New Graphics card install = no picture?

[hunterjwizzard]

Hi folks,

A few weeks ago I was here looking for advice on restoring and old "Graphite" Power Mac G4 I've had on a shelf for 10+ years, and boy did I get it! Was very helpful.

My first step was to update the graphics card. I got a Mac-edition GeForce4 MX which finally arrived last week, and I set about to install it. As far as I can tell, the card should be plug-and-play, but I am getting no picture.

The first problem: the little green tab at the back of the AGP port snapped off(I was being careful, I swear!) when I went to install the card. This happened with very minima pressure and I can tell the plastic was brittle.

Second problem: the card was fairly difficult to install. Took a fair amount of force to line up the hole on the graphics card with the screw hole on the case. Not sure if that's normal or not.

Once installed, I have no picture through the DVI port. I can tell the machine is booting(makes the trademark apple "ding" and everything) and gets a LAN connection, but there's no picture either through my ridiculous KVM setup or a directly attached monitor.

First thing I'd like to confirm: should I get picture through the DVI port with nothing on the ADC? I have searched high and low for an ADC-to-DVI adapter but thusfar the only one I've seen the seller wants an "are you $&%#ing kidding me?" $150 for; so hopefully the apple is smart enough to see there's no display on the ADC(the old Rage128 card was, so...)

Second question: how important was that little green tab? Card looks to be seated just fine without it. I plan to do more testing this weekend but after the tab broke I'm scared to touch the thing. I wrecked my favorite dual P3 system a few months back when a brittle AGP port broke. In hindsight I should have been more weary about this one.

 

[for this]

The first problem: the little green tab at the back of the AGP port snapped off(I was being careful, I swear!) when I went to install the card. This happened with very minima pressure and I can tell the plastic was brittle.

What tab? If it's this part, you should be fine without it because there is no component or circuit trace there.

Second problem: the card was fairly difficult to install. Took a fair amount of force to line up the hole on the graphics card with the screw hole on the case. Not sure if that's normal or not.

This is probably normal because mine is also like that.

First thing I'd like to confirm: should I get picture through the DVI port with nothing on the ADC?

Yes, you should.

 

[hunterjwizzard]

What tab? If it's this part, you should be fine without it because there is no component or circuit trace there.

View attachment 925394

So that's on the card itself. Mine(and several PCs I've seen) additionally has a green plastic structure around the AGP port that includes a tab in the back which that latches into and holds it down. I'm kind of surprised I couldn't find a picture, I have at least 3 machines in the other room but don't really want to sift through stacks of stuff to get a look.

This is probably normal because mine is also like that.

Whew.

Yes, you should.

Ok, so clearly more troubleshooting is in order. I tried to run the thing first through an HDMI KVM into a modern 4k monitor; then through a DVI cable into an older 19:12 HP monitor. Next I'll break out one of my very old 4:3 screens and give that a go.

Thanks!!

 

[bunnspecial]

I’ve had more than one card(9600 in my case) that would not output a DVI signal but worked with a cheap passive DVI-VGA adapter. Don’t know why, bug might be worth a shot

 

[hunterjwizzard]

So that worked... really annoyingly. Plugged in and it... worked. This means I am adapting the signal down to VGA, then BACK to DVI, which makes me really angry. Kind of the whole point of the new card was so I could use DVI!!!

So is this just a deficiency in the card I am going to have to live with? What are the odds the ADC port will properly output a digital signal in the event I some day find an ADC-to-DVI adapter for a not obscene price?

EDIT: it is also a huge relief to know I didn't just kill my Mac.

 

[weckart]

EDIT: it is also a huge relief to know I didn't just kill my Mac.

The number of Macs I have seen with that green tab and even the green collar around that AGP port missing means that yours has just gone through the usual rite of passage. To be honest, AGP cards sit so snugly as a rule that the catch was never really necessary.

 

[1042686]

ADC has always properly Passed a digital signal Either direct or through an a1006 For me.


This one on eBay is priced reasonably.

Apple DVI To ADC Adapter A1006 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Apple DVI To ADC Adapter A1006 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Conversely, I found one on Shopgoodwill pretty cheap a while back And is worth purusing from time to time.

 

[Amethyst1]

ADC has always properly Passed a digital signal Either direct or through an a1006 For me.

The OP needs to go from ADC to DVI tho - the A1006 is the other way round.

 

[hunterjwizzard]

ADC has always properly Passed a digital signal Either direct or through an a1006 For me.


This one on eBay is priced reasonably.

Apple DVI To ADC Adapter A1006 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Apple DVI To ADC Adapter A1006 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Conversely, I found one on Shopgoodwill pretty cheap a while back And is worth purusing from time to time.

The OP needs to go from ADC to DVI tho - the A1006 is the other way round.

Correct. I do not own an ADC monitor

I've now happened across a second ADC-to-DVI, this time for an equally outrageous $100. How is that the simple passive connector that by all rights should cost about five bucks is valued higher than the powered intelligent converter?

Funny story, while browsing ebay, I found someone selling a generic 99-cent power cable for $40 because it was the correct power cord for the DVI-to-ADC box RhianB posted. Absolutely nothing special about the cable, no apple logo or anything. I have a whole bin full of cables of that type, and this seller thought it was worth $40 all by itself. Keep in mind a fully-functional mac of the same vintage I'm playing with only costs about $90.

 

[Amethyst1]

Funny story, while browsing ebay, I found someone selling a generic 99-cent power cable for $40 because it was the correct power cord for the DVI-to-ADC box RhianB posted. Absolutely nothing special about the cable, no apple logo or anything. I have a whole bin full of cables of that type, and this seller thought it was worth $40 all by itself. Keep in mind a fully-functional mac of the same vintage I'm playing with only costs about $90.

I'm seeing stuff like that pretty much all the time; paraphrasing Homer Simpson: It takes two - one to ask for that much money and another one to pay that much.

 

[hunterjwizzard]

Whats especially confusing to me is - I would assume the percentage of people who own an apple with an ADC port but no ADC display would be much higher than the folks with an old ADC monitor but no ADC ports on their apple. But like so many things... I seem to be wrong.

 

[weckart]

Whats especially confusing to me is - I would assume the percentage of people who own an apple with an ADC port but no ADC display would be much higher than the folks with an old ADC monitor but no ADC ports on their apple. But like so many things... I seem to be wrong.

I picked up a few ADC monitors, mostly 23", a few years ago for pennies, mainly because I had a few Apple towers and every one had an ADC graphics card in it. One of the monitors came with the A1006 for free because the recycling yard selling it thought it was a generic power adapter for the monitor. The guy at the yard also showed me a floor to ceiling pile of iBooks and PowerBooks in various states of repair and asked me if I was interested, i.e. please take these off his hands. These days, sellers would be asking a decent amount for every item in that pile of junk. It's a seller's market right now.

 

[hunterjwizzard]

That's pretty much the way this sort of thing goes. First its new, then its old, then its horribly obsolete, then its Classic.

If you hang out on a lot of vintage PC forums(like I do, because I am a nerd) you hear all kinds of fun stories of people with equipment from the 80s/90s that was hundreds new, given to them for free, and today worth thousands.

BUT. I am still hard pressed to believe that an apple ADC to DVI passive adapter is somehow remotely worth a hundred bucks especially for a non-apple one.

What exactly is a reasonable price-point for such a thing, so I'll know it when I see it?

 

[for this]

There may be not much demands for it. Since most (if not all) cards with an ADC also have a DVI for use. People who need an ADC to DVI are those who use dual monitors. Low demand + low supply = niche = higher price.

BTW you can DIY one if (a big if) you could find a male ADC connector, just ignore the power and the USB parts.

DIY ADC Adapter – Look, It's Another Blog

lookanotherblog.com

Or find another card that is good.

 

[hunterjwizzard]

There may be not much demands for it. Since most (if not all) cards with an ADC also have a DVI for use. People who need an ADC to DVI are those who use dual monitors. Low demand + low supply = niche = higher price.[/URL]

Well except that my card wont actually output a DVI signal over the DVI port and I can't be the only person with this problem.

BTW you can DIY one if (a big if) you could find a male ADC connector, just ignore the power and the USB parts.

DIY ADC Adapter – Look, It's Another Blog

lookanotherblog.com

This is also for a DVI to ADC adapter, not ADC to DVI. Though I will keep that in mind if I ever come into possession of an old apple studio display.

Or find another card that is good.

This is probably going to be my solution. For now the thing does work in it's current mode(albeit limited to 1024x768 on my current setup) so I can at leastt keep playing with it.

Thanks![/QUOTE]

 

[1042686]

I like Acryllic ADC monitors & have a few of them but as far as dvi gpus I have used in my QS & MDD include a an 4mx, 9000pro & a 9600. Your agp is 2x so you’ll probably need to tape a couple pins to get em to work.

 

[for this]

This is also for a DVI to ADC adapter, not ADC to DVI. Though I will keep that in mind if I ever come into possession of an old apple studio display.

I'm not mistaking it. ADC is just DVI-D + Power + USB. The article can also be applied to ADC to DVI. The only job is rewiring in a mirror fashion (and ignore the USB and the power parts), since the ADC is now male instead of female as in the article.

 

[Amethyst1]

Finding a male ADC connector could be challenging - female ones can be harvested from dead graphics cards but males...

 

[DearthnVader]

Finding a male ADC connector could be challenging - female ones can be harvested from dead graphics cards but males...

A shortage of males is my dream, if only I were an ADC connector........

 

[1042686]

A shortage of males is my dream, if only I were an ADC connector........

This so reminds me of that TNG episode where there was that lost earth colony of 1/2 drunken Irish descendants and other 1/2 clones suffering from genetic degradation and their issue was solved by polygonous relationships with the genetically robust hillbilly Irish women & men. One of the funnier TNG episodes. If you were one of the colonial men attached to 3 or 4 wives, you'd need alot of Romulan ale to survive it.

Watch out what you wish for. Believe me, one is more than enough

 

[hunterjwizzard]

If we're being technically... it was Klingon Blood Wine.