RivaTuner is the most powerful tweaking utility for NVIDIA display adapters running under Windows 98  / Windows 98 SE / Windows ME / Windows 2000 and Windows XP. The purpose of this utility is to give you access to all the undocumented features of the Detonator drivers. All versions of the Detonator drivers have a lot of undocumented registry entries. Some of them don’t affect anything, but there are some that are very useful. In general, they cannot give you big performance boost but they can improve image quality and solve some compatibility problems. RivaTuner will help you to change all undocumented registry entries. It supports all versions of Detonators drivers starting from Detonator 2.08 under Windows 98 / Windows 98 SE / Windows ME (Detonator 5.08 or higher under Windows 2000 / Windows XP). 

    This version is not the final release. It is intended for public testing and evaluation only. Please send me your bug reports and comments on it. I will try to implement your suggestions in the final release.

System requirements:  

• Windows 98 (updated MFC libraries required), Windows 98 SE, Windows ME, Windows 2000 or Windows XP.

• Any NVIDIA based display adapter starting from Riva TNT or ATI R200/RV250/R300 based display adapter.

• Detonator 2.08 or higher NVIDIA reference drivers for Windows 98 / Windows 98 SE or Windows ME.

• Detonator 5.08 or higher NVIDIA reference drivers for Windows 2000 / Windows XP.

Features:  

• Friendly, power user oriented UI.

• Full multi-monitor support.

• Extreme System / Direct3D / OpenGL and Color tweaking possibilities for all the existing versions of the Detonator drivers (including the Detonator 2.xx, the fastest drivers for TNT/TNT2 chipsets):

• Advanced Direct3D settings including fine LOD bias adjustment, additional depth buffering, texture format, antialiasing and compatibility settings.

• Advanced OpenGL settings including advanced rendering quality settings, professional settings for (Soft)Quadro boards and extended VSync control (RivaTuner is the only tool that can control VSync for the Detonator 2.xx) .

• Desktop and overlay color control (RivaTuner is the only tool that provides overlay color control for the Detonator 2.xx).

• Advanced system settings.

• Powerful overclocking tool for the Detonator 3.xx and newer drivers:

• Maximum overclocking safety due to NVIDIA driver's overclocking interface (aka CoolBits) utilization.

• Extended overclocking range. You can increase core and memory clock frequencies by up to 100%.

• RivaTuner can detect default clock frequencies without rebooting your system.

• Optional "Restore clock frequencies after suspended mode" feature. RivaTuner can save core and memory clock frequencies before entering suspended mode and restore it when the system resumes. This virtually fixes the driver's bug and helps to avoid 100MHz/83MHz underclocking problem with certain versions of the Detonator drivers.

• Flexible built-in registry editor:

• No more *.REG files, no more manual registry exploring. Just forget about it. RivaTuner will correctly detect the driver’s registry key and allow you to track changes and add, edit or remove the driver's registry entries. 

• The list of registry entries, which can be edited via the built-in registry editor, is stored into a special file called a database. Each database contains default value for each entry, optional registry entry interpretators, registry entry descriptions and some additional information. I'm proud that RivaTuner was the first tweaking tool that provided database styled built-in registry editor, which became a de-facto standard in the tweaking utilities now and it is widely used in the most of tweakers today.

• Name/Alias modes allow you to switch between the real name of a registry entry and its' alias. This feature was implemented in order to simplify the work with encrypted registry entries, introduced in the Detonator 23.xx.  Now you don't must be an extra experienced user in order to read the encrypted registry entry names. You can just switch to the Alias mode and the built-in registry editor will show decrypted names instead of encrypted.

• Value/Analyze modes allow you to switch between direct value editor and value interpretator. The value interpretator mode is another feature, which was also implemented in order to simplify the work with encrypted registry entries, introduced in the Detonator 23.xx. It allows you to select one of the predefined values (e.g. true/false) instead of entering the encrypted values directly. You can also enter the value directly then switch to the interpretator and see how the driver treats the value you've entered.

• Easy customizable databases for the built-in registry editor:

•  Full databases for the Detonator 2.xx, 3.34, 3.56, 3.62, 3.68, 3.69, 3.72, 3.75, 3,76, 3.77, 4.20, 5.08, 5.1x, 5.22, 5.30, 5.32, 6.1x, 6.26, 6.27, 6.3x, 6.47, 6.49, 6.50, 6.53, 6.67, 6.72, 7.17, 7.5x, 7.78, 8.04, 10.xx, 11.00, 11.01, 12.00, 12.20, 12.40, 12.41, 12.60, 12.90, 14.10, 14.20, 14.70, 21.81, 21.83, 21.85, 22.50, 22.80, 23.10, 23.11, 23.12, 27.00, 27.10,  27.20, 27.30, 27.42, 27.50, 27.51, 27.70, 28.32, 28.80, 28.90. 29.11, 29.20, 29.4x, 29.60, 29.80, 30.00, 30.30, 30.82, 31.00, 31.40, 40.41, 40.52 and 40,71 are included in RivaTuner.

• Coming soon databases for ATI drivers.

• Flexible preset editor, integrated into the built-in registry editor:  

• The preset is a kind of script file which can add or remove specified registry entries. RivaTuner uses presets to store the current state of the driver's settings. You can easily create your own presets using RivaTuner's preset editor or export your settings to a REG file.

• RivaTuner uses macro names for the registry keys stored into a preset, so you can safely transfer the presets from PC to PC. 

• Quality and performance optimized presets, professional CAD and DCC presets for (Soft)Quadro boards and some game presets for the Detonator 5.xx and higher are included in RivaTuner.

• Flexible preset / color scheme / display mode / application launcher:  

• You can launch any preset, created via RivaTuner's preset wizard or preset editor. It allows you to tune your system, save the driver's settings to a preset then recall these settings later at any time later with two mouse clicks.

• You can launch any color scheme, created via the built-in color scheme editor or via the Detonator control panel.

• You can quickly switch display mode and refresh rate (available under Windows2000/XP only).

• You can associate a preset, color scheme and display mode with any application.

• You can create a shortcut to any launcher item and run it with a single mouse click. It allows you to use the launcher's functionality even when RivaTuner is not loaded in memory.

• You can gain performance boost by changing the application's priority class under Windows2000/XP.

• Optional “Restore After Terminating” (RAT) mode. RivaTuner can save a display mode, color scheme and preset entries before launching application and restore saved settings after terminating this application.

• You can associate a hotkey with any of the launcher's items and use the launcher's features (e.g. change a color scheme) without leaving a game and switching to RivaTuner. 

• Flexible user customizable low level diagnostic module. You can create graphics subsystem diagnostic report including the following categories:

• Northbridge information and northbridge PCI configuration space snapshot. RivaTuner can detect Intel 440LX,  Intel 440BX/ZX, Intel 440GX, Intel i820 Camino,  Intel i815 Solano, Intel i850 Tehama, VIA MVP3, VIA KT133 series, VIA KX133, VIA Apollo PRO series, VIA Apollo PRO Plus, VIA Apollo PRO 133 series, VIA Apollo PRO 266, VIA KT266/333 series, VIA KT400, VIA P4X266, VIA PM133/694T/694Z, ALi 1541, ALi 1621, ALi 1641,  ALi MAGiK 1, SiS 645, SiS 735, AMD 751, AMD 761 and AMD 762 northbridges. The database of the northbridges is user customizable and you can easily extend it.

• Display adapter information and display adapter PCI configuration space snapshot. RivaTuner can detect and dump display adapter's location, bus type, AGP settings, I/O and memory resources.

• IDirect3D7 HAL/TnL HAL and IDirect3D8 HAL capabilities dump.

• NVIDIA specific display adapter information. RivaTuner can detect graphics core type, bus type, type and amount of onboard videomemory, memory bus type, reference, core and memory clock frequencies (both real and effective for DDR boards).

• NVIDIA graphics processor's registers snapshot. By default RivaTuner shows the most important general purpose and RAMDAC related registers. The database of the registers is user customizable and you can easily extend it.

• ATI specific display adapter information. RivaTuner can detect graphics core type, type and amount of onboard videomemory, reference, core and memory clock frequencies (both real and effective for DDR boards).

• ATI VGA BIOS information. RivaTuner can detect and dump BIOS title, date/time, core and memory clock frequencies.

• ATI graphics processor's registers snapshot. By default RivaTuner shows the most important general purpose and memory related registers. The database of the registers is user customizable and you can easily extend it.

• RivaTuner's low level diagnostic module allows to compare two graphics subsystem diagnostic reports. This feature is very effective when tracking changes in the driver's capabilities, PCI configuration registers or in the graphics processor's registers.

• Raw EDID data dump and decoded EDID info for DDC capable monitors. 

• Powerful low level hardware overclocking tool for all NVIDIA and ATI R200/RV250/R300 graphics processors:

• Full driver independence due to direct access to the graphics processor's registers.

• Optional "Restore clock frequencies after suspended mode" feature. RivaTuner can save core and memory clock frequencies before entering suspended mode and restore it when system resumes.

• Unlike the Detonator drivers, RivaTuner's low level overclocking module doesn't switch a display mode when setting new clock frequencies on NVIDIA based display adapters and allows to avoid annoying display mode switch when applying overclocking settings at Windows startup. 

• Unlike the Detonator driver, RivaTuner's low level overclocking module doesn't lower memory timings when setting clock frequencies on NVIDIA based display adapters and allows to get higher performance.

• Powerful low level color correction module for all Get/SetDeviceGammaRamp capable display adapters. Detonator styled color controls and color scheme management are now available on non-NVIDIA graphics processors too.

• Flexible built-in patch script system. Now you can easily create your own patches and execute them via RivaTuner. You can perform masked search and replace functions, restore checksum for system files, create backup copies and use version-dependent scripts. The following patch scripts are included in RivaTuner:

• NvXTInitFix patch script for the Detonators 5.xx - 12.90 for Windows 2000/XP, which allows to fix the problems with GeForce2 Pro/GeForce2 Ultra or GeForce3 overclocking under Windows 2000/XP. Read FAQ for details.

• LODBiasFix patch script fixes the bug introduced in the Detonator 23.xx and allows the driver to set negative Direct3D mipmap LOD bias correctly.

• S3TCFixPack patch scripts are full analogs of my S3TCFixPack utility. These patch scripts can be used in order to fix DXT1 quality problem on the Detonator 6.46 and older.

• RTPatchesFix patch script unlocks the Direct3D driver's D3DDEVCAPS_QUINTICRTPATCHES and D3DDEVCAPS_RTPATCHES capabilities, which have been disabled in the Detonator 21.xx - 3x.xx.

• AnisoBoosterOGL patch scripts for the Detonator 28.90 and higher, which allow to boost the OpenGL anisotropic filtering performance optimization algorithm, which has been introduced in the Detonator 28.90. By default the OpenGL driver uses sophisticated polygon rejection algorithm and disables anisotropic filtering for certain textures, filtered by non-primary TMUs, when the driver detects that it has no major image quality impact. Unfortunately, this algorithm is ignored in the applications, which can override default degree of anisotropy. The algorithm is also totally ignored on Quadros.
  AnisoBoosterOGL patch removes all these limitations and allows to extend the range of applications and boards, which can gain boost from the performance optimization mode. The patch script also allows the OpenGL driver to use the polygon rejection algorithm for the primary texture mapping unit too and boost anisotropic filtering by up to 10% with no major image quality impact.

• AnisoBoosterD3D patch script for the Detonator 28.32 and higher, which allows to unlock the Direct3D anisotropic filtering optimization settings on pre-GeForce4 boards. Now GeForce4 spcific per-texturing stage anisotropic filtering control is available on all GeForce boards!

• NVStrapAntiprotection patch scripts for the Dettonator 30.82 and higher, which block the driver's NVStrap protection and allow to use it with the latest Detonator drivers.

• Bundled NVStrap driver for all GeForce boards for Windows2000/XP (NVStrap DOS utility for Windows 9x based systems is also bundled in RivaTuner). This tiny boot bus extender driver embeds in the OS kernel and provides the following unique tweaking possibilities:

• AGP sideband addressing overriding capability. NVStrap gives you possibility of overriding VGA BIOS defined SBA support without editing / flashing VGA BIOS.

• AGP fastwrites overriding capability. NVStrap gives you possibility of overriding VGA BIOS defined FW support without editing / flashing VGA BIOS.

• PCI DeviceID overriding capability. NVStrap driver can override PCI DeviceID on software level and convert your GeForce board to a Quadro and vice versa. The driver is loaded before OS kernel so neither Windows nor Detonator driver will be able to detect the real PCI DeviceID of your display adapter. This trick allows you to unlock all the professional Quadro features on GeForce based boards and unlock game optimized ICD on Quadro based cards without soldering and patching the Detonator drivers.

Note: NVStrap driver supports all GeForce based boards and it can override PCI DeviceID on the latest  NV17 and NV25 based boards, but it's not enough to override PCI DeviceID only in order to unlock the professional Quadro features on these boards. The newest NVIDIA graphics processors have hardwired protection against DeviceID modification, which can be blocked with SoftQuadro4 scripts only (not included in the current release of RivaTuner).

• Built-in 60Hz refresh fix for Windows2000/XP for NVIDIA based boards:

• Both compressed (introduced the Detonator 27.42) and uncompressed display modes formats support. RivaTuner can fix the original Detonator drivers as well, as so called NVRefreshRateFix compatible Detonator drivers.

• Effective user interface, per-resolution refresh rate selection as well as the possibility to set the maximum supported refresh rates for all modes with just a few clicks.

• Custom resolutions and refresh rates support. Unlike the many refresh rate fix utilities, RivaTuner correctly handles custom resolutions and refresh rates when applying the fix.

• Independent registry backups for different operation systems / hardware for emergency refresh rate fix uninstall.

• Easy customizable database of supported display adapters.

• Low level programmable refresh overrider module for Windows 2000/XP:

• Maximum flexibility due to programmability and refresh override rules ideology.

• Full hardware independence, RivaTuner's refresh override module can be used with any display adapter for fixing 60Hz refresh rate problem.

• Detailed context sensitive help system:

• The most of the information, included in RivaTuner's context help is exclusive and never was available in any other tweaking program.

• RivaTuner's context help contains a lot of tips, which can help you to customize the driver's settings.

Known issues:  

• RivaTuner officially supports Windows 98, Windows 98 SE, Windows ME, Windows 2000 and Windows XP. It will not start on other operating system by default. However, you can disable OS version checking via the registry and run it on unsupported OS at your own risk:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Unwinder\RivaTuner\System]
"DisableOSCheck"=dword:00000001

 

Note: Windows95 is no longer supported. RivaTuner v2.0 Release Candidate 6 is the last version, which can work with this OS.

• Due to unknown reason the Detonator 21.xx cannot correctly call NvHWCtl/NvXTInit/NvColorInit functions on certain GeForce2 MX based systems under Windows 9x. It causes improper control panel operation and prevents it from overclocking and applying a color scheme at Windows startup. This glitch will be also echoed in RivaTuner and the rest driver-level NVIDIA tweakers (NVMax, GTU) and will cause overclocking and color correction malfunction. The only way to avoid it is to use other drivers or RivaTuner's low level overclocking module. 

• You will not be able to overclock the secondary NVIDIA-based display adapter on multiple monitor systems until you will enable the 'Apply overclocking at Windows startup' for the primary NVIDIA-based adapter.

• The 'IDirect3D7 HAL capabilities' and 'IDirect3D7 TnL HAL capabilities' graphics subsystem diagnostic report categories are currently available on the primary display adapters only.

• NVStrap driver supports the primary NVIDIA display adapters only.

• NVStrap driver is not compatible with S3/Suspend to RAM. 

Revision history:    

Version 2.0 Release Candidate 12:

Minor bugfixes:

• Fixed encryption lookup table for the D3D_56255736 registry entry, which prevented RivaTuner from storing certain texel alignment values correctly.

• Fixed 'Detect now'-based defaults detection method in the low level overclocking module, which caused RivaTuner to fail to detect defaults without reboot on certain multi-monitor configurations (when both low-level O/C capable and not capable display adapters are installed in the system).

• Fixed bug in device enumeration code, which could cause incorrect monitor type detection on certain multi-monitor systems.

• Fixed bug in low level refresh overrider's mode switching code, which prevented RivaTuner from switching refresh override mode until restaring the application.

• Minor UI fixes.

What's new:

• Full Detonator 40.xx support including the latest Detonator 40.71.

• Added databases for the Detonators 30.82 (for both Windows 9x and Windows 2000/XP), 31.00, 31.40, 40.41 (for Windows 2000/XP only), 40.52 and 40.71 (for both Windows 9x and Windows 2000/XP).

• Updated 40.xx compatible patch scripts including popular AnisoBoosterOGL.

• Revised NVStrap v1.2 driver for both Windows 9x and Windows 2000/XP. New driver contains advanced PCI DeviceID programming code for GeForce4 MX440 boards. GeForce4 MX440's PCI Device ID (0x171) has no appropriate Quadro PCI DeviceID so now the NVStrap driver chooses the closest Quadro PCI DeviceID (0x178) when GeForce4 MX440 is detected.

• Added NVStrap antiprotection patch scripts for the Detonator 30.82+ for both Windows 9x and Windows 2000/XP. These scripts allow to rip the protection against strapping based DeviceID modification from the Detonator drivers and use the NVStrap driver in conjunction with the latest available Detonator drivers.

• Added NVIDIA compressed modes format v2.0 support. Now RivaTuner's built-in 60Hz refresh rate fix wizard is fully compatible with the Detonator 40.xx. Currently RivaTuner is the only NVIDIA oriented tool, that provides nView compatible refresh rate fix for the Detonator 40.xx and doesn't corrupt nView spanned display modes when fixing 60Hz problem.

• Added NV18, NV28 and NV30 support to the 60Hz refresh rate fix wizard.

• Revised NVIDIA compressed modes format v1.x support. Added 848x480 and 1360x768 modes to the list of standard display modes for the Detonator 3x.xx.

• Improved 60Hz refresh rate fix uninstaller. Now RivaTuner uses OS/GPU/Detonator dependent backups and rollbacks instead of OS/GPU dependent backups.

• Added custom display modes / refresh rates wizard for Windows 2000 / XP (uncompressed modes formats, compressed modes format v1.x and compressed modes format v2.0 are fully supported). Now you can create your own custom resolutions (presets for NTSC 720 x 480, PAL 720 x 576, PAL 768 x 576 and 920 x 760 are included) as well as add custom refresh rates for already existing resolutions.

• Added Detonator 40.xx compatible driver level color correction (including Digital Vibrance Control 2.0 support). Now RivaTuner provides NVRotate(tm) compatible color correction and color scheme management.

• Fully Detonator 40.xx compatible driver level overclocking manager. 

• Increased the maximum clock frequency from 800MHz to 1000MHz in the driver level overclocking manager for DDR boards for the Detonator 27.42 and higher.

• Added ExtEscape-based per-DAC device mask detection for the driver level color correction interface under Windows 2000/XP.

• Extended Direct3D anisotropic filtering optimization settings:

• Extended range of supported drivers. Now the Direct3D anisotropic filtering optimization settings are available when the Detonator 28.32 or higher is detected.

• Extended range of supported GPUs. Added AnisoBoosterD3D patch scripts, which allow you to unlock the driver's limitations and use the Direct3D anisotropic filtering optimization options on pre-GeForce4 graphics processors too (tested on GeForce3 GPUs). 

• Added automatic Direct3D anisotropic filtering optimization capability. Now you can either check the 'Always optimize selected stages' option and force the Driect3D driver to optimize selected texturing stages always, or leave it unchecked and allow the driver to choose the best conditions for optimizing selected texturing stages automatically.

• Extended 'OpenGL hardware acceleration mode' settings. Now besides Max acceleration / NVx compatibility / NV1x compatibility modes you may also select NV20 / NV25 / NV30 emulation modes.

• Removed 'Hardware accelerated lines support' OpenGL option for the Detonator 40.xx.

• Added Direct3D LMA tab for NV17 based boards.

• Added Direct3D texture sharpening option for GeForce256 and higher for the Detonator 40.xx.

• Removed Direct3D nearest point filtering forcing capability for the Detonator 40.52 and higher.

• Added low level dynamic display driver reloading possibility for any display driver, which enumerates standard 4-bit VGA modes (tested on NVIDIA GeForce family and ATI RADEON 8500). This nice feature is very useful for on-the-fly display driver patching, as well, as for reinitializing the Direct3D/DirectDraw driver's context without rebooting the system. 

• Added ATI RV250 and ATI R300 GPUs support. Now RivaTuner can diagnose and overclock ATI RADEON 9000 Pro/9700/9700 Pro boards (thanks to Andrew Worobiew for testing RivaTuner with ATI RADEON 9000 Pro and ATI RADEON 9700 Pro).

• Added AGP3.0 support. Now RivaTuner can dump diagnostic info for AGP3.0 capable motherboards and display adapters. AGP revision info is also added to both 'Northbridge info' and 'Display adapter info' diagnostic report categories. (thanks to Andrew Worobiew for testing RivaTuner with ATI RADEON 9700 PRO and VIA KT400 based motherboard). 

• Removed strapping-based bus type from the 'NVIDIA specific display adapter info' diagnostic report category.

• Added hardwired PCI DeviceID to the 'NVIDIA specific display adapter info' diagnostic report category. Now RivaTuner's diagnostic report contains the real hardwired PCI DeviceID as well as the PCI DeviceID programmed via the strapping register.

• Added 'Monitor EDID dump' and 'Monitor EDID details' categories to the low level graphics subsystem diagnostic module. Now RivaTuner may dump raw EDID data as well as decode some EDID 1.x parameters (EDID version, manufacturer and model IDs, date of manufacture, serial number, input signal type, maximum dot clock and the ranges of supported horizontal / vertical scan frequencies) if the monitor's EDID is found in Windows registry.

• Added memory bus type detection for NV17 based boards due to 64-bit DDR GeForce4 MX420 announce.

• Added VIA KT400 to the list of supported northbridges.

• Added Matrox, S3 and 3dfx (rest in peace ;)) to the vendors list. 

• Changed default UI preferences for Windows XP. Now RivaTuner uses 'Skinned controls' mode instead of 'Skinned background' mode by default.

• Revised RivaTuner.sys driver loading method in order to make RivaTuner compatible with Windows XP fast user switching feature. Now the driver is loaded in shared mode instead of exclusive. Also RivaTuner uses install-start-load-unload driver usage behaviour instead of install-start-load-unload-stop-uninstall (the previous mode can be also activated with the IODriverUninstallBehaviour registry entry).

• Added GTA ]I[ troubleshooting preset for Windows XP, which allows to avoid font related issues without updating the d3d8.dll.

• Added *.rtr files shell integration. Now you can open any *.rtr file as a current report in RivaTuner's low level graphics subsystem diagnostic module by clicking this file within the Explorer or open it as the sample report by clicking it and holding <Ctrl> key.

• New patch script format. Now *.rts files can contain version dependent common script.

• Added NVStrap related questions to FAQ.

• Minor UI changes and improvements.

Version 2.0 Release Candidate 11.1 (published on 23.07.2002):

Minor bugfixes:

• Fixed 'out of free disk space' related database builder crash.

• Fixed RMB styled context help handler for toolbar buttons under Windows 9x.

What's new:

• Full Detonator 30.30 support.

• Added databases for the Detonator 29.80 and 30.30 for both Windows 9x and Windows 2000/XP.

• Added Direct3D anisotropic filtering optimization options for NV25 based boards for the Detonator 30.30 and higher. Now you may limit the maximum degree of anisotropy on per-texturing stage level and boost anisotropic filtering performance in the many applications without major impact on image quality.

• Added AnisoBoosterOGL patch script for the Detonator 28.90 and higher. This patch script allows to boost the OpenGL anisotropic filtering performance optimization algorithm, which has been introduced in the Detonator 28.90. By default the OpenGL driver uses sophisticated polygon rejection algorithm and disables anisotropic filtering for certain textures, filtered by non-primary TMUs, when the driver detects that it has no major image quality impact.
  Unfortunately, this algorithm is ignored in the applications, which can override default degree of anisotropy. The algorithm is also totally ignored on Quadros.
  AnisoBoosterOGL patch removes all these limitations and allows to extend the range of applications and boards, which can gain boost from the performance optimization mode. The patch script also allows the OpenGL driver to use the polygon rejection algorithm for the primary texture mapping unit too and boost anisotropic filtering by up to 10% with no major image quality impact.

• Improved protection against inexperienced users. Now RivaTuner tracks changes in Windows startup registry key and displays warning message when a user tries to move/rename RivaTuner's folder after configuring RivaTuner's startup settings.

• Revised low level overclocking code for NV2x GPUs, slightly revised DLL reset code. Video refresh is now disabled before resetting the DLL in order to avoid visual artifacts when using Normal/High/Maximum clock frequency generation accuracy modes. Also, now RivaTuner doesn't reset DLL when using 'Low (safest)' clock frequency generation accuracy mode. 

• Improved low level refresh overrider's compatibility with Unreal Engine based games due to CDS_FULLSCREEN flag usage. 

• Added refresh overrider mode control. Now the users can switch between performance/blend/compatibility refresh override modes, which provide different levels of compatibility and cause different performance hits.

• Improved uninstaller. NVStrap driver can be also uninstalled now with /U command line switch.

Version 2.0 Release Candidate 11 (published on 26.06.2002):

Minor bugfixes:

• Fixed the bug in preset/report/database file browsers, which blocked the browser's functionality after opening any file in the root folder.

• Minor UI and context help fixes.

What's new:

• Full Detonator 29.xx support including the latest Detonator 29.80.

• Added drivel level color correction for GeForce4 Ti/MX graphics processors.

• Improved low level overclocking interface for NVIDIA graphics processors. Now RivaTuner unlocks the PLLs before setting a clock frequency. Usually both NVPLL and MPLL are unlocked in VGA BIOS, but due to unknown reason the PLLs tends to be locked on certain systems with the newest NVIDIA drivers.

• Added NVStrap driver for all GeForce based boards for Windows2000/XP (thanks to the man who whished to remain anonymous for confirming that NVIDIA PCI DeviceIDs are programmable, this info greatly catalyzed the NVStrap driver development). This tiny boot bus extender driver embeds in the OS kernel and provides the following unique tweaking possibilities:

• AGP sideband addressing overriding capability. NVStrap gives you possibility of overriding VGA BIOS defined SBA support without editing/flashing VGA BIOS.

• AGP fastwrites overriding capability. NVStrap gives you possibility of overriding VGA BIOS defined FW support without editing/flashing VGA BIOS.

• PCI DeviceID overriding capability. NVStrap driver can override PCI DeviceID on software level and convert your GeForce board to a Quadro and vice versa. The driver is loaded before OS kernel so neither Windows nor Detonator driver will be able to detect the real PCI DeviceID of your display adapter. This trick allows you to unlock all the professional Quadro features on GeForce based boards and unlock game optimized ICD on Quadro based cards without soldering and patching the Detonator drivers.

Note: NVStrap driver supports all GeForce based boards and it can override PCI DeviceID on the latest  NV17 and NV25 based boards, but it's not enough to override PCI DeviceID only in order to unlock the professional Quadro features on these boards. The newest NVIDIA graphics processors has hardwired protection against DeviceID modification, which can be blocked with SoftQuadro4 scripts only (not included in the current release of RivaTuner).

• NVStrap driver for DOS is also included in RivaTuner. You can use its' S+, S-, F+, F-, G+ and G- command line switches in order to configure Windows 9x based systems (run NVStrap.com to get detailed info on the command line switches).

• SoftQuadro scripts are no longer included in RivaTuner. SoftQuadro related questions are also ripped from FAQ. Now SoftQuadro functionality is fully replaced with the NVStrap driver.

• Added low level color correction module for Get/SetDeviceGammaRamp capable display adapters (tested on all NVIDIA boards, ATI RADEON 8500 and 3dfx Vooodoo3 2000 boards). Now Detonator styled color correction and color scheme manager are available on non-NVIDIA graphics processors.

• Improved launcher module. Now you can associate both low level and driver level (NVIDIA graphics processors only) color schemes with the launcher's items.

• Added low level flexible refresh overrider module for  fixing 60Hz refresh rate under Windows2000/XP on non-NVIDIA based boards (tested on ATI RADEON 8500 and all NVIDIA boards). RivaTuner's refresh overrider is programmable and it provides the most flexible TSR-styled way of overriding 60Hz refresh rate, which is currently available on the tweaking scene.

• Improved built-in 60Hz refresh rate fix wizard for NVIDIA boards. Now you can customize refresh rates for each display mode besides setting refresh rates for all modes to the maximum. Unlike the many refresh rate fix tools, RivaTuner correctly handles nonstandard refresh rates and display modes when applying the fix.

• Improved built-in 60Hz refresh rate fix safety. Now  RivaTuner creates independent registry backups for different operation systems for emergency refresh rate fix uninstall.

• Added GeForce4 Ti4200 to the list of display adapters supported by the built-in 60Hz refresh rate fix.

• Added 'Disable dithering when decompressing DXT1 textures' OpenGL option for GeForce4 Ti/MX graphics processors. This option allows to boost performance at the cost of image quality.

• Added 'Anisotropic filtering quality preferences' OpenGL option for the Detonator 28.90 and higher, which allows to select either performance optimized or quality optimized anisotropic filtering algorithm on GeForce256 and higher.

• Added 'Allow mipmap dithering' Direct3D option for TNT/TNT2 graphics processors. This option allows Direct3D applications to use trilinear filtering regardless of multitexturing/singletexturing mode.

• Changed OpenGL hardware acceleration mode option handling strategy. Now RivaTuner automatically disables all the OpenGL options, which don't conform to selected OpenGL hardware acceleration mode.

• Added 'Swap right and left buffers' OpenGL option for professional Quadro boards.

• Revised heuristic fake DDR detection algorithm for GeForce2 MX and GeForce4 MX graphics processors. Now RivaTuner uses default memory clock frequency rather than the current one to detect MPLL doubling.

• Added Abit Siluro T400 to the list of display adapters with fake DDR problem.

• Added AMD 761, AMD 762, ALi MAGiK 1, VIA KT333, VIA 694T and VIA 694Z to the list of northbridges.

• Undocumented 'Emulate hotkeys handler every ... ms' option is now available to end users. This option allows to emulate native Windows hotkey handler and use hotkeys in fullscreen applications under Windows 9x.

• Removed rarely used 'Context toolbar animation speed' control from the Settings tab. However, this setting is still available via the ToolbarAnimationSpeed registry entry.

• Added databases for the Detonators 28.80, 28.90, 29.11, 29.20, 29.4x, 29.60 and 29.80.

• Updated performance/quality/game presets for both Windows 2000/XP and Windows 9x. Added professional preset for Combustion for Windows 2000/XP.

• Improved context help access. Now besides the button you can also select 'What's this?' from the context menu.

• Improved patch script handler. Now RivaTuner can patch R/O files.

• Context help updated.

• Minor UI improvements and changes.

• FAQ updated.

Version 2.0 Release Candidate 10.2 (published on 08.04.2002):

Minor bugfixes:

• Fixed crystal clock frequency detection for nForce based boards.

• Revised PLL dividers calculation algorithm. The maximum VCO frequency control, which has been introduced in the previous version, could cause RivaTuner to generate invalid PLL dividers and hang in low clock frequency generation accuracy mode. This problem appeared on the clock frequencies below 128MHz (mainly on TNT/TNT2 and GeForce256 based boards). Now RivaTuner doesn't control the maximum internal PLL frequency when the PLL post divider is frozen.

• Fixed the maximum VCO frequency for NV17 based boards.

What's new:

• Added VCO frequency related info to the 'NVIDIA specific display adapter info' diagnostic report category. Now RivaTuner can dump the maximum internal PLL frequency, dump and check internal frequencies for core and memory PLLs.

• Added undocumented ShowRoundedClks registry entry, which allows the power users to control RivaTuner's clock frequency rounding behavior.

• Added undocumented SetDeviceGammaRampColorControl registry entry, which allows to work around corrupted color correction startup routine in the Detonator drivers (e.g. on GeForce2 MX with Detonator 21.xx or on GeFroce4 with Detonator 27.xx) and set gamma ramp bypassing the drivers.

• Added hotkey manager. Now you can associate the hotkeys with the launcher's items and use the launcher's features (e.g. change a color scheme) without leaving a game and switching to RivaTuner.

• Added DirectX 8.1 specific info to the 'IDirect3D8 HAL capabilities' diagnostic report category.

• Context help updated.

• FAQ updated.

Version 2.0 Release Candidate 10.1 (published on 01.04.2002):

Minor bugfixes:

• Fixed the bug in the driver level overclocking manager, which prevented RivaTuner from saving startup overclocking settings with the Detonator 27.xx and higher under Windows 9x.

• Minor UI fixes.

What's new:

• Full Detonator 28.xx support.

• Detonator 27.42+ compatible 60Hz refresh rate fix. Now RivaTuner can work with both compressed (supported by the Detonator 27.42 and higher) and uncompressed (supported by all versions of the Detonator drivers) display mode formats.

• Improved 60Hz refresh rate fix safety (for non-localized versions of Windows2000/XP only). Now RivaTuner displays warning message when the monitor's driver is not installed.

• Added low level RADEON 8500 support (thanks to Andrew Worobiew for providing RADEON 8500 sample):

• Added low level overclocking module for RADEON 8500 based boards.

• Added 'ATI specific display adapter info' category to the graphics system diagnostic report for RADEON 8500 based boards. Now RivaTuner can detect and dump ATI core type, amount and type of video memory, reference, core and memory clock frequencies. 

• Added 'ATI VGA BIOS info' category for RADEON 8500 based boards. Now RivaTuner can detect and dump ATI VGA BIOS title, date/time, core and memory clock frequencies and so on.

• Added 'ATI graphics processor registers' category to the graphics system diagnostic report for RADEON 8500 based boards. Now RivaTuner can dump ATI R200 graphics processor's registers. 

• Built-in registry editor improvements:

• The registry databases can now contain erase protected registry entries.  Usually such entries are added to the registry by the INF file installer and they must always exist in the registry. RivaTuner will not remove such entries from the registry when you press the "Reset all the driver's settings to their default values" button. RivaTuner will also warn you that the entry is erase protected when you'll try to remove it from the built-in registry editor.

• The registry databases can now contain bitmask interpretators. Now you can either enter a bitmask directly or switch to the value interpretator mode and use RivaTuner's comfortable bitmask editor.

• Revised preset file format.

• Removed obsolete 'Show NVIDIA adapters only' option.

• Updated 'NVIDIA specific display adapter info' diagnostic report category. Now RivaTuner can dump the GPU's revision and reference clock frequency.

• Revised low level overclocking manager for NVIDIA graphics processors. Improved compatibility with NV2x graphics processors.

• Undocumented clock frequency generation accuracy options for NVIDIA graphics processors are now available to end users. Now you can select Low, Normal, High or Maximum clock frequency generation accuracy mode. The first mode provides the best stability but results in high clock frequency granularity, especially on certain DDR boards. The rest modes provide more accurate clock frequency generation (less than 0.5% inaccuracy in Maximum mode), but may result in instability on certain systems.

• Revised internal DIB engine (now it doesn't depend on the vfw32.dll). This allowed to lower memory consumption a bit and avoid OpenGL performance drop on some systems, caused by conflict between the vfw32.dll and the OpenGL driver.

• Revised motherboard chipset compatibility option validation code for Intel, VIA and AMD motherboards. Added SiS and ALi compatibility options.

• Added 27.30+ compatible LODBiasFix patch scripts for both Windows 9x and Windows 2000/XP.

• Added FSAA controls for GeForce4 MX based boards.

• Added databases for  the Detonator 27.30, 27.42, 27.50, 27.51, 27.70 and 28.32. Updated databases for the Detonator 21.81 and higher.

• Removed (OGL_)14593452 trap entry from the registry databases, which has been aimed to cop database sneaks.

• Revised professional presets for CATIA (CAD only), I-DEAS Master Series (CAD only), ProEngineer (CAD only), SoftImage XSI (both CAD and DCC), Solidedge (CAD only), Solidworks (CAD only).

• Added low level "Restore clock frequencies after suspended mode" option.  Now level overclocking module can also save core and memory clock frequencies before suspended mode and restore it when the system resumes.

• Revised Windows XP styled control skinning mode implementation. Now RivaTuner stores the manifest for comctl32.dll in the file system instead of the executable's resources. This allowed to lower memory consumption when Windows XP styled control skinning is not used.

• Context help updated.

• FAQ updated.

• Minor UI changes and improvements.

Notes: Unfortunately NVStrap driver is excluded from the distributive because some distribution related issues are still not addressed. It will be published as soon as possible.

Version 2.0 Release Candidate 10 (published on 06.02.2002):

Minor bugfixes:

• Fixed strap based AGP/PCI bus type detection for TNT based boards.

• Fixed display mode switching routine. The previous code failed to switch display modes on dual head display adapters (e.g. GeForce2 MX and Radeon 8500) under Windows 9x.

• Fixed the RTPatchesFix patch script for Windows 2000/XP.

• Fixed the bug, which caused a crash after attempt to dump IDirect3D8 HAL capabilities on the OS with no DirectX 8 installed.

• Fixed SoftQuadro detection algorithm for pre-10.xx Detonators under Windows2000/XP.

• Minor UI fixes.

What's new:

• Full Detonator 27.xx support.

• Both overclocking and gamma managers have been almost fully rewritten (especially Windows 9x code) in order to make them Detonator 27.xx-compatible. 

• Detonator 27.xx-compatible texture format settings (the problem with the 3DMark2001/'Pixel shaders' is fully addressed now, you may find detailed info on this problem in RivaTuner's FAQ). 

• Added 'Enable 32-bit bump normal map textures' and 'Enable FOURCC NVCS textures' texture format options for the Detonator 27.xx/GeForce3 and higher. 

• Added OpenGL texture sharpening option for the Detonator 27.xx and higher. This option allows the OpenGL driver to lower mipmap LOD bias when FSAA is enabled and helps to avoid image blurring (especially with the Quincunx / 4x 9-tap modes).

• Added OpenGL mipmap LOD bias slider for the Detonator 27.xx and higher.

• Added Detonator 27.xx compatible LODBiasFix patch scripts for both Windows 9x and 2000/XP.

• Disabled the 'Enable early Z-occlusion culling' option for the Detonator 27.xx and higher. New drivers ignore this setting and always use early Z-occlusion culling on GeForce3 and higher.

• Added NvIoControl-based driver communication module for Windows9x. This allowed to implement SoftQuadro detection for Windows9x.

• Added new powerful features to the built-in registry editor, which can greatly simplify the work with encrypted registry entries on the Detonator 23.xx and higher:

• Name/Alias toggle allows you to switch between the real name of a registry entry and its' alias. Now you don't must be an extra experienced user in order to read the encrypted registry entry names. You can just press the button to switch to the Alias mode and built-in registry editor will show decrypted names instead of encrypted.

• Value/Analyze toggle allows you to switch between direct value editor and value interpretator. The value interpretator mode is a feature, which brings the built-in registry editor's possibilities on the new level. It allows you to select one of the predefined values (e.g. true/false) instead of entering the encrypted values directly. You can also enter the value directly then press the button to switch to the interpretator and see how the driver treats the value you've entered. Currently only the enum type interpretator is implemented, bitmask and range interpretators will be implemented in the future versions.

• Added databases for the Detonators 23.11, 27.00, 27.10 and 27.20 for both Windows 9x and Windows 2000/XP.

• Added 27.xx-specific options (OpenGL LOD bias and texture sharpening mode) to the presets.

• Renamed the '2x + 1 x 2 supersampling' Direct3D FSAA mode to '4xS'. It's fun that this mode was available in RivaTuner on GeForce3 boards before GeForce4 announce, but it is very pity that NVIDIA promote this hybrid FSAA mode as the novelty of the GeForce4 boards.

• SoftQuadro scripts are no longer supported and will not work with the Detonator 27.xx. The reason is that NVIDIA has implemented SoftQuadro protection again and I do tired of endless protection/antiprotection chase and it eats a lot of my time. Probably I'll bring you SoftQuadro 2.0 scripts once ageing, but now I'm concentrated on adding ATI Radeon 8500 support to RivaTuner and it is the primary task in my plan for today.

• Removed 16-bit Z-buffer forcing option from the 'High performance' presets. This setting can boost performance by  saving videomemory bandwidth on low end systems, but it can give negative effect on high end systems. 

• Added support for 27MHz reference frequency to the low level hardware overclocking module. This allows RivaTuner's low level overclocking module to work with GeForce4 boards (thanks to Andrew Worobiew for testing RivaTuner with GeForce4 Ti 4400).

• Added fake DDR problem workaround for GeForce4 MX boards (thanks to Hilbert Hagedoorn for testing RivaTuner with GeForce4 MX 420). It is pity, but this problem (double displayed memory clock frequency), which is widely spread on GeForce2 MX with 4Mx16 memory modules, also appears on GeForce4 MX boards. To address this issue RivaTuner just halves displayed memory clock frequency on GeForce4 MX boards when SDR memory is detected and the MPLL coefficients are programmed to 300MHz or above.

• Added GeForce4 support to the built-in 60Hz refresh rate fix for Windows2000/XP.

• Revised AGP diagnostic code. Now RivaTuner doesn't use lookup tables and finds AGP capabilities header directly via the PCI configuration space's capabilities lists. The [VGAAGPStatusPCR] and [NorthbridgeAGPStatusPCR] sections are obsolete now and removed from the hardware database.

• Extended 'Northbridge info' diagnostic report category. Now RivaTuner can detect old northbridges and show that AGP is not supported instead of showing that it is disabled.

• Extended 'Display adapter info' diagnostic report category. Now RivaTuner uses vendor-independent AGP/PCI bus type detection and dumps bus type to the 'Display adapter info' diagnostic report category (strap based AGP/PCI bus type detection is also available for NVIDIA adapters). RivaTuner can also dump up to 6 IO/MMIO base addresses.

• Added 'Skinned controls' mode for Windows XP, which allows RivaTuner to use themed XP-styled controls. 

• FAQ updated.

• Minor UI changes and improvements.

Version 2.0 Release Candidate 9 (published on 29.12.2001):

Minor bugfixes:

• Fixed display adapter location detection code. Due to the glitch in the previous location detection algorithm RivaTuner could fail to detect display adapter's location on certain systems. 

• Fixed corrupted 'High quality ' preset for Windows9x.

• Fixed some resource and memory leaks.

• Minor UI fixes.

What's new:

• Revised AGP/PCI bus type detection for TNT based boards.

• Revised 64/128-bit memory bus type detection for NV10 graphics processors. Now RivaTuner can detect underground assembled NV10 based boards with 64-bit memory bus.

• Added RTPatchesFix patch script. This patch unlocks the driver's D3DDEVCAPS_QUINTICRTPATCHES and D3DDEVCAPS_RTPATCHES capabilities, which have been disabled in the Detonator 21.xx and higher.

• Added integration with Explorer shell. Now RivaTuner's patch script (*.rts) and preset (*.rtp) files can be opened with the Explorer. RivaTuner must be started at least once before doing this in order to register *.rts and *.rtp shell extensions.

• Added integration with Windows desktop. The button is now available in the Launcher tab's context menu. This button allows you to create a shortcut for any launcher item and use RivaTuner's launcher by clicking a desktop icon.

• Added 'Enable multisample masking' Direct3D option for GeForce3 and Detonator 21.xx or higher.

• Added '2x + 1 x 2 SSAA' antialiasing mode for GeForce3 and Detonator 21.xx or higher.

• Added SiS 645 and SiS 735 northbridges support to the low level graphics subsystem diagnostic module. 

• Added new report categories to the low level graphics subsystem diagnostic module. Now RivaTuner can dump the capabilities of IDirect3D7 (both HAL and TnL HAL) and IDirect3D8 HAL. RivaTuner's report comparison tool allows you to track changes in the Direct3D driver's capabilities.

• Added experimental low level 7,159MHz granular memory clock adjustment mode for DDR boards (GeForce2 Ultra, GeForce3 and so on). This mode is currently hidden from inexperienced users, but the power users may play with the FreezeMPLLM and FreezeMPLLP registry entries. 

• Windows95 is no longer supported since this version.

• Minor UI changes and improvements.

Version 2.0 Release Candidate 8.2 (published on 10.12.2001):

Minor bugfixes:

• Fixed bug in the driver level overclocking manager, which caused 'Restore clock frequencies after suspended mode' option malfunction on Windows9x based systems.

• Fixed bug with the ‘Invalid registry entries have been detected’ message after changing AGP transfer rate.

• The previous version contained corrupted compiled code, which caused RivaTuner to crash after changing any system setting, which required reboot.

• Minor UI fixes.

What's new:

• Added nForce northbridges support to the low level graphics subsystem diagnostic module. 

• Added more VIA northbridges to the hardware database.

• Disabled  'NVIDIA specific display adapter information' diagnostic report category for Aladdin and nForce integrated display adapters.

• Disabled low level memory clock adjustment for Aladdin and nForce integrated display adapters.

• FAQ updated.

Version 2.0 Release Candidate 8.1 (published on 6.12.2001):

Minor bugfixes:

• Fixed SoftQuadro antiprotection scripts for the Detonator 14.40 - 21.xx. The previous antiprotection scripts had not completely blocked SoftQuadro protection and could cause instability in some CAD applications like ProEngineer, Maya and so on. This issue is fully addressed now.

• Fixed “Enable 4x transfer rate” option into VIA compatibility settings. Now this option is active on VIA 694X based motherboards only.

• Fixed the bug in the database build scenario interpretator, which could cause incorrect database generation on certain Windows9x based systems.

• Returned game and professional presets, which have been lost during preset format conversion in the previous version.

What's new:

• Full Detonator 23.xx support. 

• LODBiasFix patch script for the Detonator 23.xx. This script fixes the bug introduced in the Detonator 23.xx and allows the driver to set negative Direct3D mipmap LOD bias correctly.

• Added 'Force 16-bit Z-buffer' OpenGL option for GeForce2 MX and GeForce3 based boards.

• Added 'GeForce2 compatibility mode' option for GeForce3 based boards. This option prevents the driver from using GeForce3 specific features (e.g. pixel shaders and depth buffer compression) and forces it to detect GeForce3 GPU as GeForce2 MX. This option can be used for testing purposes as well as for forcing the use of SSAA instead of MSAA on GeForce3 boards.

• Improved 'Restore clock frequencies after suspended mode' option functionality under Windows2000/XP. The previous version of RivaTuner passed restored clock frequencies to the driver after resuming from suspended mode, but in fact the clock frequencies were set after the first display mode switch. It was caused by Windows2000/XP structural feature, which doesn't allow an application to switch a display mode when a user is not logged in. Now RivaTuner restores clock frequencies immediately after logging in.

• Changed workaround for fake DDR memory problem on some GeForce2 MX200/MX400 boards. This problem is caused by the hardware feature of the clock frequency generator, which can be hardwired to halve PLL clock frequency. Usually this feature is used on the boards equipped with DDR memory, but it is also used by some hardware vendors on GeForce2 MX200/MX400 boards with 4Mx16 SDR memory modules. The previous version of RivaTuner just halved the memory clock frequency on all GeForce2 MX200/MX400 boards with 4Mx16 SDR memory modules. It allowed to work around this problem, but caused incorrect memory clock frequency detection on some normal GeForce2 MX200/MX400 boards with 4Mx16 SDR memory modules (e.g. Inno3D GeForce2 MX400 64MB). Now RivaTuner contains the database of GeForce2 MX200/MX400 boards with 4Mx16 SDR, which allows RivaTuner to detect problematic GeForce2 MX200/MX400 boards. RivaTuner can also use heuristic algorithm when it cannot find your display adapter in the database.

• Extended driver level overclocking range for pseudo-DDR GeForce2 MX200/MX400 under Windows 2000/XP.

• Added databases for the Detonator 22.50 (Windows 9x only), 23.10 and 23.11.

• Updated performance/quality presets.

• Added ALi 1541 northbridge support to the low level graphics subsystem diagnostic module.

• Added ATI Radeon R100/R200 support to the low level graphics subsystem diagnostic module.

• Improved detection code for VIA Apollo Pro series northbridges.

• Some interface changes aimed to improve appearance with the ClearType antialiasing under Windows XP.

• FAQ updated.

• Minor UI changes and improvements.

Version 2.0 Release Candidate 8 (published on 14.11.2001):

Minor bugfixes:

• Fixed the bug introduced in RC5.1, which prevented RivaTuner from detecting default clock frequencies after an attempt to enable hardware overclocking via Reboot mode under Windows2000/XP.

• Fixed CoolBits registry entry reset issue. The previous versions of RivaTuner set this registry entry to 2 after enabling overclocking and caused Direct3D VSync settings to disappear from NVIDIA control panel. Now RivaTuner changes the state of the second CoolBits  bit only.

• Fixed the bug in the launcher item editor, which allowed in some cases a user to associate a preset, color scheme or display mode with separator items.

• Fixed SoftQuadro scripts for Quadro DCC. The previous versions of these scripts forced wrong capability codes and blocked 3D textures hardware support and some other capabilities. 

• Fixed VSync prerender limit  settings for the Detonator 3.xx.

What's new:

• Added Lightspeed Memory Architecture related options for GeForce3 based boards.

• Disabled texel alignment controls for GeForce3 boards on the Detonator IV and higher.

• Improved I/O driver (RivaTuner.sys) unlocks only the PCI and VGA I/O ports now. New driver fully addresses the keyboard lock issue in fullscreen DOS applications under Windows XP.

• New low level overclocking monitor. New low level core uses memory mapped I/O instead of VGA I/O ports. This allows to monitor the clock frequencies on non-primary NVIDIA display adapters. The previous low level overclocking monitor could also cause the system to hang during an attempt to read clock frequencies after resuming from suspended mode. This issue is fully addressed now.

• Added reboot notification messages for some Direct3D options. Now RivaTuner shows reboot notification messages when a user changes Direct3D options, which require reboot (e.g. Direct3D texture format settings).

• Added built-in 60Hz refresh rate fix for Windows 2000/XP. This fix enumerates all the display modes supported by your graphics hardware and allows it to use only the maximum supported refresh rate for each display mode.

• Added low level driver independent overclocking module for NVIDIA based display adapters. Now RivaTuner can directly program NVIDIA core and memory PLLs and set the clock frequencies bypassing the driver. I've added this module special for GeForce2 MX owners to work around the major overclocking problems, introduced in the Detonator XP.

• Added low level graphics subsystem diagnostic module. Now RivaTuner can save northbridge and display adapter related diagnostic information to the report file. Graphics subsystem diagnostic module can also track changes in northbridge's and display adapter's PCI configuration spaces and even in graphics processor's registers. 

• Added database builder scripts. Databases for the Detonator drivers are not included in the distributive now and generated via the database builder when you start RivaTuner in the first time. It allowed to crunch database related data in the distributive with 1:10 ratio.

• Extended preset format. Now presets can contain driver dependent and hardware dependent registry entries. It allowed to merge all the quality and performance presets for different drivers and hardware and crunch preset related data in the distributive with 1:10 ratio.

• Added databases for the Detonator 3.34 (w9x only), 3.56 (w9x only), 3.68 (w9x only), 3.72 (w9x only), 3.75 (w9x only), 3.76 (w9x only), 3.77 (w9x only), 4.20 (w9x only), 5.08, 5,1x,  6.1x, 6.26, 6.27, 6.3x, 21.83, 22.50 and 22.80.

• Improved FastWrites settings. Now RivaTuner can also override NV_PEXTDEV_BOOT_0 strapping register, which allows the driver to use AGP FastWrites even if it is disabled in display adapter's BIOS.

• FAQ updated.

• Minor UI changes.

Version 2.0 Release Candidate 7.1 (published on 30.09.2001):

Minor bugfixes:

• Fixed the bug introduced in RC7, which prevented RivaTuner from restoring the state of the 'Show NVIDIA adapters only' option.

• Fixed the bug in ExtEscape-styled overclocking code for Windows2000/XP, which prevented RivaTuner from restoring the previous clock frequencies after testing new settings.

• Fixed the bug, which prevented RivaTuner from saving the state of the  'Enable 16/32-bit RGB/RGBA textures' and 'Enable 16/32-bit bump-map textures' options on GeForce3 boards.

• Removed nvmini2.vxd file from the list of the driver's files for Detonator 21.81.

• Fixed DisableIODriver registry entry handler.

• Minor help fixes.

What’s new:

• Added the code, which prevents RivaTuner from detecting two GeForce2 MX devices on TwinView boards.

• Improved main tab layout. A lot of users were confused with the new main tab layout, introduced in the previous version, an could not locate the driver customization popup. New interface enhancement helps the newbies to find it.  Now the button flashes until you press it the first time.

• Added driver independent low-level overclocking monitor. Now RivaTuner can read and display the clock frequencies directly via PLL. It helps you to monitor the real clock frequencies and verify the driver's settings. This feature works with the primary display adapter only.

• Unified I/O driver (uniio.sys) has been replaced with new I/O driver (rivatuner.sys). This driver is based upon the unified IO driver, but it consumes less memory and it correctly restores I/O access map after unloading. This helps to partially address the keyboard lock issue in fullscreen DOS applications under Windows XP. Read the list of known issues for details.

• Added databases for Detonator 21.85.

Version 2.0 Release Candidate 7 (published on 20.09.2001):

Minor bugfixes:

• Fixed the bug in Windows2000 device enumeration code, which prevented RivaTuner from detecting the secondary NVIDIA display adapter on multiple monitor systems with more than one NVIDIA based display adapters.

• Fixed the bug in Windows2000 device enumeration code, which caused incorrect overclocking/color scheme manager operation on certain multiple monitor systems.

• Corrected gamma ramp calculation routine, which caused NVIDIA control panel to reset the color scheme to defaults after adjusting it via RivaTuner. This glitch only appeared on the Detonator 14.40 and higher under Windows2000/XP.

• Minor UI fixes.

What’s new:

• Full Windows XP and Detonator 21.xx (alias Detonator XP) support.

• Added Detonator XP styled texture format settings, which allow you to customize the texture formats supported by the Direct3D driver separately for DirectX7 and DirectX8 applications.

• Added Detonator XP styled motherboard chipset compatibility settings.

• Added databases and presets for Detonators 8.04, 14.70 and 21.81.

• New main tab layout. Now the System, Direct3D, OpenGL and Color tweaking dialogs can be activated via the driver customization toolbar. You can  press the button to show the driver customization toolbar. When RivaTuner is minimized to tray you can show this toolbar by holding Ctrl and clicking RivaTuner's tray icon or by holding left mouse button pressed on the tray icon during at least 0.5s. 

• Added "Restore defaults" button to the driver customization toolbar. Now you can reset all the driver's settings to their default values by single click. This function is useful when removing RivaTuner from your system. 

• Added detailed context sensitive help system for Launcher, System, Direct3D, OpenGL and Color options. The most of the information, included in RivaTuner's context help is exclusive and never was available in any other tweaking program.

• Added Quadro DCC support in SoftQuadro scripts.

• Added SoftQuadro antiprotection scripts, which prevent the OpenGL driver from entering the infinite loop on non-Quadro boards with Detonator 14.40 and higher.

• Added SoftQuadro driver detection for Windows2000/XP. Now RivaTuner automatically detects the drivers patched via SoftQuadro and enables professional OpenGL options. SoftQuadro driver detection for Windows 9x is not implemented yet, but you can enable professional OpenGL options via ForceQuadro registry entry is you use the drivers patched with SoftQuadro. Read FAQ for details. 

• New launcher possibilities. Now you can associate a display mode (both Windows 9x and Windows 2000) and refresh rate (Windows 2000 only) with any launcher item. This allows you to perform quick display mode switching. This feature can also virtually fix Direct3D mouse cursor bug, which has been introduced in the Detonator 6.47 and fixed in the Detonator 21.81. Due to unknown reason mouse cursor appears on the screen after display mode switch in fullscreen Direct3D applications on Windows 9x.You can associate a display mode with any application, which exhibits such problem and so prevent it from switching display mode.

• Added new option to professional OpenGL settings, which allows you to select stereo display mode on Quadro boards if Detonator 12.xx or higher is installed.

• Improved AGP transfer rate option safety. Now it is also disabled by default and protected by LockDangerSettings registry entry.

• Added current brightness/contrast/gamma indicators in desktop color scheme window.

• FAQ updated.

• Minor UI changes and improvements.

Version 2.0 Release Candidate 6 (published on 2.08.2001):

Minor bugfixes:

• Fixed Direct3D FSAA settings for GeForce/GeForce2 for Detonator 1x.xx.

• Added missed %AdapterString% macro handler to the preset manager. Due to absence of this macro handler, the previous version couldn't correctly restore overclocking settings from the preset on Detonator 12.90 and higher for Windows 2000.

• Various fixes and changes in the databases for Detonator 1x.xx for Windows 2000.

• Minor UI fixes.

What’s new:

• Added context sensitive help system.

• Added "Restore clock frequencies after suspended mode" option. Now RivaTuner can save core and memory clock frequencies before suspended mode and restore it when the system resumes. This virtually fixes drivers' bug and helps to avoid 100/83 underclocking problem.

• Added "Enable Accelerated Graphics Port" option for Detonator 1x.xx for Windows 2000.

• Improved AGP Sideband addressing and FastWrites settings safety. Now AGP Sideband addressing settings are also disabled by default and protected by LockDangerSettings registry entry. Read FAQ to find how to enable AGP Sideband addressing in RivaTuner. AGP Sideband and FastWrites settings are also disabled if motherboard doesn't support it or it is disabled in BIOS.

• Improved AGP transfer rate settings safety. Now RivaTuner doesn't allow to select AGP transfer rate, which is not supported by motherboard or display adapter.  

• Now RivaTuner can either use exported functions from the NVIDIA control panel and tweaking library or use direct access to hardware via ExtEscape calls. By default it uses ExtEscape calls for Detonator 12.40 and higher and exported functions for the rest of the drivers to adjust the color scheme and query/set clock frequencies in realtime. It allows it to avoid nvcpl.dll usage. ExtEscape is much faster than exported function calls, but it has not been completely tested yet. You may force exported functions usage if color correction or overclocking doesn't work properly on your system. Use ExtEscapeColorControl and ExtEscapeClockControl registry entries to force ExtEscape or exported functions usage.

• Added advanced overclocking mode for power users. Now clock frequencies can be applied and saved without test via DisableClockTest registry entry.

• Changed default Direct3D mipmap LOD bias adjustment interval from [-2; +2] to [-3;+3]. As before, Direct3D mipmap LOD bias adjustment interval can be changed from [-2;+2] to [-15;+15] via LODBiasRange registry entry.

• Added databases for Detonator 14.10 (Window 9x only) and 14.20 (Windows 2000 only).

• Added presets for Detonator 14.xx.

• Updated all performance/quality presets. Changed Direct3D prerender limit from 1 to 3 in all presets. Updated "Restore defaults" and "Safe mode" presets for Detonator 1x.xx for Windows 2000.

• Added advanced Direct3D anisotropic filtering settings for GeForce3 for Detonator 12.00 and higher.

• Added gamma ramp graphs in desktop color scheme window.

• Minor UI changes and improvements.

Version 2.0 Release Candidate 5.1 (published on 8.07.2001):

Minor bugfixes:

• None.

What’s new:

• Added SoftQuadro patch scripts. These scripts can modify NVIDIA Detonator drivers for Windows 9x, Windows NT4 or Windows 2000 in order to unlock professional Quadro features on any GeForce based board.

• Added Detonator 12.90 compatible overclocking and color scheme manager for Windows 2000.

• Improved compatibility with Detonator's color scheme manager for Detonator 12.40 and higher for Windows 2000. Now Detonator's color schemes can be used via RivaTuner for these drivers.

• Added databases for Detonator 12.90 for Windows 9x and Windows 2000.

• Added SoftQuadro related questions to FAQ.

Version 2.0 Release Candidate 5 (published on 25.06.2001):

Minor bugfixes:

• Fixed overlay context update routine. Due to incorrect parameter conversion into ExtEscape call RivaTuner could occasionally cause general protection fault during adjusting overlay settings under Windows 2000.

• Replaced D3D_ForceBlitWaitFlagEnable registry entry with D3D_WaitAfterBlitEnable into all Detonator 5.xx databases for Windows 2000

• Minor UI fixes

What’s new:

• Added Digital Vibrance Control for GeForce2 MX/Quadro2 MXR/GeForce3.

• Added Quadro/Quadro2 MXR/Quadro2 Pro specific options.

• Added presets for professional workstation applications (Lightwave, Maya, 3D Studio Max etc.) for  Quadro/Quadro2 MXR/Quadro2 Pro boards.

• Added Direct3D LOD bias settings for GeForce/GeForce2/GeForce3 for Detonator 7.78 - 10.00.

• Added Direct3D/DirectDraw blitting options for Detonator 5.xx and higher.

• Added databases and Detonator 7.78, 12.20, 12.40, 12.41 and 12.60, updated database for Detonator 12.00.

• Updated performance/quality presets for Detonator 6.xx - 12.xx (added blitting related registry entries, Quadro related registry entries and so on) . 

• Improved compatibility with Detonator 12.4x for Windows 2000. All Detonator drivers for Windows 2000 can use either NvCplDaemon or NvXTInit and NvColorInit procedures to apply overclocking or color scheme at Windows startup. NvCplDaemon function in Detonator 12.40 - 12.59 doesn't properly call NvXTInit and NvColorInit. New version of RivaTuner uses NvXTInit / NvColorInit for Detonator 12.40 - 12.59 and NvCplDaemon for the rest drivers. 

• Added built-in patch script system. Now you can easily create your own patches or use my patches, included in RivaTuner. This version contains NvXTInitFix patch script which can fix the problems with GeForce2 Pro/GeForce2 Ultra/GeForce3 overclocking under Windows2000.

• Extended overclocking range. New ASUS v7100 Pro boards are equipped with extremely fast 4.5ns memory and can easily overcome 50% overclocking range. Now you can increase core and memory clock frequencies by up to 100%.

• Minor UI improvements.

Version 2.0 Release Candidate 4.1 (published on 23.04.2001):

Minor bugfixes:

• Fixed default values for WScale16 and WScale24 entries in all Detonator databases.

• Fixed “Enable 4x transfer rate” option into VIA compatibility settings. This option was always inactive on VIA KX133/VIA KT133 boards due to incorrect validation code.  

What’s new:

• Added advanced anisotropic filtering settings for GeForce/GeForce2/GeForce3 for Detonator 12.00 and higher.

• Added databases and presets for Detonator 12.00 for both Windows 9x and Windows 2000.

• Added UI customization options. Now you can customize user interface via “UI settings” page. You can also click right mouse button near the tabs to hide unused property pages.

• Added automatic database refresh feature. Now RivaTuner automatically refreshes current database when you are switching to RivaTuner from other application. Current database also can still be refreshed manually with F5 key.

• Improved compatibility with Windows 95. Now RivaTuner can start on Windows 95 even when Microsoft Internet Explored 4.0 Desktop Update is not installed.

• New delayed DLL loading mechanism can reduce memory consumption.

• Minor UI changes.

Version 2.0 Release Candidate 4 (published on 05.04.2001):

Minor bugfixes:

• Fixed default value and validation method for PCI texture heap size for Detonator 3.xx and higher.

• Disabled “OpenGL hardware acceleration mode” option for TNT boards.

• Fixed bug, introduced in the Release Candidate 3. The previous version of RivaTuner could not detect Detonator 2.08 due to incorrect driver version validation.

• Fixed databases for Detonator 7.5x and higher for Windows 2000.

What’s new:

• Changed motherboard chipset detection routines. Now RivaTuner doesn't use PCI BIOS and detects motherboard chipset via direct IO.

• Added motherboard chipset detection for Windows 2000 via BBD Soft unified IO driver

• Added AGP diagnostics for both Windows 9x and Windows 2000. Now RivaTuner can detect and show current AGP transfer rate, AGP SBA and AGP FW modes.

• Added “Open matched detonator database” button in built-in registry editor. Now RivaTuner can detect driver version and automatically open matched Detonator database.

• Added automatic preset creation wizard. RivaTuner can detect current driver version, find the most matched Detonator database and automatically create preset from it.

• Lowered memory consumption. Almost all graphics have been moved from executable file to external resource storage file

• Improved compatibility with overclocking and color scheme startup settings in Detonator control panel interface. Now RivaTuner can correctly detect both NvCplDaemon and NvXTInit / NvColorInit startup modes.

• Added databases for Detonator 5.22, 5.30, 5.32, 7.5x, 11.00 (Windows 9x only) and 11.01.

• Databases for Detonator 10.40, 10.50, 10.70 and 10.80 have been replaced with single Detonator 10.xx database because all these drivers use the same registry entries.

• Removed obsolete Super7Compat registry entry from all databases for Windows 2000.

• FAQ added.

Version 2.0 Release Candidate 3.1 (published on 11.03.2001):

Minor bugfixes:

• Fixed incorrect OpenGL FSAA settings for Detonator 10.xx.

• Fixed LOD bias settings for GeForce/GeForce2/GeForce3 for Detonator 10.70 and higher.

What’s new:

• Added GeForce3 specific FSAA settings for Detonator 10.xx (big thanks to Andrew Worobiew for testing RivaTuner with GeForce3).

• Updated databases for all versions of Detonators. Removed automatic mipmapping entries from all 6.xx and higher databases. Fixed OpenGL FSAA entries in databases for  Detonator 7.17, 10.50 and 10.70 for Windows 9x and Detonator 10.40 for Windows 2000.

• Removed obsolete entries from “Restore defaults” and “Safe mode” presets for both Windows 9x and Windows 2000.

• Added databases for Detonator 10.80 for both Windows 9x and Windows 2000.

• Added presets for Detonator 10.xx.

• Disabled automatic mipmapping settings for TNT/TNT2 on Detonator 6.xx and higher.

• Improved AGP settings safety. RivaTuner will disable AGP FastWrites settings if display adapter does not support this protocol.

• You can hold Ctrl button when closing RivaTuner to unload it from memory immediately even if “Send to tray on close” mode is selected.

Version 2.0 Release Candidate 3 (published on 05.03.2001):

Minor bugfixes:

• Fixed ALI chipset detection routine. In the previous version “Command buffer location” option was always disabled on Detonator 3.xx or higher due to incorrect ALI chipset detection.

• Improved compatibility with Detonator control panel interface. Due to bug into Detonator control panel interface it could not correctly show some Direct3D settings (e.g. “Enable table fog emulation” option) changed by any other tweaking program. Direct3D settings in RivaTuner are fully compatible with Detonator control panel interface now.

• Fixed “Defaults” button handler in OpenGL/FSAA property page. Default FSAA settings are correctly restored now.

• Fixed “Cancel” button handler in Color/Desktop property page. RivaTuner does not reset desktop color scheme to defaults after pressing “Cancel” button now.

• Fixed “Cancel” button handler in Color/Desktop property page. RivaTuner correctly restores previous overlay color settings after pressing “Cancel” button now.

• Minor UI fixes.

What’s new:

• Full Windows 2000 support.

• Added databases for Detonator 6.31, 6.47, 6.49, 6.50, 7.52 and 10.40 for Windows 2000.

• Added sample presets for Detonator 6.xx-7.xx for Windows 2000.

• Added databases for Detonator 7.52, 10.50 and 10.70 for Windows 9x.

• Updated presets and databases for Detonator 2.xx, 6.31, 6.47, 6.49, 6.50, 6.53, 6.67, 6.72 and 7.17 for Windows 9x.

• Added VIA/AMD Irongate/Intel chipset detection routines for Windows 9x. RivaTuner will correctly detect motherboard chipset and disable unused options now.

• Added overlay zooming and compatibility settings for Detonator 3.xx and higher drivers.

• Added 8-bit palletized texture settings for Detonator 10.xx.

• New RTD format. RTD databases can now contain fixed size (4 bytes) binary values and root for each key.  

• Added advanced anisotropic filtering settings for Detonator 10.xx.

• Changed “Defaults” button handling strategy for all dialogs. Default settings are not applied immediately now, so user can undo it by “Cancel” button.

• Voodoo databases ripped from this version. 3dfx is dead and it seems like nobody needs it anymore.

• Minor UI changes.

Version 2.0 Release Candidate 2 (published on 11.02.2001):

Minor bugfixes:

• The previous versions of RivaTuner utility could hang when starting with Windows due to incompatibility between Detonator III and Yamaha YMF724 / Yamaha Sondius S-YSG100 software. New autostart mode has been added in this version to solve this problem.

• Minor UI fixes.

What’s new:

• Due to changed internal format RTD databases consume much less memory now. Also to decrease memory usage RivaTuner unloads unnecessary resources when it is minimized to tray.

• Added new Compatibility / AGP settings to System tweaks dialog.

• Added application / preset / color scheme launcher.

• New presets.

• New databases for Detonator 6.53, 6.67 and 6.72.

• Minor UI changes.

Version 2.0 Release Candidate (published on 29.12.2000):

Minor bugfixes:

• Core and memory clock sliders are now correctly updated after restoring default clock frequencies.

What’s new:

• Added Direct3D / OpenGL / Color tweaking dialogs for Detonator 3.xx and higher. RivaTuner completely supports GeForce and GeForce2 boards now.

• Preset editor and some sample presets added.

• New databases for Detonator 6.31, 6.47, 6.49, 6.50 and 7.17.

• Minor UI changes.

Version 2.0 beta 2 (published on 26.11.2000):

Minor bugfixes:

• Fixed issue with tray icon click.

• Fixed LOD bias settings into Direct3D tweaking dialog.

• Fixed W-buffer settings for 32-bit modes into Direct3D tweaking dialog.

• Fixed default value for PCI texture heap size.

What’s new:

• Built-in overclocking utility added for Detonator 3.xx and higher.

• New more flexible and more comfortable built-in registry editor.

• New RTD format. RTD databases can now contain string values, defaults and help for each entry.

• Full databases for the best TNT2 and GeForce drivers, Voodoo databases.

• Minor UI changes.

Version 2.0 beta (published on 17.07.2000):  

The first public release

FAQ:

Q: How does RivaTuner work? Is it just a registry tweaker?

A: Yes, it was a registry tweaking utility in the beginning. Now RivaTuner can work in two modes and tweak your graphics subsystem either at the driver level or at low level. 
At the driver level RivaTuner changes the settings via the registry and directly calls the driver's functions in order to perform some operations (e.g. query and set the clock frequencies, update an overlay context, change a color scheme and so on). In this mode RivaTuner can also read some info (e.g. AGP settings and the clock frequencies) directly from your graphics hardware but it doesn't use a low level access to your hardware to change anything.
In low level mode RivaTuner works directly with your graphics hardware. When you make any changes in this mode RivaTuner doesn't use the display drivers at all and directly programs the graphics processor's registers.

Q: Can I close RivaTuner after changing the driver's settings? Will the tweaks have an effect in this case?

A: Yes, of course. All the driver's settings are stored in the registry so you can safely close RivaTuner or even remove it from your hard drive, but the tweaks will still work. It's not necessary to load RivaTuner at Windows startup in order to apply the changes you have made. The only options which require RivaTuner to reside in memory are the 'Restore clock frequencies after suspended mode' and low level refresh overrider module. The power users may also wish to keep RivaTuner resident in order to use built-in registry editor's and low level diagnostic module's tracking features. 

Q: And what about the low level overclocking? Will it work if RivaTuner is not loaded at Windows startup? 

A: Yes, it will. The only condition is not to remove RivaTuner's folder from your hard drive. RivaTuner adds itself with the /S command line switch to the autorun registry key when you enable any low level settings (e.g. overclocking or color correction) at Windows startup. When this command line switch is specified, RivaTuner loads itself at Windows startup, executes startup daemon (the procedure that configures startup settings depending on the settings you've made) and unloads itself from memory immediately. 

Q: Where do you get info about all these tweaks? Are you working at NVIDIA? 

A: No, I'm not working at NVIDIA. I'm just a discontented owner of NVIDIA display adapter and I want to get all from my hardware and its' drivers. I'm a professional programmer and reverse engineering is my hobby so I simply rip the info from the drivers using SoftICE, IDA and some other additional tools. I had used almost all NVIDIA display adapters (Riva128, Riva TNT, Riva TNT2, GeForce256 SDR, GeForce256 DDR, GeForce2 MX, GeForce2 GTS, GeForce 3 and GeForce4 Ti4600) but I've never been satisfied with the Detonator's control panel interface. It's a bit strange for me that some really useful settings are hidden from the end uses. That's why I started to code my own tweaking utility. 

Q: What is *.RTD database and how can I use it? 

A: *.RTD database is just the list of registry entries, which you can view and edit via the built-in registry editor. RivaTuner uses *.RTD files to store info about the registry entries, used by a driver. Different driver versions use different sets of the registry entries, stored in different registry keys, so the information for each driver version is stored into a separate database. Database for each driver version contains the list of registry entries used by this driver. Default values and descriptions for each registry entry are also included in the database. You don’t make any changes in your registry when you are opening new database in RivaTuner, you just load the list of registry entries, which can be modified via the built-in registry editor. 

Q: Do I need to load new *.RTD database after installing new drivers? 

A: Don’t care about databases until you are going to edit the registry directly with the “Power User” tab. Forget about databases if you are not an experienced user and you are using only the “Main” tab's features. They don't depend on the currently loaded database. RivaTuner will correctly detect any supported driver and allow you to change all the supported options. 

Q: What is *.RTP preset and how can I use it? 

A: *.RTP preset is a script, which can add or remove entries from your registry. It is similar to a *.REG file, but it has some advantages: 

1. Both Window 9x and Windows 2000 store settings in system dependent registry keys. It means that your *.REG files may work incorrectly on another PC or even on your PC after reinstalling a display driver. RivaTuner uses macro names to export and import presets so they will always work correctly. 
2. *.REG files cannot remove entries from registry. Presets can do it.
3. Preset files can contain driver version dependent and hardware dependent registry entries.

You can use pre-created presets (located in "Presets" folder) or create your own presets via the built-in registry editor. The presets are integrated in the Explorer shell so you can just click any *.RTP file within the Explorer in order to import preset data. You can also run a preset via RivaTuner's launcher by associating a preset with a launcher's item. Follow the next steps in order to associate a preset with a launcher's item:

1. Open the "Launcher" tab and click the "Add new menu item" button. Menu item editor dialog will appear.
2. Type a name for new menu item. For example, "Apply quality optimized settings".
3. Check the "Associated preset" option then select your preset and close the menu item editor.

New menu item will appear. Now you can launch the preset associated with this menu item by double clicking it. When RivaTuner is minimized to tray you can also launch it from the context menu (right click RivaTuner's tray icon in order to open it). 

Q: I need the preset for Quake III. Where can I download it?

A: You don't need the presets for all the games you have. I've added the presets only for those games, which cannot run properly without the specific driver's settings (e.g. all the NFS series require enabled table fog emulation and the nonstandard texel alignment scheme; games based upon the Unreal engine looks much better with a negative LOD bias and floating point W-buffer format in 16-bit modes and so on). For the rest games you can use the "High quality" and "High performance" presets. 

Q: Some settings (e.g. automatic mipmapping) are grayed in RivaTuner. How can I activate these settings?  

A: RivaTuner grays some settings due to one of three cases: 

1. Settings are grayed if your hardware does not support them. For example, TNT/TNT2 chipsets do not support anisotropic texture filtering. GeForce/GeForce2/GeForce3 chipsets do not support automatic mipmapping, fast trilinear filtering mode etc. 

2. Settings are grayed if your drivers do not support them. For example the “Enable S3TC quality trick” option is supported by the Detonator 6.47 and higher only.

3. Settings are grayed if your operating system doesn't support them. For example the “Use busmastering mode for video” is supported by Windows 9x only.  

The best way to determine why does a setting is grayed is to click the button on RivaTuner's window caption then click an option you want to know about. RivaTuner will display detailed help on this option and explain why does it grayed. 

Q: It looks like RivaTuner caused the problems with 3DMark2001 on my system. It crashes with the following error message: ''P_D3D::DRV_allocateMap - device does not support bump normal maps". Is it a bug in RivaTuner? Can you fix it?  

A: No, it's not a bug. This problem is caused by the incompatibility between the texture format setting in RivaTuner 2.0 RC9 and the Detonator 27.xx. NVIDIA just added new capability bit to the (D3D_)D3D_52971801 (encrypted SurfaceFormatsDX7) and (D3D_)D3D_52971801 (encrypted SurfaceFormatsDX8) registry entries in 27.xx drivers. This bit allows the Direct3D driver to export D3DFMT_Q8W8V8U8 pixel format and it must not be set on pre-27.xx drivers, but it must be set on new drivers. Unfortunately there is no way to make pixel format setting forward compatible because the driver doesn't allow to set unused bits and resets these registry entries to defaults when at least one extra bit is set. So the only way to work around this problem is to wait for updated RivaTuner. RivaTuner 2.0 RC10 is fully 27.xx-compatible, but this problem may appear again in the future if NVIDIA will add new texture format capability bits. 

Q: AGP settings in RivaTuner don't work properly on my system. What’s the problem?  

A: Unfortunately the Detonator’s AGP settings don't work on certain platforms (especially non-Intel based). On the most of Intel based platforms these settings work fine, but on the rest chipsets these settings can be ignored or even cause your operating system to crash (e.g. on VIA Apollo Pro 133A AGP transfer rate settings are ignored and AGP FastWrites settings may cause OS to hang). To change AGP settings on such platforms you can use either BIOS/AGP GART driver settings or any utility, which switches AGP settings directly via the PCI configuration registers (PowerStrip, WPCREDIT, ZTAGPTool).

Q: I’m sure that my display adapter supports AGP FastWrites/Sideband addressing, but AGP settings in RivaTuner are grayed. How can I enable it? 

A: First, you must have at least a GeForce256 and Detonator 5.32 or higher drivers to change FastWrites settings, and at least Detonator 6.34 to change Sideband addressing settings. Second, read the previous question. FastWrites and Sideband addressing settings can cause your system to hang, that’s why I disabled it by default. If you know what is Safe mode and you don’t afraid of BSOD, you can enable these settings in RivaTuner via the registry:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Unwinder\RivaTuner\Detonator\Global]  

"LockDangerSettings"=dword:00000000

Q: I have used other tweaking utility before RivaTuner and I could change much more Direct3D and OpenGL options there. Why I cannot change these options in RivaTuner? 

A: Unfortunately some coders are trying to boost download rates and increase popularity of their utilities by adding invalid, obsolete and even fake tweaking options. It is pity, but it is true. First of all, such utilities are dedicated to rookies in computer graphics. I’m not going to add fakes or untested options and deceive inexperienced users. To change untested options you may use RivaTuner’s built-in registry editor. It will help you to change absolutely all registry entries. 

Q: Sometimes I get the message ‘Invalid registry entries have been detected. RivaTuner will use default or truncated values for these entries’. What does it mean? 

A: It means that RivaTuner have detected some registry entries, which contains invalid values. Such registry entries will be ignored or corrected by driver. RivaTuner uses the same validation routines as driver. Usually this message is caused by other tweaking utilities, which set incorrect registry entries, or even by Detonator control panel interface. For example you can set PreRenderLimit entry to 0 via Detonator control panel interface. But Direct3D driver checks PreRenderLimit entry and set it to 1 if it is less than 1. If RivaTuner will detect that such entry, it will give you the warning message and correct it in the same way as driver. 

Q: I cannot set some display modes after using RivaTuner's 60Hz refresh rate fix for Windows2000/XP. Any clues? 

A: Don't try to use this fix if you have not installed native drivers for your monitor and Windows detects it as the 'Default monitor' or 'Plug and Play monitor'. In this case Windows will enumerate unsupported refresh rates and the fix will not function properly. 

Q: I cannot use RivaTuner. Each time when I’m trying to run it I get the message 'The ordinal 6880 could not be located in the dynamic link library MFC42.DLL'. Any clues? 

A: RivaTuner requires Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC) libraries in order to run properly. These libraries are included in Windows 98 SE /Windows ME / Windows 2000 / Windows XP. However, some software can replace these libraries with the older versions. In this case RivaTuner will not run properly. If you have got such error message, then just restore MFC42.dll from Windows CD or download the latest version of MFC from Microsoft.

Q: I tried to use RivaTuner on Windows 95 OSR 2 but it cannot start. The program always displays the error message: ‘The RIVATUNER.EXE file is linked to missing export SHELL32.dll:SHGetSpecialFolderPathA’. Any clues? 

A: RivaTuner requires SHELL32.DLL v4.71 or higher for full functionality. You must install Internet Explorer 4.0 Desktop Update or higher in order to use RivaTuner on Windows 95. Please read Internet Explorer’s readme.txt to get more info about installing Desktop Update. I’ve changed my code in RivaTuner v2.0 Release Candidate 4.1 in order to improve compatibility with Windows 95. Since this version RivaTuner can start on this operating system with some limitations even if Internet Explorer 4.0 Desktop Update is not installed.

Note: Windows95 is no longer supported. RivaTuner v2.0 Release Candidate 6 is the last version, which can work with this OS. 

Q: I cannot overclock my GeForce2 PRO/GeForce2 Ultra/GeForce3 with both the Detonator control panel and RivaTuner. The system just goes back to the defaults after reboot. How can I fix it?

A: It's the known bug of the Detonator drivers for Windows 2000 and it was fixed in the Detonator 12.90. Due to incorrect memory clock frequency validation the NvXTInit function always reverted the memory clock to the default value when it was above 400MHz. The problem was caused by the bug in videomemory type detection. Windows9x drivers used the following validation interval for the memory clock frequency:

80-400 MHz for the boards equipped with SDR memory

80-800 MHz for the boards equipped with DDR memory 

Windows 2000 driver couldn't correctly detect a memory type because it checked GeForce256 DDR PCI DeviceID only. So driver detected the rest boards as SDR and used invalid validation interval on the rest DDR boards. If you don't want to use 12.90 or higher drivers, you may use RivaTuner's NvXTInitFix patch script. It will made some correction in driver and force it to use 80-800Mz overclocking range regardless of videomemory type. 

Q: RivaTuner reports wrong clock frequencies on my MX400. It shows 200MHz/334MHz instead of 200MHz/166MHz. The Detonator control panel gives me the same result. How can I fix it? 

A: This problem is caused by the hardware feature of the clock frequency generator, which can be hardwired to halve PLL clock frequency. Usually this feature is used on the boards equipped with DDR memory, but it is also used by some hardware vendors on GeForce2 MX200/MX400 boards with 4Mx16 SDR memory modules. In this case you'll be able to overclock your display adapter safely, just remember that double clock frequency is displayed.

Q: It looks like I've overclocked my display adapter too high and now Windows freezes after logging in. Can you help me? 

A: First, you should peek in RivaTuner's context help before using any option (especially system critical options like overlcocking, AGP, NVStrap settings etc), you can always find detailed instuctions there. Yes, you can reset startup overclocking settings by pressing and holding the <Ctrl> button immediately after logging in Windows. It applies to both driver level and low level overclocking.

Q: I've heard about RivaTuner's NVStrap driver but I have no ideas how do I use it. I've tried to start both the NVStrap.reg and NVStrap.com with no success. Can you help me?

A: The answer depends on the OS you are using:

1. RivaTuner contains NVStrap driver configuration panel for Windows 2000/XP, which allows you to install / uninstall the driver as well as to configure the driver's parameters. Just click the device customization button on the main tab then select the 'Customize low level system' button in order to activate the 'Low level system tweaks' dialog and get access to the 'NVStrap driver' tab.

2. RivaTuner contains bundled NVStrap.com DOS driver for Windows 9x based systems. You can add this driver to your autoexec.bat file and configure it with the command line switches. Simply start the NVStrap.com to get detailed info on the command line switches you can use.

Q: I cannot find the 'NVStrap driver' tab in the 'Low level system tweaks' dialog. Any clues?

A: First, this tab is only available under Windows 2000/XP. Second, RivaTuner checks some additional conditions and hides this tab if the NVStrap.sys driver cannot be used on your system. The 'NVStrap driver' tab presence depends on the following conditions:

1. RivaTuner.sys file must exist in RivaTuner's Tools\NVStrap folder.

2. The primary NVIDIA GeForce256 or higher display adapter must be selected as a tweak target in the main RivaTuner's tab. NVStrap driver configures your VGA adapter before loading OS kernel and at that time only the primary VGA adapter is programmable. You will not be able to use the NVStrap driver if your system boots on non-NVIDIA VGA adapter.

Q: I've installed the NVStrap driver, rebooted my system and Windows successfully detected Quadro board, but the Detonator drivers fail to install due to the 'Data invalid' error. Can you fix this bug?

A: .The 'Data invalid' error is a well-known problem of Windows 2000/XP, which appears on some systems during installing new hardware and it is not related to the NVStrap driver. You can find  information and the workaround for this operating system's problem in The Inquier's news archive. 

Q: Can I use the NVStrap driver under Windows NT4? 

A: RivaTuner doesn't support Windows NT4, but you may try to install the NVStrap driver manually. To do it just copy the NVStrap.sys file to the %WinDir%\System32\Drivers and run NVStrap.reg file then reboot your system. However, I've not tested the driver under this OS so I cannot give you any warranties.

Q: I've installed the NVStrap driver and Windows detected my GeForce as Quadro. However, the additional OpenGL settings are still not available in display properties and GLInfo still displays the OpenGL renderer name as GeForce. Any clues?

A: NVIDIA protected the Detonator 30.82 and higher against the NVStrap driver. You must use RivaTuner's NVStrap antiprotection patch script in order to use the NVStrap driver with the latest Detonators.

Q: My PC doesn't resume from S3/Suspend to RAM mode when I use NVStrap. Can you fix this bug?

A: The NVStrap driver is not compatible with S3/Suspend to RAM. It's not a bug, it is an implementation specific, caused by the NVStrap's stealth  load-configure-terminate implementation, which will never be addressed.

Q: Where can I post RivaTuner related questions? 

A: First, you can post it in thematic discussion forums on the official RivaTuner's support websites: www.nvworld.ru and www.guru3d.com. I browse these forums almost every day so it is the most likely that I'll reply your questions there. Second, you can post your questions via email. Anyway, please ensure that you have completely read this file before you will post your question.

Q: Can you teach me how to tweak my display adapter?

A: Please don’t bother me with such questions. Any non-RivaTuner related system tuning questions and help requests will be ignored.

Q: Why do you answer 'RTFM' so often? Is it so difficult to give detailed answer instead of such rough reply? 

A: Yes, it is very difficult for me. I've neither wish nor time to reply on the same questions daily. RivaTuner's technical support via email/forums eats a lot of my time and I don't want to waste it. So don't feel aggrieved if you've got such reply. Just read the documentation and find the answer on your question in it.

Q: Where can I download the latest versions of RivaTuner?

A: You can download it from the official RivaTuner's hosting partners: www.nvworld.ru and www.guru3d.com.

Q: Where can I download a localized version  of RivaTuner? I don't understand English  and I'd like to see Russian interface.

A: I'm not going to implement multilanguage support in the nearest future. Please don't spam me with localization related questions (this basically refers to Russian teenagers), I will not reply.

Q: Your English is awful!

A: I know. I’m Russian and I’m proud of it. If you’ll find any mistakes in this text or RivaTuner interface, please tell me and I’ll fix it.

Disclaimer:

RIVATUNER IS SUPPLIED "AS IS". THE AUTHOR ASSUMES NO LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES, DIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL, WHICH MAY RESULT FROM THE USE OF RIVATUNER.

Contacts:

Alexey Nicolaychuk aka Unwinder, RivaTuner programming, design, NVIDIA databases, patch scripts

E-mail:

AlexUnwinder@mail.ru 

Homepage:

http://www.nvworld.ru 

ICQ:      

http://www.icq.com/64116381