HELP! Black Screen - 9700 Dead?

[Com807877]

Hi all,

I just got a Powercolor Radeon 9700 non-pro retail (new) today from
Newegg.com. Upgrading from Geforce3.

Unfortunately when I installed it I turned on my PC and all I got was a
black screen. The system however booted fine as if there was nothing wrong.
(I know because windows started with the enter sound)

The card had the fan spinning, but nothing ever came on screen. It was just
black (in power saving mode).

I tried to clear the BIOS with the main board jumper - no good. So I put my
Geforce3 back in - everything is great.

I had the power connected to the card properly. I used the power cable that
came with it and the PSU cable AND with out any power cable at all to see if
it would at least show the error message it is supposed to show on screen
when power isn't connected. I tried 2 PSUs 300W/400W.

Can anyone tell me what is wrong? Is the card defective or is it something
I'm doing? (or forgetting to do?)

I have also read that there were issues with Radeon 9700s below revision 3 that caused problems EXACTLY like mine from research I have done on newsgroups and the ASUS/ATI web sites. Does this card saying "REV A02" mean this is an effected card?

My system specs are:
Asus A7V8X BIOS 1012
512 DDR Ram
Win XP Pro

The card stickers say
REV A02
XF97-C3
PN 109-94200-01

Thanks for any help!

 

[Harabecw]

Is the vid card -> monitor cable properly in place?

dont say it is. check it!

 

[Vonkhan]

get a new hard drive (u can even pick a 20GB up for cheap in the FS/T forum) , do a fresh install of windows and the 9700 drivers. if tht doesn't do it, RMA the card

 

[sodcha0s]

LOL Harabecw, been there done that too many times.

edited for my own stupidity....

 

[Com807877]

<<Is the vid card -> monitor cable properly in place?

dont say it is. check it! >>

Hi,

It is. My monitor confirms on screen when it is connected to a card.

 

[Harabecw]

Well, the card might be faulty as vonkhan said. Ask Powercolor first, then RMA it. I don't think it has anything to do with driver conflicts because you said you're getting no signal at all.

 

[Zrom999]

Did you check the brightness level?

 

[Arrowslinger]

Originally posted by: Com807877
Hi all,

So I put my
Geforce3 back in - everything is great.

I would say reformat, or do the geforce driver clean sweep?

 

[tboneuls]

It's most likely not a driver problem, you can't even see the BIOS. Try the card in another comp if possible, then RMA.

 

[squidman]

Id say reformating will help.
Tell me: Did u unisntall the old drivers BEFORE u put the ATi in? I got the same rev. a02 card yesterday. THe only difference between ATI's rev01 (yes powercolor 9700. IS an ATI made card (made in canada). Powercolor only made the box) and a02 is the heatsink - on a02 the fan has more blades, and the heatsink is fastened more securily.
Nature of your problem is odd:
can u at least enter BIOS?
Do u see ANYTHING? (I mean the POST values, etc?) if not - it could be the card.
If not - quite possibly its the connector. Try to connect using the DVI-to-vga adaptor. See if there's any signal. If not - probably its dead.

 

[Arrowslinger]

PowerColor cards are built in Taiwan, they are a partner company with ati.

An ATI Partner Product is a graphics board that is based on an ATI chipset but manufactured by a company other than ATI. These other manufacturers, sometimes referred to as Original Design Manufacturers (ODM?s) or Add-in Board (AIB) manufacturers, buy ATI graphics chips and design their own board product around it. This allows them to decide what product features, performance and pricing are best suited to the marketplace. This provides consumers with a greater choice in graphics products to meet their configuration, performance or budget needs while delivering the technical excellence found in ATI graphics chips.