in the hardware manager with that lovely exclamation point saying the hardware can't be found.

Everest says this about the card :

Device Properties:
Driver Description NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 4000
Driver Date 4/18/2005
Driver Version 7.2.1.2
Driver Provider NVIDIA
INF File oem27.inf
Hardware ID PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0185&SUBSYS_93631462&REV_C1
Location Information PCI bus 1, device 0, function 0
PCI Device MSI MX4000 (MS-8936) Video Adapter


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## Rollin' Rog (Dec 9, 2000)

Is there more than one display device listed in the Device Manager -- for example the onboard graphics chip?

If so, this needs to be disabled in the BIOS setup. Windows gets confused by multiple graphics devices.


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## ksprite (Sep 28, 2006)

Nope. Sadly, just the NVIDIA card.


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## Rollin' Rog (Dec 9, 2000)

I would still go into the BIOS and look for the option to enable/disable the onboard chip. You might try that again -- making sure it is enabled.

Also, since the Nvidia card is PCI, try moving it or swapping with another PCI device.

You can also try removing any traces of the Nvidia drivers using a cleaner before any reinstall.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=3214


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## ksprite (Sep 28, 2006)

Rollin' Rog said:


> I would still go into the BIOS and look for the option to enable/disable the onboard chip. You might try that again -- making sure it is enabled.
> 
> Also, since the Nvidia card is PCI, try moving it or swapping with another PCI device.
> 
> ...


The BIOS is set to look at the AGP and the PCI. I wish I could switch out slots, but I can't since it's an AGP card.


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## ksprite (Sep 28, 2006)

On the good news front, I narrowed down the issue of the slow boot. Much like everyone else with mup.sys, it was a matter of removing hardware and slowly re-adding it. The issue was with a USB that was going. When I unplugged the device from the port, I heard a small crackle which I'm guessing means it was going south. After it was removed, BIOS and OS booted up just like they did in the old days.


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## ksprite (Sep 28, 2006)

No luck on the new drivers. Still says it can't find it.


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## Rollin' Rog (Dec 9, 2000)

What was the buggered USB device?

I'm wondering if you don't have a problem with the motherboard itself.

Was there no separate configuration for using or not using the onboard device?

Have you followed exactly the "Code 41" recommendations here:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310123

If you run *services.msc*

Is the Plug and Play service set to automatic startup and running?


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## ksprite (Sep 28, 2006)

It was a printer that was hooked up to the USB port on the back of the computer. I moved it to the ports on the front and boot up remained good.

I wouldn't be surprised if it is the board, unfortunately.

The onboard graphics had drivers installed but also never worked. I'm not sure how to turn them off if they are on, but I have uninstalled the drivers and I'm not seeing any refrences to them. In happy sunshineland, I'd love there to be a jumper I could just change.

The Code 41 clues were the first thing I tried to no avail.

I just ran services.msc. Plug and play is auto and running. NVIDIA is set to auto and when I try to start it, I get this:

The NVIDIA Display Driver Service service on Local Computer started and then stopped. Some services stop automatically if they have no work to do, for example, the Performance Logs and Alerts services.


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## Rollin' Rog (Dec 9, 2000)

You identify the ECS model as P4vmm2, but there are many different versions for this on the ECS site -- what is the exact model (version number)?

There may be some motherboard settings we are missing, but the exact manual has to be consulted.


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## gladiator200693 (Oct 14, 2006)

hi guys
could one help me please i have the motherbord P4VMM2 and i have buy a new graphics card to perform my experience but when i install it the computer didn't boot and the screen is blank. i tried to see in the bios of a option to desable my integrated graphics card but i fail. my new graphics card work fine. how could i let this new graphics card work properly, please if one know how could i solve the probleme answer me. thanks


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## Rich-M (May 3, 2006)

Ddi you buy an agp 4X video card or one that will at least do 4X and 8X?


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## gladiator200693 (Oct 14, 2006)

thanks you for your reply
this graphics card is supporting the AGP 2x, 4x and 8x but my AGP slot is 4x and i asked the sapphire support and they told me that should work in my mobo but the probleme is how to desactivate my integrated graphics card
and you know i tried all the pssible i can and still just one thinks to do is to upgrade my bios and i am affraid about that.
thanks again


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## Rich-M (May 3, 2006)

If that really is the case, put the monitor back on the onboard and go into the bios and find the shutdown for onboard, it has to be there.


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## ksprite (Sep 28, 2006)

I've been ticking away to try and change one thing at a time back to how it was in the begining to see if it fixes it to no avail. In my chipping, I noticed this. This is an AGP card but the Device ID says it's a PCI PNP card. This strikes me as not right at all. The drivers I've used were the ones included on the CD and when those didn't work, the drivers MSI had available for download on their site. Anyone know of a way to explain to this thing that it's an AGP and not a PCI?


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## AndreJbs (Feb 22, 2007)

I had the same problem, 

My display adaptor would not detect under device manager on a p4vmm2 motherboard.

It was conflicting with the Via PCI to AGP controller.

in your case it might be different - 

Goto - Desktop properties - Settings - Advanced -etc. and check under the card's resources with what it is conflicting.

So I uninstalled the Via PCI to AGP controller form Device manager, rebooted the machine
The onboard card installed automatically.

Thereafter I installed the Via service pack to reinstall the Via PCI to AGP controller.

Everything OK

Lemme know


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