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- Newsgroups: comp.os.os2.misc
- Path: sparky!uunet!usc!sdd.hp.com!caen!destroyer!ubc-cs!unixg.ubc.ca!ochealth
- From: ochealth@unixg.ubc.ca (ochealth)
- Subject: Trident SVGA: some partial solutions
- Message-ID: <1992Aug15.194239.9644@unixg.ubc.ca>
- Sender: news@unixg.ubc.ca (Usenet News Maintenance)
- Nntp-Posting-Host: unixg.ubc.ca
- Organization: University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada
- References: <1992Aug15.190530.26030@news.Hawaii.Edu>
- Date: Sat, 15 Aug 1992 19:42:39 GMT
- Lines: 83
-
- Well, I don't wish problems on people, but I'm glad I'm not the only one
- with similar problems! Maybe they'll be a WORKING Fix. Fortunately, Trident
- has released several patches, it's just that they dont fix everything 100%
-
- This is: Trident SVGA 8900C. Running with OS/2 PM SVGA drivers (800x600,
- 1024x768)
-
- Heres a summary of problems, and a few workarounds (where I've found them)
-
- 1. Switching from from DOS or WinOS/2 full screen back to a OS/2 PM screws up
- the PM desktop. May happen when swithcing from a full screen OS/2 as well.
-
- Fix:
- Get the Trident patch program. Backup your display.dll, and run the patch
- on it. The solution works, but is a kludge: it forces a total re-draw of
- the screen, which is slower than switching video pages, which is almost
- instantaneous.
-
- 2. Switching from OS/2 PM to a full screen DOS Text or Graphics screen causes
- loss of sync in the Text screen, and a weird graphics mode for the graphics
- session (sometime multiple images/mouse cursors etc).
-
- Sort of Fix:
- The other Trident vsvga/vvga stuff should have corrected this but it doesn't
- really work all the time. Example: for the longest time, I had the Trident
- working beautifully, but then a change of video mode and SVGA ON trashed it.
- My setup hasn't been the same since.
-
- Try running the modetest program that comes with the Trident card in a
- FULL SCREEN DOS session. Set the video mode to whatever the OS/2 desktop
- is: ie if your OS/2 is 1024x768, 256 color, set the DOS mode to this
- (mode 62h by the way), then run SVGA ON. It probably won't change
- svgadata.pmi, so I don't know why this works (sometimes). Exit and reboot.
-
- See if it helps. If it doesn't, try again 1 or 2 time; or try some
- different video modes. If this doesn't help, and you have ALL the other
- Trident 8900C patches, then you are S.O.L.
-
- Alternate technique: repeat the above: setting DOS into graphics mode,
- SVGA ON, then type SVGA ON again. Or run modetest again, and set it to
- the DOS TEXT mode you are using; then run SVGA ON; exit and reboot etc.
-
- If you get your DOS working again, don't be surprised if it has a relapse!
- Windows or certain weird video modes *may* trigger a relapse. I think the
- SVGADATA.PMI file is bogus. Somehow the video system gets altered, even
- though the SVGADATA.PMI hasn't changed. It's like it gets stored somewhere
- else...vooodoo!
-
- 3. Swithcing from Full screen WinOS2 back to OS/2 PM changes the video pallete.
- The result is that the screen looks intact, but the colors are weird
- (strange pastel colors from hell, weird oranges and green and purples).
-
- Workaround: No permanent fix. just start a DOS or OS/2 full screen session
- then switch back, the PM screen should be OK now.
-
- I've never seen anyone mention this problem before. Maybe it's just me
- (I'm running Rommels screen blanker, which messes with the pallete registers.
- MAYBE that's causing something, but that's only a guess)
-
-
- 4. Incompatibility with certain graphics modes (namely Ultima Underworld)
- Basically, none of the tricks posted before help UW on a Trident. I have
- It works with the standard VGA drivers. *Once* I got it working, but I've
- never duplicated this feat. I get weird graphics with UW: stuff smeared all
- over the place, you can sort of see what the screen looks like. Am I the only
- one with this problem? anyway, I think *both* Trident and IBM have bugs in
- their video code.
-
- Fix: none.
-
- This sums up the Trident problems I've found. I sent E-mail to Trident
- but they never responded.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- --
- ______________________________________________________________________________
- jpm: ochealth@unixg.ubc.ca
- Happily using OS/2 2.0 because MS Windows isNT ___
- Insert VapourFeature ^^^
-