OS/2 Professional/OS2PRO194.ISO/os2/info/faq/os2_20/os2help/vidadapt.fax

Text File | 1992-09-17 | 7.2 KB | 177 lines

VIDEO ADAPTER INFORMATION AND PROBLEMS
--------------------------------------

Installation of OS/2 should always be done with VGA, even if you have an SVGA
card.  IBM OS/2 support is limited to VGA and XGA, with the exception of
Trident, Tseng, ATI, Headland, and Western Digital chipsets, for which OS/2 has
designed "generic" support.  listed in the readme file.  The only SVGA support
that is provided in the shrink wrapped version of OS/2 is the ability to switch
away from a DOS or OS/2 fullscreen and have the current state of your video card
saved..  and this is only after you have turned SVGA ON, and if you have one of
the adapters listed in the readme..although everyone with a Tseng, Trident, ATI,
Headland, or Western Digital chipset should try turning SVGA ON at least for a
while to see if it fixes any unseemly video problems they might be having.

IBM Tested Video Cards:
o   Orchid ProDesigner IIs by Orchid Technology
    (ISA and MCA versions)
o   Trident TVGA by Trident Microsystems, Inc.
    (8900b and c levels)
o   STB PowerGraph VGA by STB Systems, Inc.
o   Video Seven VRAM II, by Video Seven
o   Boca Super VGA by Boca Research Inc.
o   VGA Wonder XL Series by ATI Technologies, Inc.

Video boards and the chipsets they use:(not official list)
============================================================
   Chipset name            Board name
--------------------   ---------------------------------
Chips & Technologies   Cardinal, C&T MK82452
VGA chip
Everex VGA chip        Everex EV-673
Genoa GVGA chip        Genoa 6400
Western Digital 9010   Paradise VGA Pro, VGA 1024, "PVGA"
(512K)
Western Digital 9030   MVGA 1024DX
(1meg)
S3 (86C911)            STB Wind/X, Orchid Fahrenheit 1280,
                       Diamond Stealth VRAM HIcolor
Oak OTI-067            United Solutions, Inc. Image 1024
Oak OTI-037            VGA 800-160 (Taiwan made)
RealTek                RealTek SVGA
Trident 8800 chip      ATI Prism Elite, Everev 678, Maxxon,
                       Imtec, Logix
Trident 8900 chip      Trident 8900, Hi Res 512
(Zymos Poach 51)
Tseng ET3000 VGA chip  Genoa 5400, STB VGA/EM,
                       Orchid Designer, OTI SVGA (old),
                       Optima 1024
Tseng ET4000 VGA chip  Orchid Pro Designer II, Ultra SVGA,
                       STB Powergraph, Diamond SpedStar,
                       Boca Research Super VGA,
                       Optima Mega SVGA, Diamond SpeedStar +
Tseng ET4000 & Sierra  Swan Palette Plus, 2TheMax VGA 4000,
RAMDAC                 Diamond SpeedStar + HIcolor
Video 7 VGA chip       Video 7 VRAM, Video 7 Fastwrite,
                       Video 7 VEGA Deluxe, Northgate Pro

If you have an ATI Ultra, Vantage, or other 8514/A hardware
compatible adapter, install OS/2 using the 8514/A driver.
For the Graphics Ultra and Graphics Vantage change the line
DEVICE=...VVGA.SYS to DEVICE=...VSVGA.SYS in CONFIG.SYS;
Shutdown, reboot, and proceed with SVGA ON as described
above.

Problem: C0000005 is displayed on the screen during install

Resolution: The problem occurs on Western Digital PVGA1D
video cards, but may not be limited to them.  It is
resolved in a fixed version of BVHSVGA.DLL available from
IBM.

Replace the existing BVHSVGA.DLL on the system -- in the
 OS2 directory.  Do this by booting from the OS/2 2.0
install diskette, insert disk #1, press ESC at the next
prompt.  At the A: prompt place the diskette with the
replacement file into the drive and copy this DLL into the
 OS2 directory on the installed partition.

Problem: My install hangs on Disk 1.
Resolution: In many cases, PCM hardware has disk caching
enabled on the drive controller card. The hang can often be
fixed by disabling the on-board caching. Another suggestion
is if the card has asynchronous memory refresh
capabilities, turn it off. This too may fix the problem.

Problem: Hang on Disk1 right after LOGO screen
Resolution: Ask the customer if he has an OAK video card.
An INT10 call is made to the BIOS which causes the problem
on OAK cards.  Ask for OAK Video Card Workaround.

Problem: Successful install, but the system hangs on the
         next reboot at the LOGO screen

Resolution: Ask the customer if he has a FUTURE DOMAIN 16XX
SCSI controller.  The .ADD file uses interrupt driven I/O
rather than polling which is used by DOS.  An interrupt
conflict likely exists.  You should check all IRQ settings
on all cards to find the conflict.

Installation locks up at start of graphical install

Symptom:
  After first set of diskettes is installed and
  installation program warm-boots the computer, the
  graphical install portion does not appear.  Rather the
  machine hangs at this point.
Problem:
 Video card may be in set for non standard VGA mode, or
  autosense capability on the card not working correctly
  for OS/2.
Resolution:
  Make sure video card is in VGA mode with auto-sense
  turned off.

Problem: White screen after installation with no system
activity
Resolution: Try setting the video card to 8 bits and moving
the video card to an 8-bit slot and disable the
auto-switching capability of the card if possible.

"Autoswitching" on non-IBM EGA adapters should be disabled
(usually with a DIP switch or jumper setting).  In rare
cases it may be necessary to switch third party
VGA/SuperVGA adapters into 8-bit mode.

Limitation:  The WPS will not operate with the Monochrome
Display Adapter or the Hercules Monochrome Graphics
Adapter.  Usually the WPS will fail to work with monochrome
EGA.  However, some EGA adapters (e.g. Paradise Monochrome
EGA Card, ATI EGA Wonder) will emulate all color EGA modes
on TTL monochrome monitors and, thus, will work with the
WPS.

Limitation:  Make sure adapters with on board ROMs are not
conflicting with other adapters.  For example, many
SuperVGA adapters use large chunks of upper memory, and
many hard disk adapters have on board ROMs which can be
mapped into this area as well.

Out of Synch/Install problems
Symptom:
  May vary
Problem:
  Addressing of card in 16-bit mode.
Resolution:
  Switch card to 8-bit mode if available.  This
  will probably involve setting a jumper, or dip
  switch according to the documentation that comes
  with the card.

Trap E switching a DOS fullscreen to a window
Symptom:
  When I window a DOS fullscreen running in
  SVGA I often get a Trap E.  Will be prevalent
  on overcommited (low-memory) systems.  The PM
  driver you are using can also have an effect.
Solution:
  Get the new VSVGA.SYS.

Installation of OS/2 halts at Blue "IBM Logo" screen
Symptom:
  OS/2 boots up to Blue IBM Logo screen and does not
  finish printing "INSERT DISK #1 message".  Drive
  light continues to stay on indefinitely.
Problem:
  Incompatible OAK Video card.
Resolution:
  Use OAK Video Card Workaround

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for calling the OS/2 2.0 Support Line.  Regarding the problem
reported to the Support Line, we feel that this information may assist
you in resoloving your problem.  If you still require assistance, please
call 1-800-237-5511, and reference your customer number and problem (PMR)
number.  Your Problem Record Number (PMR) should appear on the cover
page of this faxed document.