Computer problem

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Thu Sep 02, 2010 11:06 pm

Thought I might ask for some assistance on this.

I have this computer that had some video problems a few years back. I replaced the video card and it worked.

Now, years later, my hard drive crashes. Not being tech savvy, I went ahead and bought a new hard drive and installed it. Then, I successfully installed windows. Then, after two attempts I successfully installed all the drivers.

Except one. The one that says "Video Controller: VGA compatible". Problem is, I can't find the box of the replaced video card, so I don't know which card it is.

So my question is, how do I find out which card it is and which driver it will require? Do I have to open the computer up and remove the card? Is there some way for Windows to I.D. it?

And then, the other problem I have is I can't connect to the internet. It connects through a router, and when I first boot the computer up, I can get online for about two minutes before I lose the connection. Two minutes is not sufficient enough time for me berate MV thoroughly enough. When I click "Repair", the message is "unable to reassign IP address" or something like that.

Warcry · Post by **Warcry** » Fri Sep 03, 2010 3:31 am

Video cards are usually (but not always) labelled, so you should be able to see what make/model it is as soon as you open up the case with no disassembly required. It's the first thing I'd look for, anyway.

For the second problem...which version of Windows did you install, and are you using a wireless connection or is the machine plugged into the router? I had almost that exact same problem with a Vista machine trying to connect wirelessly a few weeks ago.

Post by **Kaylee** » Fri Sep 03, 2010 8:56 am

Use this: http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html

It will tell you all the innards of your PC.

You may need a static IP but that depends how your network is set up, as Warcry said.

Metal Vendetta · Post by **Metal Vendetta** » Fri Sep 03, 2010 9:34 am

For your connection problems, it sounds like you'll need to check your TCP/IP protocols on your laptop and router - depending on the make and model, try logging into http://192.168.0.1/ with the username admin (or maybe Admin) and the password 1234 and check that the router is set to assign IP addresses automatically, then check that your network connection (LAN or WAN depending if you're plugged in or wireless) is configured to obtain an IP address automatically - http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/wind ... P-settings should help.

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Fri Sep 03, 2010 1:36 pm

Donkey chains to all. That's German for "thank you".

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Fri Sep 03, 2010 1:51 pm

Warcry wrote: For the second problem...which version of Windows did you install, and are you using a wireless connection or is the machine plugged into the router? I had almost that exact same problem with a Vista machine trying to connect wirelessly a few weeks ago.

It's Windows XP, and it's a wireless connection and is not plugged directly into the router (uses a Linksys wireless adapter).

Post by **Kaylee** » Fri Sep 03, 2010 2:45 pm

Use everest to find the manufacturer and get the latest drivers from their site. Apologies if you've done that already.