My graphics card wont work properly after upgrading vista..?

December 20, 2009

I had Windows Vista Home Basic (My computer is a Dell) and I was going to reformat because of a bad virus. My bro gave me Vista Home Premium so i used that and started the formatting process. When it finished, i played a game of solitaire and a notice came up saying that hardware acceleration is off (never happened before). When the game opened, the frame rate becomes very low. Im assuming that my graphics card isn’t working properly. I ran DirectX Diagnostics and it didnt detect my graphics card.
I ran Everest and it says that the graphics card is a Standard VGA (if memory serves from 30mins ago).

I bought this computer off ebay a while ago and the seller gave me the following Installation CDs:

o Cyberlink PowerDVD
o Dell Photo All-in-One Printer
o Dell Dimension Computer Software
o Windows Vista Home Basic 32bit
o Dell LCD Flat Panel Monitor
o Norton Anitvirus

I installed them all except the antivirus.

When I opened up my computer (risky for a noob like me :D), I saw three cards (i assumed one was a graphics CARD). I unclipped them and one says Dell Memory and the others have no name. Games were working for me earlier before i uprgraded.

How do i find the graphics card so i can update it?
Is there any other ways to fix this?

Help please ~ ty

How do I make a clean installation on Windows XP / Dell Dimension 3000?

December 11, 2009

I want to make a clean installation on Windows XP using a Dell Dimension 3000. It came with an installation disc. I accepted the license agreement, and chose the option to create a clean installation. Now I am on the part where I could choose a certain partition to make a clean installation on.

-: Partition 1 (FAT) 47 MB (39 MB free)
C: Partition 2 (NTFS) 34507 MB (6494 MB free)
F: Partition 3 (FAT32) 3585 MB (708 MB free)

I chose drive C the last time and it did NOT make a clean installation. If I choose drive C, I am afraid it will not make a clean installation. What should I do, and what drive should I choose?
When I chose partition 2: C, all my previous files were still there, so it was NOT a clean installation.
If I delete partition 2: Drive C, it will not let me do so, because a part of the drive is needed to make an installation of Windows.
I want to use drive C for a clean installation, but how can I do it?

Revised Quest – Installed a new PC Hard Drive.(Is not a slave) Modem shows but “Network Connections” are blank

December 1, 2009

Couldnt figure out how to edit or ammend my first question, so … Computer is a Dell Dimension 4600. Loaded all original Software onto new Hard Drive. Diagnostics says all is ok. Connection Wizard cant find any DRIVERS on computer. otherwise, everything else works fine that I go into. I’ve reloaded software and ran "repairs", and still no luck.
I have repeatedly put in the drivers disc and OS disc and even started over and STILL cannot get it to work. Am really lost here.

Am I all set for a reformat?

November 26, 2009

Hey everyone. I plan on doing a reformat, but before I get started with that, I am going to put everything I want on to an external hard drive for later retrieval.
(The reason I am doing this is because my computer is getting really slow with loading files, the registry is a mess even though I use CCleaner, Defrag, and virus softwares like norton, malwarebytes.. etc.. and my computer is 7 years old now…)
After I got all my songs, pictures, movies, and whatever else on my external hard drive, I am going to reformat. My computer came with the following CD’s

-Microsoft Works Suite 2003 (Disc 1-5)
-APPLICATION For Reinstalling Dell Tools System Software
-APPLICATION For Installing/Reinstalling Roxio Easy CD Creator 5.2 Basic
-Drivers And Utilities Dell Dimension Resource CD (Contains drives, diagnostics and utilities and computer documentation.)
-OPERATING SYSTEM Reinstallation CD for XP Home Edition SP 1.
-Sound Blaster Live!
-Norton Antivirus
Ahh thanks for reminding me to backup favorites!

I’ve installed a new PC Hard Drive. (Is not a slave) Modem shows but “Network Connections” are blank. Help?

November 18, 2009

Computer is a Dell Dimension 4600. Loaded all original Software onto new Hard Drive. Diagnostics says all is ok. Connection Wizard cant find anything on puter. otherwise, everything else works fine that I go into. I’ve reloaded software and ran "repairs", and still no luck.