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- Diamond EDGE« 3D FAQ
-
- Last revised: April 23, 1996
- 1.0 - Windows 95
-
- 1.1: After the Diamond EDGE« 3D drivers are installed and the system
- is restarted , my computer locks at the Windows 95 startup screen.
- 1.2: After running INSTALL from a command prompt, INSTALL states that
- I need an upgrade to my system BIOS.
- 1.3: After the EDGE« 3D's Windows 95 drivers are installed, the
- Animated Cursor changes to shades of Black and White.
- 1.4: Applications written using Microsoft's DirectDraw like Trimark
- Interactive's "Hive" will not work with the EDGE« 3D.
- 1.5: On a 4MB card, why is the highest true color resolution I can get
- 1024x768 instead of 1280x1024 like the Viper Pro and Stealth64 Video
- 3000 Series?
- 1.6: My system is running very slowly and my hard drive light is
- continually lit.
- 1.7: Will the EDGE« 3D Multimedia sound drivers conflict with a sound
- card I previously installed into Windows 95?
- 1.8: No Sound from the EDGE« 3D.
-
- 2.0 - DOS Compatibility and Performance
-
- 2.1: How does the EDGE« 3D perform in DOS compared to a Stealth64
- Video 3000 series card?
- 2.2: Does the EDGE« 3D support Sound Blaster emulation in DOS or
- Windows 95?
- 2.3: Why doesn't Trilobyte's new game, "11th Hour" work with the EDGE«
- 3D.
-
- 3.0 - The EDGE« 3D's Game Port
-
- 3.1: How do I disable the EDGE« 3D Digital game port in DOS?
- 3.2: The joystick works when I play Papyrus Nascar, but other
- applications in Windows 95 do not detect it.
-
- 4.0 - SEGA Games
-
- 4.1: One or both of my Sega Controllers will not function.
- 4.2: One or both of my Sega controllers will not function in Virtua
- Fighter.
- 4.3: When I play Virtua Fighter, the game is not centered on the
- screen.
- 4.4: Performance of the EDGE« 3D is sluggish when I play Virtua
- Fighter.
-
- 5.0 - General Questions
-
- 5.1:Why are no InControl Tools for the EDGE« 3D as there are for the
- Diamond Stealth cards in Windows 95.
- 5.2:Does the EDGE« 3D have CE certification in Europe?
- 5.3:The EDGE« 3D will not work with the 'QuickRes' applet within
- Windows 95.
- 5.4:What kind of VRAM or DRAM does the EDGE« 3D use, and where can I
- purchase the video memory upgrade?
- 5.5: Sega Saturn games will not work with the EDGE« 3D.
-
- 1.1: After the Diamond EDGE« 3D drivers are installed and the system is
- restarted, my computer locks at the Windows 95 startup screen.
- Because the EDGE« 3D is a PCI multi-function device, it needs an IRQ
- assigned to it by your PCI BIOS. Under the PCI configuration section of
- your CMOS setup, you will need to assign an IRQ to the PCI slot you have
- the EDGE« 3D plugged into and make sure it is not configured as a slave
- slot. Refer to your computer's documentation for further instructions
- regarding PCI configuration.
-
- 1.2: After running INSTALL from a command prompt, INSTALL states that I
- need an upgrade to my system BIOS.
- Because the EDGE« 3D is a unique and innovative device, INSTALL will
- first test your PCI configuration for possible conflicts. There are
- configurations that are known to have problems, so if the INSTALL finds
- that you have one of these configurations, you will be advised to upgrade
- your system BIOS. Contact your computer's manufacturer for help on
- obtaining an upgrade.
-
- 1.3: After the EDGE« 3D's Windows 95 drivers are installed, my Animated
- Cursor changes to shades of Black and White.
- This is a known issue with the EDGE« 3D driver release 1.0. Animated
- color cursors have been enabled with the release 2.0 drivers. You can
- download these now from our FTP Server. Check the Driver Update page for
- the current driver filenames.
-
- 1.4: Applications written using Microsoft's DirectDraw, like Trimark
- Interactive's "Hive" will not work with the EDGE« 3D.
- Applications that are written using DirectDraw will not work properly
- with the EDGE« 3D drivers version 1.0. The DirectDraw drivers for the
- EDGE« 3D are now available. Check the Driver Update page for the current
- driver filenames.
-
- 1.5: On a 4MB card, why is the highest true color resolution I can get
- 1024x768 instead of 1280x1024 like the Viper Pro and Stealth64 Video 3000
- Series?
- The EDGE« 3D does not use the 24-bit, or packed pixel true color modes
- like the Viper or Stealth. Better, it uses a proprietary 30-bit color
- space dithering algorithm that will actually yield over 1 billion colors
- when using the 32-bit true color mode.
-
- 1.6: My system is running very slowly and my hard drive light is
- continually lit.
- The EDGE« 3D comes with both 1 and 6 MB MIDI bank file's. It is
- recommended that you only use the 6 MB bank file with computers that have
- more than 16 MBs of memory.
-
- To change the size of the MIDI bank file being used, right-click on My
- Computer and choose Properties. Open the System Control Panel and click
- on the Device Manager filetab. Click on the (+) symbol beside the Sound,
- Video, and Game Controller line. Then highlight the Diamond EDGE« 3D PCI
- Multimedia Device, and click on Properties. Click on Settings. You will
- then see the 1MB and 6MB MIDI bank selection. Click on the radio button
- next to the 1MB settings to change your configuration. Click Okay. Choose
- yes when prompted to restart your computer.
-
- 1.7: Will the EDGE« 3D Multimedia sound drivers conflict with my
- previously installed sound card under Windows 95?
- No. Once the EDGE« 3D is installed, you can click on the Control Panel,
- and then Multimedia to configure what you want the EDGE« 3D to do.
-
- Under Multimedia, you will find that there are 5 buttons on the top:
- Audio, Video, Midi, CD Music, and Advanced.
-
- For Audio, you can select your previously installed sound driver. In
- many cases, it will be Windows Sound System which will read as:
- Sound System Playback (608)
- You can also select the one used by EDGE« 3D, which will read as:
- Nvidia NV1 Wave Playback
-
- Under Midi, the EDGE« 3D will set itself as the default MIDI device,
- which will read as:
- MIDI for Diamond EDGE« 3D PCI Multimedia Device
-
- Under ADVANCED, you are given the option to enable a mixer for each
- Audio Device:
- Audio for Diamond EDGE« 3D PCI Multimedia Device
- Audio for MS Windows Sound System Compatible
- Bring up the system Mixer by double-clicking on the speaker on your
- taskbar, and click on PROPERTIES. Here you will be able to select
- the audio device you are adjusting.
-
- Note: With the EDGE« 3D, you do not need another sound device while
- running Windows 95. It is recommended that you have another sound
- card present if you want to play DOS games that require Sound
- Blaster compatibility or require an amplified speaker output.
-
- 1.8: No Sound from the EDGE« 3D.
- * Look under the æMultimediaÆ icon in the CONTROL PANEL. Do you have
- the "NVidia NV1 Wave Playback" listed as the current sound device?
- If so, see below:
- This usually indicates that the speakers are not connected
- correctly, or that they are not amplified speakers. The OUT
- port of the EDGE« 3D is furthest away from the monitor
- connector (DB-15).
- * Do you have a listing for "Diamond EDGE 3D PCI Multimedia Device" in
- the Device Manager under "Sound, video and game controllers"? If so,
- see below:
- Make sure that "NVidia NV1 Wave Playback" is selected as the
- current playback device on the Audio tab of the "Multimedia"
- applet from the Control Panel.
- * Do you have an Other device section in the Device Manager? If so,
- follow the steps below:
- 1. Remove all the devices in this section and reboot.
- 2. Windows 95 should detect "New Hardware Found - PCI Multimedia
- Device." Click OK.
- 3. Type in the path to the EDGE 3D CD or files on the hard disk.
- 4. Restart Windows 95.
-
- If at some point during the installation, the system locks up, use
- the following procedure:
- 1. Reboot the system
- 2. Look under DEVICE MANAGER
- 3. Double click on the OTHER header or group.
- 4. Double click on PCI Multimedia Devices
- 5. Click in DRIVERS
- 6. Click on the CHANGE button
- 7. Click on HAVE DISK and type in the path to the EDGE 3D CD or
- files on the hard disk.
- 8. Select OK twice
- 9. Select Diamond EDGE 3D Multimedia Device.
- 10. At this point Windows may ask for the Windows CD-ROM or
- diskettes
- 11. Click on OK and select RESTART
- * Under the DEVICE MANAGER, do you have a listing for Diamond EDGE 3D
- PCI VGA Compatible Device under the æDisplay AdapterÆ section?
- It's likely that there is an IRQ conflict. Try moving the IRQ
- assigned by the card in your system BIOS to a different value,
- or try changing the slot that the card is located in.
-
- 2.1: How does the EDGE« 3D perform in DOS compared to a Stealth Video
- 3000 series card?
- The EDGE« 3D is primarily designed to accelerate 2D and 3D graphics in
- Windows 95 and excels in that environment. The EDGE« 3D is also VESA
- compatible and works very well with most DOS games. [Please see the
- section on EDGE« 3D Sound Blaster support.] For best results, it is
- recommended that you restart in MS DOS mode rather than attempting to run
- a DOS application from the Windows 95 DOS Prompt.
-
- 2.2: Does the EDGE« 3D support Sound Blaster emulation in DOS or Windows
- 95?
- The EDGE« 3D card's sound effect (WAV) capabilities are only available in
- Windows 95, but General MIDI capability is supported in DOS mode. To
- enable the MIDI capabilities of the EDGE« 3D, you can either Restart in
- MS DOS Mode from Windows 95, or boot to DOS and run DOSSTART.BAT from the
- WINDOWS directory. If you wish to have digital sound effects in DOS based
- programs you must have a Sound Blaster compatible or similar sound card
- installed in your PC.
-
- 2.3: Why doesn't Trilobyte's new game, "11th Hour" does not work with the
- EDGE« 3D.
- 11th Hour is written to VESA 2.0 specifications and very few video cards,
- if any at all, will support VESA 2.0 . UNIVBE ver. 5.1, is supplied with
- the game. When loaded, UNIVBE 5.1 will enable the VESA modes required.
-
- The EDGE« 3D is not currently compatible with UNIVBE 5.1. Right now,
- Diamond is working with SciTech Software, the writers of UNIVBE, to
- implement EDGE« 3D support into future releases of UNIVBE. Please contact
- SciTech Software for the current version of UniVBE.
-
- 3.1: How do I disable the EDGE« 3D Digital game port in DOS?
- From the WINDOWS directory, edit DOSSTART.BAT. You will probably see the
- following:
-
- SET NVJOY=ON
- SET NVMIDI=P330
- SET NVDIR=C:\EDGE3D
- NVWINDIR=C:\WINDOWS
- C:\EDGE3D\DOS\RM.EXE
-
- Change the SET NVJOY=ON to SET NVJOY=OFF. This disables the EDGE« 3D game
- port in DOS. Save the file and exit. Restart the system in MS-DOS mode
- for the changes to take effect. To enable the game port once again for
- the EDGE« 3D, simply reverse the procedure.
-
- 3.2: The joystick works when I play Papyrus' Nascar, but other
- applications in Windows 95 do not detect it.
- Nascar as well as other 'specialized' games ported over for specific use
- with the EDGE« 3D automatically "understand" how to use the EDGE« 3D's
- joystick functions, but other non-EDGE 3D games do not. You must enable
- the Microsoft joystick drivers in Windows 95 by following the
- instructions listed in the EDGE« 3D manual.
-
- 4.1: One or both of my Sega Controllers will not function.
- Make sure that the 10 pin ribbon cables are connected properly. The side
- of the ribbon cable with a red stripe should be lined up with the square
- solder on the back of the SEGA bracket. If you look closely you'll notice
- that one of the corners on the PCB is marked as pin 1. This is the side
- the red stripe should be on.
-
- 4.2: One or both of my Sega controllers will not function in Virtua
- Fighter.
- Ensure that under the CONFIGURATIONS menu in Virtua Fighter you've chosen
- 'Saturn Pad 1' or 'Saturn Pad 2'. You can use either SEGA controllers or
- the standard keyboard with this game. If the game is all ready started,
- you can open the Configuration screen by pressing F6.
-
- 4.3: When playing Virtua Fighter, the game is not centered on the screen.
- Virtua Fighter is designed to function at a 640x400 resolution. To
- accommodate this resolution, the game switches the size of your display.
- You will notice that the resolution changes back to your Windows 95
- settings once you exit Virtua Fighter. You can play Virtua Fighter in
- 'Full Screen Mode' by pressing F6 or placing a cross in the FULL SCREEN
- box of the CONFIGURATIONS menu. To access the CONFIGURATIONS menu, click
- the right mouse button on the Virtua Fighter windows.
-
- 4.4: Performance of the EDGE« 3D is sluggish when playing Virtua Fighter.
- Virtua Fighter is designed to run at 30 fps (frames per second). If the
- game is running at less than 30fps you will see a warning message stating
- exactly how many frames per second are displayed. Virtua Fighter gives
- you a CONFIGURATIONS menu that allows you to turn on/off advanced
- features of the game in order to obtain better performance.
-
- To get to the CONFIGURATIONS menu press the F6 key once you are playing
- the game or click the right mouse button on the VFR window.
-
- For HIGHEST QUALITY graphics and sound: Press the 'MAX' button within the
- GRAPHICS DETAILS section and choose S.E. and B.G.M. (CD) for sound. SE
- stands for Sound Effects and BGM stands for Background Music.
-
- For the FASTEST PERFORMANCE configuration, press the 'MIN' button within
- the GRAPHICS DETAILS section and turn off all the sounds within the
- SOUNDS section. You may even remove the check from within the FULL SCREEN
- option, however, this usually makes little difference to the game play
- performance.
-
- 5.1: There are no InControl Tools for the EDGE« 3D as there are for the
- Diamond Stealth cards in Windows 95.
- InControl Tools 95 does not come with the version 1.0 CD. However, the
- release version 2.0 CD (and downloadable drivers) have InControl Tools
- 95. Check the Driver Update page for the current driver filenames.
-
- 5.2: Does the EDGE« 3D have CE certification in Europe?
- Yes, the EDGE« 3D has been certified to meet CE standards.
-
- 5.3: The EDGE« 3D will not work with the 'QuickRes' applet within Windows
- 95.
- This is a known issue with the Diamond EDGE« 3D. InControl Tools 95
- offers the ability to change color depth and resolution, and much more.
- This is now available for download. Check the Driver Update page for the
- current driver filenames.
-
- 5.4: What kind of memory does the EDGE« 3D use, and where can I purchase
- the video memory upgrade?
- The EDGE« 3D uses standard VRAM or EDO DRAM video memory depending on
- which EDGE« 3D model you have. Determine the configuration by checking
- the EDGE« 3D package. You can order upgrade memory packs directly from
- Diamond Multimedia Systems Inc. in the U.S. The 2MB VRAM upgrade is a
- daughtercard, whereas the DRAM upgrade consists of two socketed memory
- chips.
-
- PART NO DESCRIPTION PRICE
- EDGE 3DDU-01RET 1MB DRAM for EDGE 3D 2120/2120XL $ 80.00*
- EDGE 3DVU-02RET 2MB VRAM for EDGE 3D 3240/3240XL $199.00*
-
- *Prices are in US dollars and subject to change
- To place an order, contact Diamond Multimedia Systems Inc. Customer
- Service on (408) 325-7100 (option #3) .
-
- 5.5: Sega Saturn games will not work with the EDGE« 3D.
- This is correct. The Sega games included with the EDGE« 3D are ported
- exclusively to run on the EDGE« 3D. While the game play between the
- Saturn and the EDGE« 3D appears to be identical, many changes have to be
- made internally to the game in order for it to work on a PC.
-
-
- EDGE is a registered trademark of EDGE Interactive Media, Inc. in the US,
- UK, France, and Germany and is a trademark elsewhere, used under license.
-
- Copyright ⌐ 1995 Diamond Multimedia Systems,Inc. (5.20.96)