a friends computer.

my friend has an compaq presario sr5250nx, has a intel gma 950 graphics chipset, it also has pci slot that supports PCI-E x16 card, he bought a radeon HD 5450 card that is PCI-E x16 type, but in device manager it doesnt show in devices. nor does win7 detect it being installed. can he disable the on-board chipset and reboot so windows might possibly install graphic card. or is there something were over looking.

After installing the GPU, did you install the GPU driver for it?


http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/Pages/index.aspx

no, usually when new hardware detected, message comes up saying found new hardware and starts downloading driver through windows update. but for some reason its not detecting new hardware.

It's generally recommended to download and install the drivers for hardware manually or with the install DVD that came with the hardware. Letting windows pick up the driver and install it, using this method, windows only installs the windows basic driver, that's just to get the device working if at all.

While the system BIOS is usually configured to auto detect the presence of PCIe graphics cards, this is not always the case. If you install a PCIe graphics card and you still get a picture from the onboard graphics, you should check the system BIOS for graphics detection options.

The onboard graphics capabilities should be disabled if the BIOS detects dedicated graphics. This eliminates extra power usage from the onboard graphics, minimizes chipset heat dissipation, and discontinues the use of shared memory.

Did he move his monitor connection from the motherboard video to a slot on the back of the HD5450 board?

Is the video card properly seated in the slot and the clip locked into place?

Is his power supply adequate for the requirements of the card (400W+) ?

Ummm, no it doesn't! Just to be sure we are all on the same page, it is important to note that PCI is a totally different interface than PCIe (PCI Express). PCI and PCIe are NOT compatible. The slots are different, the protocols are different, and the voltages on the pins are different.

This is important to keep sorted out, especially when the 5450 comes in PCI, and PCIe versions too. Not just power, but connections too. While the basic 5450 cards I have seen don't require a supplemental power connection, not all card makers configure their cards the same. So check the manual (download from maker's site).

Just for reference:

Spec:
http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/com...-32744139.html

Manuals:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/m...8669&sw_lang=&

Motherboard:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/d...t=3548669#N288

And from here: http://www.pcityourself.com/choosing/motherboard.php

were upgrading psu to a 500 watt. 250 watt isnt enough.