Swapping Video Cards

[impemonk]

Hello, so I got my friend a GF 6800 and I am installing it into his computer. Turns out that he had bought the computer off ABS and doesn't like the video card he currently runs(CORRECTION: its an ATI 9600).

This is where I am a bit confused. Would he be okay if I was to uninstall his old drivers, run driver cleaner, then install the new card and drivers? Would it be able to be recognized? I would tell him to reformat but he doesn't want to lose all his information, files, movies, anime, games, etc.

What do I do? I am a bit scared that if things go wrong his system wont boot and he'll have to swap out the new card for the old card, reinstall/reformat with the OEM XP disc, and then start from scratch.

Any help/advise would be great. Thanks.

 

[MisterChief]

Usually, you don't even have to get rid of the old drivers. Just: power off, unplug old card, plug in new card, power on, configure BIOS properly, boot, install new drivers, end of story.

 

[impemonk]

what do you mean "configure bios properly"?

 

[MisterChief]

As in set the AGP aperature, and make sure the voltage is back to naormal. He isn't overclocking, is he?

 

[impemonk]

ohh nonononon he is not OCing lol. He keeps everything regular.

 

[headbox]

If the new video card has the same RAM, don't even worry about the BIOS. Most cards are 128 MB anyways, with only some high-end being 256 and budget being 64.

 

[LTC8K6]

Would he be okay if I was to uninstall his old drivers, run driver cleaner, then install the new card and drivers?

You had it right the first time.

 

[impemonk]

ohh okay cool thanks. THe thing that was confusing me was the fact that his computer was OEM so it's like what would happen if he needed to reformat his computer or reinstall the OEM XP, would it still install even with the "new" video card or would he need to take out the 6800. put the 9600 in, and then proceed reformatting. Since its an OEM disc, there would be the default ATI drivers on there.

 

[Kaiser__Sose]

nope.. OEM version of XP shouldn't be any different from regular copy.. only that OEM comes with the PC purchase.. There are defualt ATI and NVIDIA drivers on all versions of Windows.

 

[impemonk]

oh, ic. But its strange because if I recall, on my old computer (it was bought online at ABS.com) I reformatted and lo and behold I didn't need to install the latest ATI drivers because the OEM XP disc from ABS had everything on that one CD. It was crazy!!

 

[swatX]

download 71.20beta off guru3d.com before u start this or if u want you could use the drivers from the cd

1.uninstall ATI drivers
2.reboot
3.restart in safe mode
4.run driver cleaner
5.remove everything related to ATI
6.shut down and power cable on the back of the pc
7.remove radeon 9600
8.put in geforce 6800
9.plug in a dedicated molex into the 6800's molex connector
10.remove the internet cable that connects to the comp
11.power on the pc
12.cancel any windows asking to install drivers
13.install drivers of the pc/or install 71.20 beta
14.restart
15.configure AA/AF resolution and refresh rate through NV cp
16.now you are all set


good luck

 

[impemonk]

man oh man THANKS A BUNCH and I mean it. I did what all of you guys mentioned and my friend's system is up and running like a charm. THanks a bunch guys for all the help, input, etc.

Wooot, making my friend happy makes me happy... (SUPER TEARS IN EYES)

 

[BFG10K]

Add/remove programs is usually all you need.