topic Re: Proliant 2500 and 3rd party PCI video cards in ProLiant Servers (ML,DL,SL)

Proliant 2500 and 3rd party PCI video cards

Rick Stephan — Mon, 24 Feb 2003 22:34:14 GMT

I would like to upgrade my video the 2500. I've attempted to add 2 different PCI adapters (a Matrox & and a Trident) and neither works (without conflicts in Device Mgr). I have turned off switch SW1-1 to disable integrated video. Is there something else I am forgetting or is there a certain video board I need to aquire?

Thanks

Re: Proliant 2500 and 3rd party PCI video cards

Mark Cloutier — Tue, 25 Feb 2003 14:15:44 GMT

Hi Rick,
Try this:
Remove all video cards and turn switch #1 on. Clear NVRAM. Go into the F10 partition and let it auto-configure. Then:
1. From the main menu, select System Configuration.

2. On the next screen select Configure Hardware.

3. Wait for the message that appears and select REVIEW or MODIFY HARDWARE Details.

4. Select the menu item Add/Remove Boards.

5. Select Add Board and scroll down until you find Generic ISA Adapter Definition. (even for a PCI card).

6. After setting up the slot for a Generic ISA Definition, exit and save these changes to the previous menu.

7. Now select View or Edit Details. On the next screen, scroll down until you find Generic ISA Adapter Definition.

8. Select this and hit enter. Follow the on-screen instructions.

9. Here is where you can assign the resources to the card.

10. Exit and save changes. Turn off the PC and place the PCI card in that slot.

Mark

Re: Proliant 2500 and 3rd party PCI video cards

Rick Stephan — Tue, 25 Feb 2003 23:30:24 GMT

Mark,

Thanks for the reply. Forgive my ignorance, but if I remove all video cards and turn SW1-1 on, I get no video - i.e., I am blind.

Also, I am not familiar with how to clear NVRAM, unless your are reffering to SW1-6 (labeled "Clear Configuration". Could you please explain?

Thanks!

Rick

Re: Proliant 2500 and 3rd party PCI video cards

Mark Cloutier — Wed, 26 Feb 2003 13:44:42 GMT

So the on-board video isn't working......
Try what I have mentioned above with either of the video cards you have.
Yes, you are correct for clearing NVRAM.

Mark

Re: Proliant 2500 and 3rd party PCI video cards

Rick Stephan — Wed, 26 Feb 2003 20:07:02 GMT

Mark,

The on-board video works fine, just not when SW1-1 is on.

I am (now) familiar with the Syst. Config. tool and the procedure you described, but so far have yet to establish the correct resources for the video card. I have just been guessing because there are no jumpers or switches on the card. Any hints you have there would be appreciated.

Rick

Re: Proliant 2500 and 3rd party PCI video cards

Mark Cloutier — Wed, 26 Feb 2003 20:12:49 GMT

If you go to the video card web site I know sometimes they do have settings for the card.
Memory Range, IRQ setting, I/O range, etc.
Another option you might have is if you are running Win2000 to remove all PCI cards and drivers for these, except for the video card and go into safe mode to see if it will show in Device Manager with no resource conflicts.

Mark

Re: Proliant 2500 and 3rd party PCI video cards

Rick Stephan — Fri, 28 Feb 2003 00:00:15 GMT

Yo Mark,

Long story short, I finally got the Matrox board to work.

Thanks!

Rick

Re: Proliant 2500 and 3rd party PCI video cards

Brian Masters — Sat, 26 Apr 2003 02:22:27 GMT

Rick - Could you shed some light on how you were able to get the PCI video to work? I have a TNT2 PCI card I'm hoping to use. It seems every time I install the card and run Smart Start System Config, the next boot I get a Non-System Disk error.

Re: Proliant 2500 and 3rd party PCI video cards

Sunil Jerath — Mon, 28 Apr 2003 05:02:02 GMT

Hello Brian,
When you install the video card go to F10 system partition and make sure that the boot controller order is set to first for the Array Controller. I suspect when you install the PCI video card for some reason it's taking over the boot controller order.
Regards,