What version of software and was a card ever installed in the slot that you put the SVMi card into? The old DCS systems didn't like to have different cards swapped into previously used slots. The technique I always used to clear a previously used slot was to turn cabinet off, remove old card, turn cabinet back on, do a preinstall on that slot, turn cabinet off and on again without installing a card, do another preinstall on that slot, turn the cabinet off, slide the new card in and reboot. I also seem to remember that this wouldn't work untill I put the old card back in and made sure I started the process from the beginning correctly. Last resort would be to default the cabinet and start clean. That is sometimes better.