Proliant 2500 and 3rd party PCI video cards

[Rick Stephan]

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

[Mark Cloutier · Accepted solution]

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

[Rick Stephan]

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

[Mark Cloutier]

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

[Rick Stephan]

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

[Mark Cloutier]

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

[Rick Stephan]

Yo Mark,

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

Thanks!

Rick

[Brian Masters]

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.

[Sunil Jerath]

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,