Pavilion HPE H8-1121 - New graphics card + PSU, wont boot past HP screen (revisited)

[Parsonian]

I'm having the same issue as this post from 2013!  yikes. Pavilion HPE H8-1121 - New graphics card + PSU, wont boot past HP screen.  

I've installed a newer power supply (Seasonic 620W), which has been working well.  I also installed a GTX 660Ti last year and it's been working great as well.  I recently purchased a ZOTAC GTX 970 and have attempted to install that, but it won't go past the blue HP screen and I get the same beep code (1 long, 3 short) which, it seems, suggests the video isn't initializing.

My BIOS date is 2011.

Where would I find an update for this?

I'm also using Windows 10, which I just found on the HP site isn't tested on my model and would likely not support it's use well.  Should I roll back to 7 or 8?  and then update BIOS?  Is there an update for my BIOS and where do I find it.

Anyway, I'm hoping that's a solution.  This still isn't a bad machine for being 5 years old.

Thanks for any help!

[erico · Accepted solution]

If the video card you purchased dose not have a legacy vBIOS it will never boot. A BIOS update will not resolve this.

It is likely that your new video card has a UEFI vBIOS and that only is for PC motherboards newer than yours that have a UEFI BIOS. Your motherboard has a legacy BIOS. 2012 was the model year when UEFI BIOS became more or less the defacto standard on motherboards.

I would return it  for a refund. Find candidate video cards that support legacy BIOS. It can be legacy vBIOS only or switchable vBIOS (legacy or UEFI).  I suggest looking at the Sapphire Technology website. ZoTac is  not known for providing enough in the way of information about their video cards. You are upgrading a prebuilt desktop PC and that is different  and a bit more difficult than putting together a DIY PC.I looked at Zotac's website and see that nothing is said about their video cards vBIOS.  I would return the card.  Read the video card specifications carefully. A candidate card for your motherboard must have legacy vBIOS support or it simply will not work.

Zotac (they say nothing about their product's vBIOS type)

https://www.zotac.com/us/product/graphics_card/gtx-970-amp-extreme-core

Sapphire Technology

http://www.sapphiretech.com/catapage_pd.asp?cataid=305&lang=eng

Since you are looking at the Gaming cards with 4GB. Take a look at the following card. It has a dual vBIOS. legacy and UEFI. http://www.sapphiretech.com/productdetial.asp?pid=640A98CD-0CF0-4191-B75C-CA2800111ADB&lang=eng

[Parsonian]

Thanks for the information, Provost.  It was very appreciated and greatly helpful.  I contacted Zotac about the card's compatibility and the support person, although he seemed knowledgeable, still beleived that simply updating the BIOS would solve the problem.  Doing further research, I believe you're definitely correct.  I was able to get a full refund for the product.  It's interesting that the information on the product's packaging isn't more clear about that incompatibility.  I'm glad I'm aware of it now as I've found other manufacturers, Sapphire and EVGA included, who have dual bios options on some of their cards (for EVGA, it's their SSC and FTW models).

Anyway, thanks again for helping me with this issue and growing my knowledge-base and understanding a little.  As the update to the BIOS will not affect this and I'm not otherwise having BIOS issues, I think I'll pass on updating it.  We'll see.

Cheers

[GREYHAIR1966]

Don't waist your money on the sapphire card. I tried it on my h8-1121 Even had sapphire verify the legacy bios was in the card. They were quite confused as they have never had any complaints about these cards nit working on legacy systems. I Still can't get past the splash screen. I tried the r7 370 card.

Did search for different hp oem supplied cards but it is hard to justify 500-1000 usd for an hp supplied Graphics card for an old computer. While I was able to get pricing no one had stock. I believe simply that the hp bios only Allows a limited number of choices in cards and these cards would have only been available with the PC from hp when they originally sold units with the Chicago motherboard. Any other and they will not work. If anyone has had success with any other cards let me know. Getting tired of trying to find one that will work. What would be great is if hp would do a bios update to allow us to put in our card of choice. But time is running out. They would have to write it to be uefi compatible as legacy cards are pretty much done. As a note if you want to try the sapphire card do it fast as they are no longer making the dual cards and the new series will no longer support legacy. I wish all better luck than I have had.

[Big_Dave]

@Parsonian

I agree with @GREYHAIR1966on the graphics cards.  The BIOS in the Chicago motherboard is just too old.  Some of the newer motherboards can load either legacy or UEFI BIOS (sometimes a mixture) and with these newer motherboards comes a higher level of legacy BIOS along with a newer chip technology. I have seen a post on this forum where the MSI NVIDIA GTX 750N worked with a legacy/UEFI switch on a HP PC with a BIOS less than version 8 but never on the Chicago motherboard.

Know what the return policy is before you buy.

[GREYHAIR1966]

Big Dave,

Thank you for the reply. The unfortunate part is there are no current cards available for legacy so that leaves eBay so most are non returnable. I found a couple used ones local for cheap. I will give them a try and let you know if they will work. I am trying a Gtx660 and a hd7950 both that were availible installed from hp with the Chicago mother board. I think if the device ID of either matches what is on the white list. I might get something to work. As I already updated the PSU. It is worth a shot.

It is to bad that replacing the video card is the weak link otherwise this PC has been outstanding. Actually it's the most stable and problem free of any hp I have owned. While it is slow and old by today's standards it is/was still a great machine for netflicks and General use. Even on some less demanding games.

[erico]

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@GREYHAIR1966 wrote:
Big Dave,

Thank you for the reply. The unfortunate part is there are no current cards available for legacy so that leaves eBay so most are non returnable. I found a couple used ones local for cheap. I will give them a try and let you know if they will work. I am trying a Gtx660 and a hd7950 both that were availible installed from hp with the Chicago mother board. I think if the device ID of either matches what is on the white list. I might get something to work. As I already updated the PSU. It is worth a shot.

It is to bad that replacing the video card is the weak link otherwise this PC has been outstanding. Actually it's the most stable and problem free of any hp I have owned. While it is slow and old by today's standards it is/was still a great machine for netflicks and General use. Even on some less demanding games.

---

I can't say that I have ever heard of a whitelist for video solutions, except in older generation notebook BIOSes.

I find the statement that "there are no current cards available for legacy," and I suppose you meant legacy BIOS support, a bit difficult to believe.

Perhaps you are  not searching in the right places.

NewEGG.com is usually a good website to get availability and pricing in the US. In Europe, I always use Tweakers.net.

I just searched for Sapphiretech's Nitro 370x model, which is a dual (legacy\UEFI) BIOS support PCIe x16 card.

It is available here in Europe.

See the following URL at Tweakers.net in the prizen section for stores selling it, complete with prices.

https://tweakers.net/pricewatch/476293/sapphire-nitro-r7-370-2g-d5.html

The Sapphiretech Nitro Radeon r7 360 video card is  also available at Newegg and here in Europe. It is also a dual (legacy\UEFI) BIOS support PCIe x16 video card.

NewEgg

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202196

Tweakers.net

https://tweakers.net/pricewatch/476295/sapphire-nitro-r7-360-2g-d5.html

[GREYHAIR1966]

I have spent a lot of time on the phone with sapphire trying to get my r7 370 card to work. they are discontinuing legacy bios support in the new models. I did look for a r7 360 but no stock in Canada. Everyone says buy the new series.

I also contacted Evga when I tried a gtx 1060 and a gtx 960 that also did not work and they also told me there cards no longer support legacy bios but those should work with 2.0.

So no one is stocking the old model cards here in Canada. Fortunately I did get most of my money back on the 1060 on private sale. I tried a Asus gtx660ti today no luck with that one either and it was a 5 year old card that worked in his PC. I saw it work in his PC prior to purchase. He was nice enough to give me my money back as I explained what was going on prior. So I am now down to the 7950. If that one doesn't work the old h8 is headed to the recycle depot. I enjoy a challenge but I believe after this I am done.

[erico]

@GREYHAIR1966

Sorry to hear that Canada does not appear to be in the supply chain loop for the dual BIOS cards. It certainly does sound like it has been quite a hassle.  Am glad to hear you have managed to get refunds.

If it can fit in your budget, perhaps it is time to source a replacement desktop with a UEFI BIOS.  

[Big_Dave]

@GREYHAIR1966

The  NVIDIA GTX 660ti should work provided that it was not flashed for UEFI support. How do I know that fact? I had a GTX 660ti and it came from EVGA without UEFI support and then I flashed it to work with UEFI and then it wouldn't work on PCs with a legacy BIOS.

If the GTX660ti doesn't work in your PC and if wasn't flashed for UEFI then you probably have another problem with your PC. Check with the graphics card manufacturer for legacy or UEFI support about the particular model NVIDIA GTX 660ti that didn't work.

Post your results from the manufacturer.