Hewlett Packard....adding PCI cards???

[Spooky]

Trying to add a Turtle Beach II sound card to an HP 8370. Most confusing thing I have ever seen. The original sound card, an Ensoniq PCI audio, has a "power supply" attachment directly from the power supply. When I remove the Ensoniq card and install the Turtle Beach, Windows98 says "Your card is not plugged into a primary PCI slot." Is the PCI bus on the HP powered by the power supply?? Please, any advise would be appreciated.

[OuTpaTienT]

Good luck, you're gonna need it. HP systems are propriety hardware, meaning a lot of the **** inside is of their own design and not interchangable with a "standard" clone PC.

I just "upgraded" a friend's system that was an HP Pavilion. I ended up building him a brand new system and the only parts that carried over from the HP were the CDROM drive and the floppy drive. Even the power supply had non-standard connectors so it couldn't be used with another system (at least not without rewiring it). And if your system is anything like my friend's, then there ARE NO primary PCI slots. They're all on a daughter-board connected to the motherboard.

I'd advise contacting HP or checking their web site to see how, or even IF, your new sound card can be used with it.

For future reference, the only thing you ever want to buy from HP is LaserJet printers, NOTHING ELSE.

[This message has been edited by OuTpaTienT (edited 07-22-99).]

[Spooky]

Thanks Outpatient....I do have an HP printer, the best there is in my opinion, but I would NEVER purchase an HP computer! I tried to tell my buddy what to get before he went, and he still came home with an HP...oh well, live and learn! This one does not have the "daughter card" type PCI bus, I have seen that on an Acer before so I know waht you mean by that....really sucks! This one has a standard 'looking' BX style motherboard. But I think you're right, build him new system, save the floppy, HD and CDROM...and maybe the memory..hehe. Thanks again!

[800XL]

Might check the bios and see if they allow to enable or disable bus mastering for each PCI slot. I've seen some HP systems that for some unknown reason have that setting in the bios. It is a fair bet that putting the card in a non-busmastering PCI slot would generate a similar error.

As for the "Daughter card" PCI bus, that is not too uncommon really. It is no different really from having the PCI slots on the same circuit board as the rest of the motherboard other than how the 'wires' are routed. They function just the same. The only problems I have seen with that design is that some of then pick up a lot more electrical noise on the PCI and ISA bus from that riser card. For the record, that type of board design is known as 'LPX' or 'NLX' as opposed to 'ATX'.