Windows 7 - Pci-to-Pci Bridge (Error: Code 10) - PCI Video Card

Question

Before I state my issues I will list what I'm running and what I'm trying to accomplish.
I'm running Windows 7 Enterprise 64-bit edition, not the Beta or RC. I have 3 video cards in my possession (listed below).
- (PCIe) Evga GTX260
- (PCI) Evga 9400GT
- (PCI) Evga Fx5500
Out of those 3 cards I only use the GTX260 and the 9400GT. I had to 'retire' the Fx5500 because the latest WHQL (certified) drivers only provide support as far down as the "6 series" Nvidia cards. Unfortunately the Fx5500 is a "5 series" and falls below that line. I have already tried to use the GTX260 and Fx5500 in previous versions of Windows (XP and Vista), but there is no way to download and install two separate drivers for two of the same make of video card - you'll get nothing but errors. There is the option of going to a place like guru3d.com and downloading a custom supported driver that covers both the GTX260 and Fx5500, but the drivers are not certified and lack support. Therefore, I purchased and now use the 9400GT which is covered under the drivers for the GTX260 and eliminates the need for messing around with custom drivers. Also, the 9400GT has a better graphics processor and more memory than the Fx5500, so it was time to upgrade anyway.
Now that you have some background info here is my issue Whenever I install the 9400GT I get a second 'pci-to-pci bridge' entry (the other entry has no errors) that shows up under 'System Devices' in the Device Manager. The second pci-to-pci bridge entry has a yellow triangle with an exclamation mark on it that refers to a problem. When you check the properties of this device it more or less says that Windows has detected a problem (Error Code 10). The GTX260 still works and even shows up under the 'Display Adapters' as a GTX260, but no entry for the 9400GT exists. I have tried the 9400GT in both PCI slots and each time it does the same thing. If I pull out the GTX260 and ONLY run the 9400GT, I still get the pci-to-pci bridge issue, BUT I do get a picture and can boot into Windows 7 without a hitch. When I do this there is still nothing listed under the 'Display Adapters' as a 9400GT or even a VGA compatible device.
After messing around with this for 10 hours (yes, I said 10 hours) I decided to dig out my retired PCI video card (the Fx5500). When I installed this card I had no 2nd pci-to-pci bridge entry appear under 'System Devices', and the one that was listed had no yellow triangle or error codes. I then checked under 'Display Adapters' and Windows 7 had recognized it as a VGA compatible device and was asking for drivers.
I have now concluded that there is definitely no issue with the motherboard or any of my hardware (including video cards). At first EVGA Support and I had suspected that the motherboard may be bad because of all of the pre-diagnostic steps I had taken during my 10 hour ordeal. I'm not going to list everything I did because it would literally take 3 hours to type it all in. Just believe me when I say that I have tried most things including but not limited to the latest bios updates (flashed 4 times and completely reset to ensure accuracy), custom IRQ management, entire OS re-installation X2, multiple/latest chipset drivers installed, multiple/latest video drivers installed, memtest testing, complete hardware teardown and re-build (adding one device at a time), and MUCH more. The only thing I did not try was installing a different OS other than Windows 7 64-bit to see if I could replicate the issue. This is a waste of time though because lets say that I install Windows XP Pro and the 9400GT doesn't have this issue... Well, that's great, but who gives a damn about XP Pro when I have been using it for the last 9 years and when I have a full version of Windows 7 that I want to use? I'm certainly not going to run XP Pro over Windows 7 just to use this PCI video card. Second, if I install XP Pro and it still gives me the same pci-to-pci bridge error then again, I've only wasted more time because if its not going to work in either OS then Im sure as hell not going to leave XP Pro installed when I can use Windows 7.
Thanks,
piyush

Answer 1

Maybe stupid question now but has your posting anything to do with Toshiba and Toshiba notebooks?