# Installing new video card. Keeps defaulting to onboard card.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/installing-new-video-card-keeps-defaulting-to-onboard-card/393531
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [February 24, 2007, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/installing-new-video-card-keeps-defaulting-to-onboard-card/393531 "2007-02-24T18:19:50Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2007, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/installing-new-video-card-keeps-defaulting-to-onboard-card/393531/1 "2007-02-24T18:19:50Z")
So I’m installing a spare nVidia G4 graphics card on a friend’s computer. I downloaded the drivers from their site, disabled the onboard generic card and had everything working fine. But for some reason it keeps defaulting back to the onboard card after a reboot so I need to connect the monitor to the original just to set up the new one.
I set it up so it doesn’t split the desktop to both cards, I made the nVidia the default card, and I can’t think of what I’m not doing now to get the settings to stick.
Any help? Thanks
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### Author:  [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2007, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/installing-new-video-card-keeps-defaulting-to-onboard-card/393531/2 "2007-02-24T18:26:11Z")
There is usually a BIOS setting for what video to use first, did you look there?
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### Author:  [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2007, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/installing-new-video-card-keeps-defaulting-to-onboard-card/393531/3 "2007-02-24T19:41:01Z")
Yeah, I checked that and it offers PCI and AGP. Nothing about the on-board card. FWIW, it’s a PCI card. Like I said, it will work until a reboot.
Just now it wasn’t giving a signal, so I moved the cable to the on-board port. It booted to the XP screen, but then went blank (light was still green, though) as if the desktop were on a second monitor. So I removed the card and rebooted and it’s working now. However, I’d still like to install the card since it’s much better for gaming. Also, I never had this problem when it was installed on my system.
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### Author:  [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2007, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/installing-new-video-card-keeps-defaulting-to-onboard-card/393531/4 "2007-02-24T20:53:55Z")
Like Yoyodyne said, there should be a setting in BIOS to disable any onboard graphics (as well as sound, NIC, etc). Some have a setting for which graphics card to use first, PCI or AGP.
Short of that, in display properties, on the settings tab, there is a check box for “use this device as the primary monitor”
Select the new card and display, check that box, save.
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### Author:  [@According\_to\_Pliny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/According_to_Pliny)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2007, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/installing-new-video-card-keeps-defaulting-to-onboard-card/393531/5 "2007-02-25T15:46:00Z")
Try the Device Manager
To open Device Manager, click Start, and then click Control Panel. Double-click System. On the Hardware tab, click Device Manager.
Find the card and right click for the options Enable, Disable and Remove
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### Author:  [@Cleophus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cleophus)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2007, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/installing-new-video-card-keeps-defaulting-to-onboard-card/393531/6 "2007-02-25T15:49:34Z")
[QUOTE=duffer]
Yeah, I checked that and it offers PCI and AGP. Nothing about the on-board card. FWIW, it’s a PCI card. Like I said, it will work until a reboot.
[/QUOTE]
Sometimes it’s listed as the amount of RAM to dedicate to video memory, and one of the options is to disable internal video.
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### Author:  [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2007, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/installing-new-video-card-keeps-defaulting-to-onboard-card/393531/7 "2007-02-25T19:49:14Z")
FWIW, there may just not be a way to do it. My newish Gigabyte 8VM800PMD-775 motherboard has no setting to disable the onboard video; it always dedicates 64MB of main memory to it. It claims to “automatically disable” the onboard video if you put a video card in, but it didn’t work when I put my PCI Radeon 9500 in, so perhaps it only works with an AGP card. Or perhaps it doesn’t work at all.
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### Author:  [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2007, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/installing-new-video-card-keeps-defaulting-to-onboard-card/393531/8 "2007-02-26T02:00:14Z")
[QUOTE=duffer]
Yeah, I checked that and it offers PCI and AGP. Nothing about the on-board card. FWIW, it’s a PCI card. Like I said, it will work until a reboot.
[/QUOTE]
The onboard would be the AGP, I assume you tried setting it to PCI and it didn’t work?
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### Author:  [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2007, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/installing-new-video-card-keeps-defaulting-to-onboard-card/393531/9 "2007-02-26T02:16:38Z")
Some motherboards have a jumper to disable on-board video (maybe in conjunction with a BIOS setting). Find out the motherboard model and look it up from a .PDF from the manufacturer. Or you might be able to browse the motherboard with a flash light for the jumper and look for a label.