Copyright: (c) Copyright Weitek Corp. 1995
Citation: Freedom of information does not imply freedom to plagarise.


Introduction

  Introduction :

This is the HelpFile for the WeitekPower Windows95 Display Drivers v2.0.

You will find useful information about installing the drivers and configuring the Display Card.

Please select a Topic Section :

       Driver Installation

       Setting RefreshRates


Installation

  Installation Procedure :

      During or Before first Installation of Windows95

      Changing from VGA or other Display Card

      Upgrading from previous version WeitekPower Driver

   Important Notes for users of VESA LocalBus Cards including :

Diamond ViperVLB, Weitek Power9000 VLB and

Weitek Power9100 VLB


If you are installing Windows95 for the first time

1. During Windows95 installation you may be asked to select the drivers for your card. (If not asked then choose VGA and refer to the VGA Procedure.)

2. Click on the Manufacturer Supplied Drivers button in the window and then the Have Disk button.

Insert the diskette containing the WeitekPower drivers (e.g. the diskette in A: drive) and enter the location of the driver diskette e.g. A:\ (if the diskette is in that drive)

3. Choose the appropriate option that matches the description of the card in your system and Click on OK.

After installation you can return to the Display Settings window where you can select your Monitor and then preferred resolution and color depth.

    Click here to start the Add New Hardware Wizard


If you have already installed Windows95 with VGA or other Driver

1. Open the Control Panel folder and choose the Display Icon,

       or Using the mouse, right-click on an empty space in the main Desktop Window and choose Properties.

2. Click on the Tabbed Windows titled Settings and then click on the button Change Display Type.

3. You should first select the Monitor Model to match your system if this is already done skip to the next step.

4. Click on the Change button in the Adapter type window and then the Have Disk button.

Insert the diskette containing the WeitekPower drivers (e.g. the diskette in A: drive) and enter the location of the driver diskette e.g. A:\ (if the diskette is in that drive)

5. Choose the appropriate Card Type that matches the description of the card in your system and Click on OK.

6. Double check to make sure that you have selected the correct Monitor for your system since this is used by Windows to interpret the maximum resolution your system is capable of, regardless of the capabilities of the card. Note that this information is also used by the Display Driver if Auto Detect Maximum Refresh Rate is enabled.

7. The drivers will be installed and you will be returned to the main Settings window where you can select your preferred resolution and color depth.

8. Click on the Apply or Close buttons (but not Cancel) to confirm you choice. Windows will advise that the System needs to be restarted to enable the new Settings.

   Important Notes for users of VESA LocalBus Cards including :

Diamond ViperVLB,

Weitek Power9000 VLB,

Weitek Power9100 VLB

9. After the system restarts, and the next time you open the Display Properties window from Control Panel (or by right-clicking over an empty spot on the Desktop and selecting Properties) you can enter by choosing the window tab titled WeitekPower to select your Refresh Rate preferrence.

    Click here to open the Device Manager settings


If you have already installed a previous version Weitek Driver

1. Open the Control Panel folder and choose the Display Icon,

       or Using the mouse, right-click on an empty space in the main Desktop Window and choose Properties.

2. Click on the Tabbed Windows titled Settings and then click on the button Change Display Type.

3. You should first select the Monitor Model to match your system if this is already done skip to the next step.

4. Click on the Change button in the Adapter type window and then the Have Disk button.

Insert the diskette containing the WeitekPower drivers (e.g. the diskette in A: drive) and enter the location of the driver diskette e.g. A:\ (if the diskette is in that drive)

5. Choose the appropriate option that matches the description of the card in your system and Click on OK.

6. The drivers will be installed and you will be returned to the main Settings window where you can select your preferred resolution and color depth.

7. Make sure that you have selected the correct Monitor for your system since this is used by Windows to interpret the maximum resolution your system is capable of, regardless of the capabilities of the card. Note that this information is also used by the Display Driver if Auto Detect Maximum Refresh Rate is enabled.

   Important Notes for users of VESA LocalBus Cards including :

Diamond ViperVLB,

Weitek Power9000 VLB,

Weitek Power9100 VLB

8. After the system restarts, and the next time you open the Display Properties window from Control Panel (or by right-clicking over an empty spot on the Desktop and selecting Properties) you can enter by choosing the window tab titled WeitekPower to select your Refresh Rate preferrence.


Overview

  Setting RefreshRates :

Included in the drivers is a DisplayProperties ControlPanel Extension for supporting the WeitekPower Windows95 Display Drivers.

Using this utility you can select a prefered Refresh Rate, Monitor SyncPolarity and adjust Monitor Alignment, allowing dynamically adjustment of the Size and/or Postion of the visible screen. Additionally you can change the default settings of your card to improve performance in certain application types, or enable the special features of your card.

Context Sensitive help is supplied through-out this utility. You can get pop-up help on any control, or setting, by right-clicking with the mouse on that item. Additionally Windows95 also provides a Help Tool, the ? button at the top right of the window. Click that button and then use the mouse to select the Control, FunctionWindow or StatusMessage that you wish to learn more about.


VESA LocalBus

  Special Note For VL-Bus Cards :

If you have a VESA LocalBus card such as a Diamond ViperVLB or other Weitek Power9000 VL-Bus cards then you may get a warning message, after re-booting the system the first time with new Display settings, informing you that the Display Adapter Is Not Configured Properly. This occurs due to a bug in the way PnP treats legacy VL-Bus cards.

To avoid this problem you should not restart the system immediately after installing the driver and selecting a new resolution. Instead you should click on No when asked to Restart and then move immediately to the Device Manager window where you will be able to configure your card settings for the system. Click on the Display Icon, then Propoerties, and finally Resources. There will be a message complaigning "... the resources used do not match known configurations..".

Select the Set Configuration Manually button and then OK to save the settings.

Note : For users of Weitek P9000 VLBus Cards (not-including Diamond ViperVLB) you will have to ensure the Memory Address shown in the Resources window matches the Jumper settings on your card. Please consult your hardware manual to confirm these match.

After confirming resources you can click on OK and you will then be asked to Shutdown the system, and this time you can click on Yes.

    Click here to open the Device Manager now.


Monitor Adjust
By using these control you can make small adjustments in the visible screen's Horizontal or Verical size and position.

Note : If, after effecting an adjustment, your monitor loses sync or starts jittering or becomes unstable you can press the <ESC> key to return to default settings.


Monitor Size
By using these control you can make small adjustments in the visible screen's Horizontal or Verical size.

Note : If, after effecting an adjustment, your monitor loses sync or starts jittering or becomes unstable you can press the <ESC> key to return to default settings.


Monitor Alignment
By using these control you can make small adjustments in the visible screen's Horizontal or Verical position.

Note : If, after effecting an adjustment, your monitor loses sync or starts jittering or becomes unstable you can press the <ESC> key to return to default settings.


Current Mode
Displays the Display Mode the card is currently in, showing the Resolution and Color Depth.

Note : If changed, the selected refresh rate and all screen settings will apply to this mode only, by default.

    Click here to open the Display Properties settings


Vertical Sync Polarity
This determines the polarity of the Vertical Sync signal sent to the monitor.

Note : Please consult your Monitor User's Manual before changing these settings.


Horizontal Sync Polarity
This determines the polarity of the Horizontal Sync signal sent to the monitor.

Note : Please consult your Monitor User's Manual before changing these settings.


Use VESA DDC
Enables support for Plug and Play Monitors. You must also install a "Plug and Play Monitor (VESA DDC)" in the Settings window, click on Change Display Type.

The Display Card will use the VESA DisplayDataChannel (DDC) to ask the Monitor for the best Refresh Rate it is capable. The driver will try detecting DDC2 and then fallback to DDC1, however DDC1-only Monitors will require the screen be blanked while communicating.

Note : This feature is not available on all cards.


Default Refresh
The display driver will use only the lowest Refresh Rate available for that mode, this is usually about 60Hz.

Note : This does not mean the mode will work on any monitor.

    Click here to check the installed Monitor.


Auto Detection
The display driver will make it's own determination on the best Refresh Rate suitable for your monitor.

Note : You should install the correct Monitor Type for this feature to work effectively.

    Click here to check the installed Monitor.


Apply To This Mode
Changes you make will be saved along with the current display Resolution and Color Depth and will only apply to that mode.


Apply To All Modes
The Refresh Rate you select will be forced on all Modes regardless of Resolution or Color Depth. This preference should only be used if you have choosen a setting that later doesn't work in a particular mode and you wish to re-enter that mode to re-set that preference.

Note : Even when forced the display driver will not allow a refresh rate that the card is not capable of, however there is no way of knowing if the Monitor also can support it.


Card Hardware
These are the details of the vendor hardware and card specific chips, as detected by the driver.

    Click here to open the Device Manager now.


Refresh Rates
These are the Refresh Rates supported by the Display Card in the current Resolution and Color Depth.


Advanced Settings
Allows you specifically enable/disable chip, card and driver options, features and settings.


Card Settings
Enable or Disable card-specific features and settings.


VideoPower Settings
Enable or Disable features and settings for cards with The Weitek VideoPower video-coprocessor installed.


Use DAC Palette
Enable using the DAC's palette in 256 Color Modes.

Note : The only recommended setting is Enabled


Use GreyScale
Set the Dac to work in GreyScale in 8bit mode. All 256 colors will be represented in shades of Grey.


Use 15bit
Use 5:5:5 (15 bit) pixels in Hi-Color color modes, giving a maximum of 32,768 colors.

Note : This mode has better compatiblity but less colors.


Use 16bit
Use 5:6:5 (16 bit) pixels in Hi-Color color modes, giving a maximum of 65,535 colors.

Note : This mode has better more colors and will not use any more memory.


Max Cursor Size
You can select a maximum hardware cursor size of 32x32 or 64x64.

Note : 64x64 hardware cursors are only available on certain cards.


Hardware Cursors
Enable or Disable using hardware accelerated cursors.

Note : Changing this setting will NOT affect your ability to also use software color and animated cursors.


Double Buffered Mode
Enabling using Graphics Double Buffering may improve Video, Game and/or 3D performance. It will not improve normal Windows applications performance.

Note : Enabling Double Buffering will decrease the available memory by half and therefore limit the available Resolutions and Color Depths.


Enable Interrupts
Enabling using hardware interrupts may improve Video, Game and/or 3D performance.

Note : Not all cards support using vertical refresh interrupts. Consult your card users manual.


Interrupt Selection
Select the interrupt line used by the display card. Please consult your Display Card users manual.

Note-1 : Not all cards support using vertical refresh interrupts.

Note-2 : PCI card users do not need to change this setting.


Enable VideoPower
Enable using the Weitek VideoPower video-coprocessor to accelerate Video Playback.


Dual Video Buffers
Enabling using double buffered video may improve Video or Game performance. It will not improve normal Windows applications performance.

Note : Enabling this feature will decrease the amount of available memory possibly limiting the maximum resolution or color depth.


Smooth Scaling
Enable using the Bi-Linear Interpolative Scaler engine in the Weitek VideoPower video-coprocessor.

Note : Enabling this feature may improve video playback quality when the image is scaled above the original size.


Priority
These drivers, this program and the help file were all written by : David Wyatt

E-mail contact : <davidw@tpts1.seed.net.tw>


Priority
Determine the desired priority when using VideoPower to accelerate video playback.

Note : This setting only affects priorities when both Video and Graphics tasks perform simultaneously.


Weitek
These drivers, by Weitek Corporation, are designed to work on the WeitekPower Family of graphics accelerators and video co-processors. This includes the Power9000, Power9100 and VideoPower chipsets.


Version
This is the version number of the Display Driver and components.


Multi Buffers
Enabling the use of multiple buffers (e.g. Triple Buffering) if requested. Slower but more compatible.

Note : This will decrease the available memory as a temporary swap buffer needs to be allocated.


Double Buffering
Sets the maximum number of surfaces to two. This works best with the double buffered design of the P9100 & P9000.

Note : Some DirectX software demands more than two buffers and will default to full software emulation.


Flip Emulation
Emulates multiple flipping surfaces by using the hardware Blt'er.

Note : This will decrease the available memory as a temporary swap buffer needs to be allocated.


Driver Acceleration
Controls which GDI functions or groups of functions will be accelerated by hardware.Enabling an option will improve performance. Disabling an option is possible to fix an application compatibility problem.