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TM
UniVBE 5.1
User's Guide
SciTech Software
5 Governors Lane, Suite D
Chico, CA 95926 USA
Orders only : : 800-4UNIVBE
: 800-486-4823
Main & Tech Support: : 916-894-8400
FAX : 510-208-8026
Copyrights & Trademarks
O Copyright 1993-1995 SciTech Software. All Rights Reserved.
The product names UniVBE and UniPower are trademarks of SciTech Software.
All other trademarks used in this documentation are trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective holders.
Memberships and Affiliations
SciTech is an active participant of the following industry groups:
ACCESS.bus Industry Group
Computer Game Developers Association
The GamePC Consortium
The Video Electronics Standards Association
The US Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star Computers Program.
UniVBE was written with Borland C++ and Borland Turbo Assembler, and this
manual was produced using Microsoft Word for Windows.
Developed in Australia. Produced and printed in the United States.
i
Software License Agreement
READ THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS LICENSE AGREEMENT CAREFULLY BEFORE
USING OR DISTRIBUTING SCITECH SOFTWARE'S DOCUMENTATION, SOFTWARE AND
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS (THE _PRODUCT_). THE PRODUCT IS COPYRIGHTED AND
LICENSED (NOT SOLD) TO YOU AND BY USING OR DISTRIBUTING THE PRODUCT, YOU
ARE ACCEPTING AND AGREEING TO THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE AGREEMENT. IF YOU
ARE NOT WILLING TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE AGREEMENT, YOU
SHOULD NOT USE OR DISTRIBUTE THIS PRODUCT. THIS LICENSE AGREEMENT
REPRESENTS THE ENTIRE AGREEMENT CONCERNING THE PRODUCT BETWEEN YOU AND
SCITECH SOFTWARE (REFERRED TO AS _LICENSOR_), AND IT SUPERSEDES ANY PRIOR
PROPOSAL, REPRESENTATION, OR UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE PARTIES.
1. EVALUATION PERIOD. You may use a Shareware Copy of the Product for
an evaluation period of up to 21 days, in order to determine whether the
Product meets your needs before purchasing it. Once the evaluation period
ends, you agree to either purchase a Registered Copy of the Product, or to
stop using it. If you have ordered a Registered Copy of the Product from
us, you may continue to use your Shareware Copy until your Registered Copy
arrives.
2. USE OF THE PRODUCT. While you are evaluating the Product, you may
use it on as many computers as are required to perform your evaluation.
Your 21-day evaluation period begins when you first install the Product on
one or more computers for evaluation purposes. Once the evaluation period
is over and you purchase the Product, you may only use the product on one
computer at a time. You may install the product on more than one of your
computers as long as there is no possibility of the product being used at
the same time on different computers. For multiple system licenses please
contact SciTech software for special pricing. You must not (a) defeat, or
try to defeat, messages in the Product which encourage users to register;
(b) modify or prepare derivative works of the Product; (c) or reverse
engineer, decompile or disassemble the Product
3. DISTRIBUTING SHAREWARE COPIES OF THE PRODUCT. You may make copies of
your full, unregistered Shareware Copy of the Product to give to others,
however you may not sell Shareware Copies of the Product for a profit
(shareware distribution companies may charge their normal shipping and
handling fees). Please also note that distribution of the Shareware
Version of UniVBE may only be through the normal shareware distribution
channels as a single package. You MAY NOT bundle shareware copies of
UniVBE with your freeware, shareware or commercial products unless you
obtain a special Shareware Distribution License from SciTech Software.
Also, you may not: (a) distribute registered versions of the Product; (b)
distribute updates of your product which may include the Product without
using the latest version of the Product, available at ftp.scitechsoft.com;
(c) ship incomplete versions of the Product; (d) defeat, or try to defeat,
messages in the Product which encourage users to register their software
or actively discourage user registration in any other way
4. COPYING REGISTERED COPIES OF THE PRODUCT. When you receive a
Registered Copy of the Product you may make copies of the Product which
are necessary for normal backup purposes only. You agree not to make any
other copies of the software, the manual(s), or any part of them, or sell
or give any copies or registration codes to others.
5. LEGAL DISCLAIMER. THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED _AS IS_ WITHOUT WARRANTY
OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,
THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
ii
PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PRODUCT
IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE PRODUCT PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF
ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION.
IN NO EVENT WILL SCITECH SOFTWARE, OR ANY OTHER PARTY WHO MAY HAVE
DISTRIBUTED THE PRODUCT AS PERMITTED ABOVE, BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR DAMAGES,
INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE PRODUCT (INCLUDING BUT NOT
LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA OR DATA BEING RENDERED INACCURATE OR LOSSES
SUSTAINED BY YOU OR THIRD PARTIES OR A FAILURE OF THE PRODUCT TO OPERATE
WITH ANY OTHER PROGRAMS), EVEN IF SUCH HOLDER OR OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN
ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
6.GOVERNING LAW. This license Agreement shall be construed and governed in
accordance with the laws of the State of California, USA.
7.Costs of Litigation. If any action is brought by either party to this
License Agreement against the other party regarding the subject matter
hereof, the prevailing party shall be entitled to recover, in addition to
any other relief granted, reasonable attorney fees and expenses of
litigation.
8.SEVERABLILITY. Should any term of this License Agreement be declared
void or unenforceable by any court of competent jurisdiction, such
declaration shall have no effect on the remaining terms hereof.
9.NO WAIVER. The failure of either party to enforce any rights granted
hereunder or to take action against the other party in the event of any
breach hereunder shall not be deemed a waiver by that party as to
subsequent enforcement of rights or subsequent actions in the event of
future breaches.
iii
Contents
Copyrights & Trademarks..................................i
Memberships and Affiliations.............................i
Software License Agreement...............................ii
Section 1.:Introduction..................................1
UniVBE - The Plug & Play Solution .....................1
Benefits of UniVBE ....................................1
Why You Should Replace Your Existing VBE Driver .......2
What's New in this Version? ...........................3
Hardware Requirements .................................3
File Descriptions .....................................3
Getting the Latest Full Version .......................4
Section 2.:Installation & Setup..........................5
Installing UniVBE for the First Time ..................5
What Happens During Installation? .....................9
Configuring Your Software to Use UniVBE ...............9
Changing the Settings of UniVBE After Installation ....9
Changing your Video Card After Installation ...........9
Registering Your Software .............................10
Why You Should Register Your Software ..............10
Instant Registration by Credit Card ................10
Registration by Mail or FAX ........................10
Entering Your Registration Code ....................10
What Happens If You Don't Register? ................10
Upgrading from Previous Versions ......................11
Uninstalling or Disabling UniVBE ......................11
Automatic Uninstall with UNINSTAL.BAT ..............11
Manual Unistall ....................................11
Section 3.:Supplemental Utility Programs.................12
VBETest ...............................................12
Interactive Visual Compliance Test .................12
Quick/Full Compliance Tests ........................15
Enable/Disable UniVBE ..............................15
VBE/PM Power Management Tests ......................16
Profile ...............................................17
UniPower ..............................................19
Is Your Monitor Compatible with DPMS? ..............19
UniPower For Windows ...............................19
UniPower For DOS ...................................19
Problems with the Standby State ....................20
UniCenter .............................................21
Adjusting a video mode .............................22
Adjusting the Sync Polarities ......................22
Saving the settings for a mode .....................22
Saving the settings permanently ....................22
Section 4.: Advanced Configuration Options...............23
v
UVCONFIG Menu Options .................................23
Ignore old VBE BIOS ................................24
Disable VBE 2.0 Extensions .........................24
Disable Linear Framebuffer .........................24
UVCONFIG Command Line Parameters ......................24
UNIVBE Command Line Parameters ........................26
Enabling/Disabling UniVBE ..........................26
Modifying the UNIVBE.INI File .........................26
Manually removing video modes ......................26
Manually changing bytes per lines values ...........27
Manually changing TrueColor pixel formats ..........27
Section 5.:Troubleshooting Guide.........................28
Linear framebuffer modes hang my machine ..............28
The 15/16/24/32 bit TrueColor modes look wierd ........28
The 24/32 bit TrueColor modes have swapped colors .....28
386 Memory Managers ...................................29
Common Questions and Answers ..........................29
Technical Support .....................................31
Appendix A:Supported Hardware............................33
Graphics Chips -- Standard Support ....................33
Graphics Chips -- Linear Frame Buffer Support .........33
DAC Chips .............................................34
DAC Chips -- 320x and 360x 15/16 bit modes ............35
Known Bugs and Problems ...............................36
List of cards tested with UniVBE 5.1 ..................37
Appendix B:VBE Compatible Applications...................40
Appendix C:Developer Information.........................41
UniVBE Programming Information ........................41
Video Modes Supported by UniVBE .......................41
Hardware Limitations ...............................43
Extended Text Modes ................................43
Distribution Licensing Information ....................43
Appendix D:Glossary......................................44
Appendix E: VESA Software Standards Overview.............47
Appendix F:Order/Product Feedback Forms..................50
Order/Registration Form ...............................50
Product Feedback Form .................................52
Index....................................................53
vi
UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
Section 1.:
Introduction
UniVBE - The Plug & Play Solution
The Universal VESA BIOS Extension, _UniVBE_ extends the Video BIOS of just
about any SuperVGA card, making it compatible with the Video Electronics
Standards Association (VESA) Video BIOS Extensions (VBE). Many popular
programs like The 7th Guest and Microsoft Flight Simulator 5 rely on a
fully functioning VBE in order to obtain the highest performance possible.
UniVBE gives you the latest VBE 2.0 standard so you can be sure these
programs will not only work correctly, but will run as fast as possible on
your system. Using UniVBE has many advantages:
Benefits of UniVBE
. Plug & Play. UniVBE will automatically detect your graphics card and
make your software work correctly in high resolution modes. You don't
have to try and figure out what kind of chip you have and then try to
locate your vendor for a possible software upgrade.
. Compatibility. It will make your graphics compatible with the latest
VESA standards. If you have bugs in your current firmware, it can fix
them and make it so you can run your favorite graphics applications
without errors.
. Performance. It will generally increase the performance of existing
software that uses the VESA standards. For software that uses VBE
2.0, you will get significant additional performance improvements.
. Money and Energy Saving. UniVBE can save you money and help the
environment at the same time. UniVBE fully supports the VESA VBE/PM
and DPMS standards for Energy Star compliance, and comes with the
UniPOWER_ power management screen savers. If you have an Energy Star
compliant monitor, the UniPower DOS and Windows screen saver programs
allow you to power down the monitor to use as little as 5 watts when
not in use.
. New Modes. UniVBE will automatically create new high performance
modes on your graphics card that allows software, especially
interactive games and digital video, to run faster and with better
quality than before.
. Diagnostics. UniVBE also includes the VBETest and Profile utilities
which will fully test your card for compliance with VESA standards,
as well as testing the performance of your graphics card.
1
UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
Why You Should Replace Your Existing VBE Driver
You may already have a vendor supplied VESA VBE TSR or built in VBE
support and want to know if you still need UniVBE.
The simple answer is yes. Your graphics card probably implements an older
version of the VESA VBE interface (if any at all), or it is just plain
buggy. For this reason, many of the latest games and graphics related
programs that use the advanced features of the new VBE 1.2 and 2.0
standards will probably not work with the TSR or BIOS that you currently
have.
UniVBE fully implements the VBE Core 2.0 standard, which supports the
features listed in Appendix E. It is better than the one that may have
come with your graphics card for several reasons:
. Compatibility. We have developed the defacto test for VBE
compliance, VBETest. Many VBE drivers cannot pass VBETest and thus
will probably experience problems when trying to run real world
software. UniVBE will make your graphics compatible with the latest
VESA standards. If you have bugs in your current firmware, it can
automatically fix them and make it so you can run your favorite
graphics applications without errors.
. VBE Core 2.0 Compatibility. Very few cards have implemented the new
VBE 2.0 standard yet. VBE 2.0 has a high speed 32 bit protected mode
interface. Many of the latest programs are being developed will
support VBE 2.0's 32-bit protected mode interface giving you as much
as 2-3 times the performance of VBE 1.2 programs.
. Speed. The code in UniVBE generally runs much faster than the
routines embedded in the ROM BIOS of most video cards. Not only that,
but on many systems UniVBE is able to obtain the maximum performance
from the video card.
. Small Memory Footprint. When the UniVBE is resident in your computer,
it requires around 8K bytes of high memory and is smaller than most
vendor supplied TSR's which support only a single video card.
. New Game and Digital Video Modes. UniVBE enables your existing
graphics card to display new high performance modes that will be used
by many upcoming high performance games and digital video
applications.
. Monitor Centering. Includes the UniCenter_ program for adjusting the
supported video modes for optimum performance on your monitor.
UniCenter allows you to adjust the centering and sizing for all video
modes supported by UniVBE. It's great for getting those video modes
to look just right on your monitor.
. Power Management. Supports the new VBE/PM 1.0 standard for correctly
signaling power management states (standby, suspend, off) to Energy
Star (VESA DPMS) compliant video monitors.
. Mode Control - UniVBE supports mapping out video modes that don't
work on your particular display. This can eliminate the chance that
you can damage your monitor.
2
UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
What's New in this Version?
If you are using UniVBE 5.0, here are some of the features that we have
added in UniVBE 5.1:
. Support for the new VBE 2.0 Core standard including linear frame
buffer modes
. Support for many additional graphics cards and chips
. Creation of high performance game and digital video modes
. Addition of a menu driven configuration program
. Many other additional enhancements
Hardware Requirements
UniVBE will run on any 386 or higher based PC compatible running MS-DOS,
Windows, or an OS/2 2.x DOS shell. Currently UniVBE supports all of the
VGA cards listed in Appendix A and more are being added in each new
revision of UniVBE.
File Descriptions
If you received the complete UniVBE/Pro Shareware, you should have the
following files before you begin installation:
FILE_ID.DIZ BBS Archive Description
README.TXT Extended Archive Description
ORDER.TXT Product ordering information
INSTALL.EXE DOS Installation & Setup Program
BIN.001 A zipped library of UniVBE utilities
DOC.001 A zipped file containing the documentation
DOS.001 A zipped library with UniCenter
DOS.002 A zipped library with DOS DPMS utilities
WIN.001 A zipped library with Windows screen saver
UNZIP.EXE Unzip program used by INSTALL
If any of these files are missing or corrupted, you should try and
download a new version from the places listed in the following section.
After installation, you will see the following files in the \UNIVBE51
subdirectory:
FILE_ID.DIZ BBS Archive Description
README.TXT Extended Archive Description
ORDER.TXT A printable mail/fax order form.
UNICENTR.EXE Screen centering utility
UNINSTAL.BAT Batch file to uninstall UniVBE
UNIPOWER.EXE DPMS screen saver for DOS
UNIVBE.DRV A driver for your graphics card
UNIVBE.TXT Text version of this manual
UNIVBE.RTF Rich Text Format version of this manual
UNIVBE.EXE The main UNIVBE program
UVCONFIG.EXE UNIVBE.DRV generation/configuration program
VBETEST.EXE Program to test VESA VBE compliance
PROFILE.EXE VBE Performance profiling program
PROFILE.LOG Performance measurements for common cards
3
UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
The following files will appear in your Windows directory:
UNIPOWER.SCR Windows Energy Star Screen Saver
UNIPOWER.HLP Help for UniPower/Windows
CTL3DV2.DLL File used by UniPower/Windows
Getting the Latest Full Version
The best places to download new versions of UniVBE are from the following
locations:
World Wide Web : http://www.scitechsoft.com
Internet/FTP : ftp.scitechsoft.com
Compuserve : GO VESA (file library 12)
America Online : Keyword VESA
You can also contact SciTech Software and order a disk to be sent via mail
for a nominal fee.
4
UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
Section 2.:
Installation & Setup
Installing UniVBE for the First Time
Installing UniVBE on your system is a snap. Simply following these simple
steps:
1. If you are running a pre-Windows 95 version of Windows, exit Windows
and return to DOS. Installing UniVBE from within those versions of
Windows could cause unpredictable results. If you encounter problems
installing under Windows 95 or OS/2, try rebooting your machine to
run real DOS and install it from there. Once you have UniVBE
installed and configured you can then use it from any DOS box.
2. Insert the UniVBE distribution diskette into your floppy drive and
type 'A:INSTALL' or 'B:INSTALL' (depending on which drive you
inserted the diskette into), and then press the Enter key.
The installation program will start, and the first thing you will be asked
is if you have a DPMS compliant video monitor. If you dont, click 'No' and
INSTALL will disable the Power Management options. You will then be
presented with a screen describing the installation configuration similar
to the following:
__________________________________________________________________________
______
__________________________________________________________________________
______
__________________________________________________________________________
______
__________________________________________________________________________
______
__________________________________________________________________________
______
+-[_]------------------ UniVBE(tm)/Pro 5.1 Installation ------------------
-----+
| + Installation Directories ---------------------------------------------
---+ |
| | Source C:\INSTALL
| |
| | Destination C:\UNIVBE51
| |
| | Windows C:\WIN95
| |
| +-----------------------------------------------------------------------
---+ |
| Install Utilities Options
|
| [X] UniCENTER [X] Run UVConfig after install
|
5
UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
| [X] UniPOWER for Windows [X] Update AUTOEXEC.BAT
|
| [X] UniPOWER for DOS [X] Update Windows config
|
|
|
| Install _ Cancel _
|
| _________ ________
|
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----+
__________________________________________________________________________
______
__________________________________________________________________________
______
__________________________________________________________________________
______
__________________________________________________________________________
______
__________________________________________________________________________
______
UniVBE(tm) - Copyright (C) 1995 SciTech Software. All Rights
Reserved.
3. Verify the installation directories for installing UniVBE into, and
change them if necessary. If you are installing the UniPower screen
saver for Windows, verify that the Windows directory points to the
place where you have installed Windows. By default INSTALL will
attempt to find where Windows is located on the path.
4. INSTALL provides you a list of installation options. Select the
options for the utilities that you wish to install. If you're not
sure what to do, you should use the default options. If you deselect
the 'Update AUTOEXEC.BAT' option, you will have to manually run
UniVBE each time you need to use it (instead of it being
automatically loaded when you boot your machine). If you deselect
the 'Update Windows Config' option, you will have to go to the
Windows Control Panel to setup the UniPower DPMS screen saver
manually.
5. Click the 'INSTALL' button, and the installation program will begin
the installation process.
Follow the instructions on the screen, and eventually you will be asked to
register your copy of UniVBE:
__________________________________________________________________________
______
__________________________________________________________________________
______
+-[_]------------------- Installing UniVBE(tm)/Pro 5.1 -------------------
-----+
|+ Progres+-[_]--------- Registering UniVBE(tm)/Pro 5.1 -------------+----
---+ |
|| Creatin| |
| |
6
UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
|| copy C:| Please enter your name and Registration ID code. You |
| |
|| unzippi| can purchase your Registration ID code with your |
| |
|| unzippi| Visa/Mastercard by calling 1-800-4UNIVBE (USA & Canada |
| |
|| unzippi| only), or by sending in the Shareware registration |
| |
|| unzippi| form. |
| |
|| unzippi| |
| |
|| Updatin| Click 'Trial' to install UniVBE/Pro as shareware. |
| |
|| Updatin| |
| |
|| Registe| Full name of owner |
| |
|| | Registration Id |
| |
|| | |
| |
|| | OK _ Trial _ |
| |
|| | ________ ________ |
| |
|| +----------------------------------------------------------+
| |
||
| |
|+------------------------------------------------------------------------
---+ |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----+
__________________________________________________________________________
______
__________________________________________________________________________
______
UniVBE(tm) - Copyright (C) 1995 SciTech Software. All Rights
Reserved.
6. Enter your full name and registration ID and hit the Enter key.
Simply click the _Evaluate_ button to install UniVBE as an
unregistered trial version.
The next stage in the installation process it to configure UniVBE for use
with your video card. This is done with the UVCONFIG program, which
INSTALL automatically runs for you. When UVCONFIG runs, you will be
greeted with a configuration screen as follows:
__________________________________________________________________________
______
__________________________________________________________________________
______
__________________________________________________________________________
______
__________________________________________________________________________
______
7
UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
__________________________________________________________________________
______
+-[_]------------------ UniVBE(tm)/Pro 5.1 Configuration -----------------
-----+
| + Detected Video Configuration -----------------------------------------
---+ |
| | SuperVGA ID ATI
| |
| | Chipset ID Mach64 88800-GX
.. | |
| | Video memory 2 Mb
.. | |
| | RAM dac ID SGS/Inmos STG1702 24 bit DAC
.. | |
| +-----------------------------------------------------------------------
---+ |
| Options
|
| [ ] Ignore old VBE BIOS
|
| [ ] Disable VBE 2.0 extensions
|
| [ ] Disable Linear Framebuffer
|
|
|
| Ok _ Cancel _
|
| _________ ________
|
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----+
__________________________________________________________________________
______
__________________________________________________________________________
______
__________________________________________________________________________
______
__________________________________________________________________________
______
UniVBE(tm) - Copyright (C) 1995 SciTech Software. All Rights
Reserved.
7. Verify that the installation matches your video card, and hit enter
to accept the configuration. If you hit cancel at this stage, you
will not have generated a valid UNIVBE.DRV file, and you will need to
re-run UVCONFIG at a later date to create the driver file.
When UVCONFIG is run for the first time, it runs through the list of
available video modes to verify that they are working correctly and to
automatically map out modes that are not available on your system. While
this is underway, your video monitor will go blank and may emit mode
switching noises and flicker somewhat, which is normal. Also note that
this operation can take up to 30 seconds or so to complete, so be patient
before you hit that reset button! UVCONFIG wont need to re-run this test
unless you change some of the configuration options such as the amount of
installed memory, chipset ID or RAMDAC.
8
UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
That's it! When the installation is completed, you will be returned into
the directory that you installed UniVBE into (by default C:\UNIVBE51). In
order to install UniVBE you will need to reboot your machine before the
changes will take effect.
What Happens During Installation?
When you install UniVBE it will perform several functions and make changes
to a couple files on your hard disk. This section allows you to review
those changes before you run the install program. If you do not want to
perform one of these operations at installation time, you will be
presented with check boxes to enable or disable the various options. If
you use the defaults, the following things happen:
1. The UniVBE files are automatically uncompressed in the directory you
specify.
2. The UniPower screen saver is copied to your Windows directory.
3. It will run the UVCONFIG utility so that you can verify the type of
graphics card detected.
4. It will generate the approriate UNIVBE.DRV file for driving your
video card.
5. Backups are made of your AUTOEXEC.BAT, SYSTEM.INI and WIN.INI in case
you decide to run the UNINSTAL.BAT utility later.
5. One or two lines are added to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to automatically
runs UniVBE and UniPower when your system starts.
6. The Windows SYSTEM.INI file is modified to make UniPower your default
screen saver in Windows
7. You will need to reboot the system for all changes to take effect.
Configuring Your Software to Use UniVBE
Once UniVBE is installed, you need to make sure that your application
software is configured to use the VESA VBE standard. If your application
has a option to change hardware settings you should change that setting to
use _VESA_ or _VESA VBE_. UniVBE 5.1 works with any software that is
compatible with any version of VESA VBE. The most common setting is VBE
1.2 -- this will work fine. If your software has a driver for VBE 2.0,
you should definitely use that to take advantage of all the performance
features of UniVBE.
Changing the Settings of UniVBE After Installation
If you need to change any of the settings of UniVBE, you can run the
UVCONFIG.EXE program and this will allow you to change most of UniVBE's
settings including the type of graphics card you have, installed RAM and
other options. For more information on modifying your configuration, refer
to the 'Advanced Configuration Options' section.
Changing your Video Card After Installation
When the time comes to replace the video card in your system with a new
one, rest assured that UniVBE will probably work just as well with the new
video cards as with your old one. However when you do so, you will need to
9
UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
run the UVCONFIG program to reconfigure UniVBE for your new graphics card.
If you used UniCenter, you will also want to re-center your video modes.
Registering Your Software
SciTech allows you to use UniVBE for 21 days before we ask that you
register your software. If you have an unregistered shareware version of
UniVBE, you have determined that it solves your problems and you would
like to continue to use it, you should register it with SciTech Software.
Why You Should Register Your Software
By registering your shareware version of UniVBE, you will be supporting
SciTech so that we can continue to offer new, innovative products that
support your graphics card. Shareware is based on a _try before you buy_
concept, but it is not free software. You are required to register your
software if you continue to use it past the 21 day evaluation period. You
also will get rid of the message reminding you to register!
Instant Registration by Credit Card
To register instantly by credit card, you can call our toll free number
and we can give you a registration code over the phone. When you get your
registration code, you can enter it in (see process below) and you will
have a fully registered version.
Registration by Mail or FAX
To register by mail or fax, simply print out the file ORDER.TXT, or type
_P_ when you get the opening registration reminder and one will be printed
for you. If you mail in your registration, make sure to include a check or
money order for the proper amount or include your credit card number. If
you fax your order in, make sure you also include your credit card number.
Entering Your Registration Code
Once you get your registration code from SciTech Software, there are two
ways to enter it and register your software.
1. Go to the directory where you installed UniVBE and run the
REGISTER.EXE program or;
2. When first run UniVBE, and get the message to register, you can hit
the _R_ key.
You will be asked to enter your full name and hit [Enter]. After you enter
your name, hit the [Enter] key and then you will be asked for your
registration id. Enter the number that you received from SciTech, hit
[ENTER] and you will be fully registered.
What Happens If You Don't Register?
Your software will not _self-destruct_ or anything similar to that. If the
21 day evaluation period ends before you get a chance to register, your
full version of UniVBE will become UniVBE/Lite, which will have the
following feature disabled:
. High-performance VBE 2.0 (only VBE 1.2 will be supported)
. VESA DPMS signaling
. VESA VBE/PM Interface
. Windows and DOS screen savers
. Screen centering
. High speed game/digitial video modes
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
Most programs will continue to run, but they will run better if you
register your software. If you decide to register after your 21 day
evaluation period expires, all of these features will be automatically re-
enabled.
Upgrading from Previous Versions
When you upgrade to UniVBE 5.1 from previous versions, you should install
UniVBE 5.1 in a different directory. By default it will use the \UNIVBE51
subdirectory. Make sure when your computer reboots that only version 5.1
loads (this should happen automatically).
In the price of our registration fee, SciTech allows you to upgrade to any
minor revisions. For instance, if you have registered your version of
UniVBE 5.1 and we release a 5.2 version, you can download that version and
enter your registration code and you will be all set. When we release
UniVBE 6.0 or its an equivalent major release, registered users will be
entitled to significant discounts on new versions of UniVBE and other
SciTech products.
Uninstalling or Disabling UniVBE
If you determine that UniVBE does not meet your needs, you can disable it
by the using one of the following two procedures:
Automatic Uninstall with UNINSTAL.BAT
UniVBE comes with a utility called UNINSTAL.BAT. This utility should only
be used shortly after you have installed UniVBE. It will copy back all of
your original configuration files before you installed UniVBE.
WARNING: All changes to your system configuration that you made from the
time you installed UniVBE until you ran UNINSTAL.BAT will be lost. You
should only use this option if you have not made any changes to your
system configuration.
Manual Unistall
If some time has elapsed since you installed UniVBE and you wish to
uninstall it, you can do it with the following procedures:
1. Edit your AUTOEXEC.BAT file and remove the line that contains
UNIVBE.EXE and/or UNIPOWER.EXE.
2. If you installed the UniPower/Windows screen saver, you can go to the
Windows Control Panel, select the Desktop icon and select a screen
saver other than UniPower DPMS, or you can simply disable the screen
saver option.
3. Finally, if you want to completely remove UniVBE from your system.
You can erase all of the files in the \UNIVBE51 subdirectory or
whatever you named the primary UniVBE subdirectory.
Your system will now no longer load UniVBE.
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
Section 3.:
Supplemental Utility Programs
UniVBE includes several useful utilities for testing, configuring and
managing your graphics display. The description and the function of the
utilities are described in this section.
VBETest
UniVBE is also installed with the VBETEST.EXE programs for testing the
operation of UniVBE. This programs will allow you to fully test all the
different video modes that UniVBE supports. The VBETest program is a
stress test and conformance testing program to full test the VESA VBE
implementation for compliance. You might want to test your current VBE
BIOS or TSR vs. UniVBE by toggling the Enable/Disable UniVBE choice.
When you run VBETest, you will be greeted with a set of main menu options
as follows:
VBETest - VESA VBE/Core 2.0 Compliance Test
Release 5.1 (Mar 27 1995)
Copyright (C) 1994-95 SciTech Software, All Rights Reserved.
Currently running in 32 bit protected mode
VBE OEM string: Universal VESA VBE 5.1
VBE Version: 2.0
Memory: 2048k
Select test to perform:
[0] - Interactive Visual Compliance Tests
[1] - Quick Compliance Test
[2] - Full Compliance Test (long)
[3] - Enable/Disable UniVBE
[4] - VBE/PM Power Management Tests
[Q] - Quit
Choice:
This main menu will provide you with the Vendor OEM string for you VBE
implementation (in this case UniVBE 5.1), version number and amount of
video memory available to VBE applications (note that on some boards, not
all video memory is available for VBE applications to use). Valid version
numbers are 1.0, 1.1, 1.2 and 2.0. Some vendors have used version numbers
other than these, which are incorrect and can cause confusion with
application programs intending to use the VBE interface.
Interactive Visual Compliance Test
This option allows you to test a specific mode to see if it is compatible
with the VBE standard. This is good if you know what mode a program may be
having problems with and you want to go right to that mode. Once you
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
select this option, you will be presented with a menu requiring you to
select the color depth that you wish to test:
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
VBETest - VESA VBE/Core 2.0 Compliance Test
Release 5.1 (Mar 27 1995)
Copyright (C) 1994-95 SciTech Software, All Rights Reserved.
Interactive Visual Tests
Extended CRTC addressing: Yes
8 bit wide DAC support: Yes
Linear framebuffer support: Yes (located at 4032 Mb)
Select color mode to test:
[0] - 4 bits per pixel modes
[1] - 8 bits per pixel modes
[2] - 15 bits per pixel modes
[3] - 16 bits per pixel modes
[4] - 24 bits per pixel modes
[5] - 32 bits per pixel modes
[Q] - Quit
Choice:
This screen provides you with information about the capabilities of your
video card and your VBE implementation. It tells you whether the following
features are supported:
. Extended CRT Addresssing; If your video card supports extended CRTC
addressing (most video cards do) then software will be able to
perform double buffering techniques to produce high quality smooth
animation for games and other real-time and interactive applications.
. 8 bit wide DAC; If your video card supports an 8 bit wide DAC, it
means that the DAC provides 8 bits per primary (24 bits total)
palette entries for generating color values in 256 color video modes.
This means that applications can choose 256 colors out of a palette
of 16.7 million where you can have 256 individual shades of Red,
Green and Blue color channel information. The standard VGA DAC only
provided 6 bits per primary (18 bits total) for a palette of 256,000
colors.
. Linear Framebuffer Support; If your video card supports a linear
framebuffer, high performance 32 bit protected mode applications can
use this to access the video cards memory without needing to perform
slow bank switching operations. This allows 32 bit applications to
run at absolute maximum speed.
Also note that on new PCI bus systems, the linear framebuffer modes
are often the only modes that provide the full PCI burst mode
operation to the video card. In these cases the linear framebuffer
modes can provide over 2 times the speed of the normal VBE banked
framebuffer modes!
Once you select the color depth that you wish to test (say 8 bits per
pixel) you will be required to select the resolution of the video mode
that you wish to test such as the following:
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
VBETest - VESA VBE/Core 2.0 Compliance Test
Release 5.1 (Mar 27 1995)
Copyright (C) 1994-95 SciTech Software, All Rights Reserved.
Which video mode to test:
[0] - 320 x 200 8 bit (16 page, Banked+Linear)
[1] - 360 x 200 8 bit ( 8 page, Banked+Linear)
[2] - 320 x 240 8 bit ( 8 page, Banked+Linear)
[3] - 360 x 240 8 bit ( 8 page, Banked+Linear)
[4] - 320 x 400 8 bit ( 8 page, Banked+Linear)
[5] - 360 x 400 8 bit ( 5 page, Banked+Linear)
[6] - 640 x 350 8 bit ( 8 page, Banked+Linear, NonVGA)
[7] - 640 x 400 8 bit ( 8 page, Banked+Linear, NonVGA)
[8] - 640 x 480 8 bit ( 6 page, Banked+Linear, NonVGA)
[9] - 800 x 600 8 bit ( 4 page, Banked+Linear, NonVGA)
[A] - 1024 x 768 8 bit ( 2 page, Banked+Linear, NonVGA)
[B] - 1280 x 1024 8 bit ( 1 page, Banked+Linear, NonVGA)
[Q] - Quit
Choice:
This menu shows you all video mode resolutions available, along with the
number of physical display pages available (for double buffering and
smooth animation techniques). It also provide information about whether
the mode can support banked framebuffer access, linear framebuffer access
or both. Note also that some modes are marked as 'NonVGA'. These modes are
coming out on new video cards, and they are not fully VGA compatible.
These modes may have problems with applications that are not designed to
support VBE 2.0 video modes.
Once you select a video mode, if you have the choice of either banked and
linear framebuffer modes, you will be presented with one last menu to
choose which one you wish to test. Hit a key at any time during the
testing process to cut the tests short and move onto the next test.
Quick/Full Compliance Tests
These compliance tests will first run a suite of low level conformance
tests to ensure that your BIOS conforms to the proper VBE specifications.
Each time you run a compliance test, VBETest will generate a log file with
the results of the test. That log file will be stored in a file called
VBETEST.LOG and will saved in the same directory as VBETest. This log can
be very helpful for SciTech or your hardware and software companies for
tracking down problems.
The Quick version of the test will simply test all the major features of
the VBE Core 1.2 or 2.0 specifications. It will not test every mode, but
it will test a representative sample of the modes so that you can quickly
test if your graphics is VBE compatible. The full version is a
comprehensive test that will run through every mode that your graphics
card can display and see if it is working properly. The full version can
take a considerable amount of time to run to completion.
Enable/Disable UniVBE
This options will allow you to temporarily disable UniVBE and re-enable it
again from within VBETest. This will allow you to run the tests with and
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
without UniVBE active to see what sort of performance benefits and extra
features UniVBE provides compared to your current VBE implementation.
VBE/PM Power Management Tests
This will allow you to test your video card and monitor for VBE/PM and
DPMS compatibility. It will tell you what DPMS modes that the graphics
card supports and allow you to try and set them as follows:
VBETest - VESA VBE/Core 2.0 Compliance Test
Release 5.1 (Mar 27 1995)
Copyright (C) 1994-95 SciTech Software, All Rights Reserved.
VBE/PM version 1.0 active. Supports the following states:
STAND BY
SUSPEND
OFF
Enter which mode (ESC to quit):
[0] - ON
[1] - Stand-By
[2] - Suspend
[3] - Off
[Q] - Quit
Which:
Note that if you attempt to set a mode that is not supported by your video
card, VBETest will simply do nothing. Remember that the display will be
blanked when you are testing a power down mode, so remember to hit '0' to
bring the display back to life again!!
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
Profile
Profile is a performance profiling program that SciTech Software has
developed for profiling the performance of different types of graphics
operations. Profile is a 32 bit protected mode program so will use the VBE
2.0 32 bit extensions for maximum performance. Running Profile without any
command line options will provide a usage message similar to the
following:
Profile - UniVBE Performance Profiling Program
Release 5.1 (Feb 28 1995)
Copyright (C) 1993-95 SciTech Software, All Rights Reserved.
Options are:
-t - Thrash the system memory cache during BitBlt's (32 bit
only)
Usage: profile [-t] <mode> [video card name [logfile]]
Press a key for list of video modes.
Available modes are (add 4000 for Linear Framebuffer version):
100 - 640 x 400 8 bits per pixel
101 - 640 x 480 8 bits per pixel
etc...
To run Profile, simply select the number for the video mode you wish to
test and add it to the command line. So if you wanted to profile
640x480x8, you would enter:
PROFILE 101
To profile the linear framebuffer version you would add a 4 to the front
of the mode number, or 4101 in this case. Profile will then display lists
of the results after running the tests, as sample of which is as follows
(using the linear framebuffer mode for maximum performance):
Profiling results for mode 4101h, 640x480 256 color.
Running in 32 bit protected mode with linear framebuffer
0.0862s for 1000 lines => 11603.89 lines/s
1.9568s for 300 clears => 153.31 clears/s, 44.91 Mb/s
1.4058s for 150 bitBlts => 106.70 bitBlt/s, 31.26 Mb/s
Baseline values:
REP STOSD in system memory: 30.87 Mb/s
REP MOVSD in system memory: 24.43 Mb/s
No cache thrashing.
Note that Profile also times the memory clearing and copying operations in
normal system memory as a performance comparison. Note that with the fast
test card used above, the memory on the video card is actually faster than
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
the normal system memory which is common for high performance PCI and VLB
video cards.
SciTech Software has logged the performance profiling results for a
significant number of PCI and VLB video cards, and the results are stored
in the file PROFILE.LOG in the directory where you installed UniVBE into.
You might want to have a look in this file to see how your video card
stacks up against the best cards on the market.
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
UniPower
UniPOWER is a power management screen saver that will shut down any DPMS
compliant video monitor via the VESA VBE/PM interface (provided by
UniVBE/Pro). UniPOWER comes in two flavors, the UNIPOWER.EXE screen saver
for DOS and the UNIPOWER.SCR screen saver for Windows. By default the
installation program for UniVBE will install both UniPOWER for DOS and
UniPOWER for Windows.
Is Your Monitor Compatible with DPMS?
If you monitor has an _Energy Star_ logo, or was manufactured after
January 1994, then is probably compatible with the VESA DPMS standard.
When in a DPMS mode, a compatible monitor will usually give some
indication, such as a green power light turning to amber or a message will
appear on displays with LED status displays.
UniPower For Windows
The UNIPOWER.SCR program is a standard Windows screen saver, so you can
use it just like you use all your normal Windows screen savers. By default
the installation program will have installed and activated the UniPOWER
for Windows screen saver. However you can change the way that UniPOWER for
Window operates. First you need to open up the Windows Control Panel, and
then hit the 'Setup' button for the installed screen saver (which should
be 'UniPOWER DPMS'). This will bring up a dialog box allowing you to
modify UniPOWER's configuration. Extensive online help is provide for
UniPOWER for Windows (just click 'Help' in the Setup Dialog Box), so
please consult the online documentation for more information.
UniPower For DOS
The UniPOWER.EXE screen saver for DOS is a small Terminate and Stay
Resident (TSR) program that hooks into the mouse and keyboard interrupts,
and monitors them for activity. If no activity is sensed for a period of
time, UniPOWER will begin shutting the monitor down into the power
management states. When UniPOWER.EXE is installed, when you start Windows
it will de-activate itself allowing the UniPOWER.SCR Windows based screen
saver to take over. When you exit Windows back to the DOS prompt,
UniPOWER.EXE will re-activate itself. Note that UniPOWER.EXE will not be
active in a Windows DOS shell, even if the DOS shell is run full screen.
Command Line Options
Running UNIPOWER.EXE with the -h command line option will provide you with
a usage list similar to the following:
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
UniPOWER(tm)/Shareware - DOS DPMS Screen Saver Utility
Release 5.1 (Mar 30 1995)
Copyright (C) 1994-95 SciTech Software, All Rights Reserved.
Usage: UniPOWER [-unsc] [STANDBY delay] <SUSPEND delay> <OFF delay>
The delay values passed on the command line specify how long UniPOWER
will
wait until each of the specified states is enabled. Note that each
delay is
cumulative. That is the time to reach the OFF state is the total
delay for
the STANDBY, SUSPEND and OFF states. All delay times are specified in
minutes.
The STANDBY delay value is optional since many monitors do not
support it.
Leaving it out will cause that state to be skipped. Note also that
you can
set the off delay to -1 to disable this state as it can cause
problems on
older VGA cards.
Options are:
-u - Unload UniPOWER from memory
-n - Disable screen saver and load only VBE/PM interface
-s<x> - Force detection of SuperVGA (-s0 for list)
-c<x> - Force detection of SuperVGA chipset (-c0 for list)
By default UniPOWER.EXE will have been installed into your AUTOEXEC.BAT
file with a SUSPEND delay of 5 minutes, and an OFF delay of 15 minutes,
and the STANDBY state disabled.
If you install UniPOWER before your mouse driver, it will automatically
detect when the mouse driver installs itself and hook into the mouse
driver interrupts after it is successfully installed.
Problems with the Standby State
When you installed UniPOWER, the Standby state was probably disabled. Many
monitors do not support this particular state, and on some video card
configurations, this state is impossible to signal correctly. You may
notice that when the Standby state has been activated, the video monitor
goes directly in the Off state, rather than the Standby state. If this
happens then your video card was not able to correctly signal this state
to the video monitor, and it should disabled.
If you wish to activate the Standby state, be sure to test it for correct
operation with your video monitor using the provide TEST button in the
UniPOWER for Windows configuration dialog box. If the state is not working
correctly, you will not damage your video card or your monitor, but the
monitor will incorrectly detect this state as the Off state.
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
UniCenter
If you have installed the UniCenter utility program, it will have been
placed into the directory where you also installed UniVBE/Pro. To use
UniCenter, first change to the directory where UniVBE is installed (the
following example assumes the default installation):
CD \UNIVBE
Then run the UniCenter program with the following command:
UNICENTR
You will then be presented with a menu to first allow you to select color
depth of the mode you wish to center as follows:
UniCENTER(tm) - Video Mode Centering Utility (Version 5.1)
Copyright (C) 1993-95 SciTech Software, All Rights Reserved.
Select modes to center:
[0] - 4 bits per pixel modes
[1] - 8 bits per pixel modes
[2] - 15 bits per pixel modes
[3] - 16 bits per pixel modes
[4] - 24 bits per pixel modes
[5] - 32 bits per pixel modes
[Q] - Quit
Choice:
When you select the color depth you will be presented with a list of
available video modes for that depth, such as the following:
UniCENTER(tm) - Video Mode Centering Utility (Version 5.1)
Copyright (C) 1993-95 SciTech Software, All Rights Reserved.
Which video mode to center:
[0] - 320 x 200 256 color
[1] - 360 x 200 256 color
[2] - 320 x 240 256 color
[3] - 360 x 240 256 color
[4] - 320 x 400 256 color
[5] - 360 x 400 256 color
[Q] - Quit
Choice:
UniVBE 5.1 now includes our exclusive reverse mode mapping technology,
which allows us to also center the NonVBE modes provided by your video
card. This means that UniCENTER will not only center your VBE modes, but
it will also center the modes used by other NonVBE applications such as
21
UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
Windows. Note however that this will not work for cards that have NonVGA
video modes, such as the ATI Mach32/64 and Weitek P9000.
Adjusting a video mode
To adjust a video mode, simply follow the instructions on the screen and
using the arrow keys to move and size the image. Centering a mode is
usually just a matter of moving the image with the arrow keys, but you may
want to experiment with adjusting the horizontal size of the image as
well. Adjusting the horiztonal size will however change the vertical
refresh rate for the video mode.
Adjusting the Sync Polarities
When you are adjusting a video mode, you can toggle the Horizontal and
Vertical sync polarities with the 'h' and 'v' keys. The polarity of the
sync lines were originally used by the video card to let the video monitor
auto size the vertical dimensions of a video mode. For monitors without
digital adjustments, this allows the monitor to recognise vertical sizes
of 350, 400 or 480 lines in height.
However adjusting the sync polarities is actually very useful for
centering your modes on new monitors with built in digital sizing
adjustments. These monitors usually store sizing information for video
modes based on their horizontal and vertical timings and the sync
polarities! Hence it is sometimes possible for certain video modes to be
recognised by the monitor as the same mode, but the sizing for the two
modes is different. In this case, if you toggle one of the sync polarities
for the problem mode, you will then be able to adjust and stores its
settings independantly from the original mode.
Saving the settings for a mode
When you are finished hit the [Enter] key - if you adjust the image too
far and it goes out of sync, hit the [ESC] key and you will be dropped
back to the previous menu and the settings will not be saved. If you wish
to revert back to the original settings, simply hit [Esc] and the changes
you made will be discarded.
Saving the settings permanently
When you have finished adjusting all your video modes, exit UniCenter and
the adjustments will be saved into the UNIVBE.DRV file. Note that if you
have UniVBE currently installed, the centering values are automatically
updated in the installed version so you dont need to re-install UniVBE for
the changes to take effect. Note that UniCENTER will run even without
UniVBE installed. If UniVBE is not installed, it will automatically loaded
the UNIVBE.DRV file from the disk. However in this case the centered modes
will not be available until UniVBE is installed.
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Section 4.:
Advanced Configuration Options
In most cases, you will not need to use the information contained in this
section. It is meant for users that are experiencing problems or power
users who would like more control over their display.
UVCONFIG Menu Options
UVCONFIG provides you with fine control over the way that the UNIVBE.DRV
driver file is configured. When you run UVCONFIG, you are presented with a
display similar to the folloowing:
__________________________________________________________________________
______
__________________________________________________________________________
______
__________________________________________________________________________
______
__________________________________________________________________________
______
__________________________________________________________________________
______
+-[_]------------------ UniVBE(tm)/Pro 5.1 Configuration -----------------
-----+
| + Detected Video Configuration -----------------------------------------
---+ |
| | SuperVGA ID ATI
| |
| | Chipset ID Mach64 88800-GX
.. | |
| | Video memory 2 Mb
.. | |
| | RAM dac ID SGS/Inmos STG1702 24 bit DAC
.. | |
| +-----------------------------------------------------------------------
---+ |
| Options
|
| [ ] Ignore old VBE BIOS
|
| [ ] Disable VBE 2.0 extensions
|
| [ ] Disable Linear Framebuffer
|
|
|
| Ok _ Cancel _
|
| _________ ________
|
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----+
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
__________________________________________________________________________
______
__________________________________________________________________________
______
__________________________________________________________________________
______
__________________________________________________________________________
______
UniVBE(tm) - Copyright (C) 1995 SciTech Software. All Rights
Reserved.
Ignore old VBE BIOS
This option is used to force UniVBE to ignore an underlying VBE BIOS if
one is present. By default UniVBE will use pass through techniques to
support functions provided by the underlying BIOS that UniVBE does not
provide. In some severe cases the underlying BIOS is buggy and will cause
UniVBE to behave incorrectly, so you will need to force UniVBE to ignore
it.
If you are experiencing problems with your video card, you might like to
check this option to see if it will clear up the problems.
Disable VBE 2.0 Extensions
This option is used to force UniVBE to install as a VBE 1.2
implementation, and to turn off all the VBE 2.0 extensions. If you have an
application that is not working correctly with some of the 2.0 features of
UniVBE, you might try reverting UniVBE back to VBE 1.2 to see if this will
make the application work correctly. This option is also useful to see how
much of a difference to performance VBE 2.0 can make to certain
applications.
Disable Linear Framebuffer
This option is provided to disable the linear framebuffer support. Some
older motherboards cannot correctly address physical memory locations high
in extended memory where UniVBE locates the linear framebuffer, and hence
the linear framebuffer memory map interfere with normal system memory
locations. If VBETest or other VBE 2.0 applications hang when you attempt
to use a linear framebuffer mode, this may be the case. Turning off this
option will ensure that these application will not attempt to use the
linear framebuffer modes.
UVCONFIG Command Line Parameters
UVCONFIG supports a number of different command line options. Running
UVCONFIG.EXE with the -h command line option will provide you with a list
similar to the following:
UniVBE(tm)/Pro - Universal VESA BIOS Extension (VBE)
Release 5.1 (Mar 30 1995)
Copyright (C) 1993-95 SciTech Software, All Rights Reserved.
Usage: UVCONFIG [-scmdlE]
Options are:
-s<x> - Force detection of SuperVGA family (-s0 for list)
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
-c<x> - Force detection of SuperVGA chipset (-c0 for list)
-m<size> - Force memory size to 'size'
-d<x> - Force DAC type (-d0 for list)
-l<loc> - Enable linear framebuffer at 'loc' Mb (0 to disable)
-f - Print full list of supported SuperVGA families and
chipsets
-E - Force emulation of SuperVGA 320x200/240/400x8 modes
Most of the command line parameters for UVCONFIG are used to get complete
lists of supported video cards (-F for instance prints out a complete
list). Although you can force the detected id from the command line, you
can change it just as easily from the menu options.
The -L command line option can be used to change the location of the
linear framebuffer. If the default location that UniVBE uses conflicts in
some way, you might try changing it to a different location. The locations
that are generally used are 14Mb, 32Mb, 64Mb, 78Mb, 2048Mb and 4032Mb.
Normally UniVBE will get the location of the buffer from the video card,
either by reading the cards configuration registers or by looking for the
location of the active linear buffer, so changing this may simply cause
the linear buffer to stop working, or worse hang your system. If you
change this option, be prepared to hit the reset button!
The -E command line option can be used to force emulation of SciTech low
res SuperVGA Modes. This option should not be needed, but if you find that
the low res SuperVGA modes do not work, you might try this command line
option to see if the emulation techniques will work on your card. If this
does work, please contact SciTech Software with information about your
system so that we can do this automatically for your card in the next
release.
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
UNIVBE Command Line Parameters
Running UNIVBE.EXE with the -h command line option will provide you with a
list similar to the following:
UniVBE(tm)/Shareware - Universal VESA BIOS Extension (VBE)
Release 5.1 (Mar 30 1995)
Copyright (C) 1993-95 SciTech Software, All Rights Reserved.
Usage: UNIVBE [-ur] [[ON|OFF] [VBE20]]
Options are:
-u - Unload the Universal VESA VBE from memory
-r - Remove support for Low Res video modes
Enabling/Disabling UniVBE
You can enable and disable UniVBE from the command line with the ON and
OFF command line options. This will allow you to temporarily disable
UniVBE from batch files if you need to run programs that dont work with
UniVBE installed. You can also temporarily disable VBE 2.0 support with
the 'OFF VBE20' command line option.
The -U command line option can be used to unload UniVBE from memory. Note
that this option will only work if no other TSR's have been loaded after
UniVBE in memory. If UniVBE cannot be unloaded, it will exit with an error
message to that effect.
The -R command line option can be used to map out support for the low res
games modes if these modes are causing problems on your system.
Modifying the UNIVBE.INI File
For most installations, UniVBE will automatically determine the video
modes that your card supports. However on some video configurations, some
video modes that UniVBE provides may not be supported properly by your
monitor, so the mode will be unsuable on your system. In ver rare
instance, a mode may be set up with an incorrect bytes per line or
TrueColor pixel format information. The UNIVBE.INI file is used to
manually configure UniVBE in these situations.
By default there is no UNIVBE.INI file in the directory. To use it, you
will have to manually create the file, delete the original UNIVBE.DRV file
and then re-run UVCONFIG to generate a new driver file with the
appropriate overrides read from the UNIVBE.INI file.
Manually removing video modes
All manually removed video modes are listed under the section '[Remove]'
in the UNIVBE.INI file. They are listed as the hexadecimal internal mode
numbers used by the TSR (see the section 'Video Modes supported by UniVBE'
below for more information). An example UNIVBE.INI file might be:
[Remove]
10D
10E
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
Manually changing bytes per lines values
You can change the default bytes per line values for particular video
modes in the '[BytesPerLine]' section in the UNIVBE.INI file. The mode
number is listed first in hexadecimal (see the section 'Video Modes
supported by UniVBE' below for more information) followed by the new bytes
per line value in decimal. An example UNIVBE.INI file might be (setting
640x480x24 to 2048 bytes per line):
[BytesPerLine]
112 2048
Manually changing TrueColor pixel formats
You can change the default TrueColor pixel formats for the 15, 16, 24 and
32 bits per pixel modes. The pixel format information is used by the VBE
application to determine how to pack the pixel information so that the
color information will be interpreted correctly by the video card. If the
24 or 32 bits per pixel modes have colors swapped, then you will need to
changes these values. The values are listed in the '[PixelFormat]' section
of the UNIVBE.INI file, and consist of values in the following format:
<bits> <redSize> <redPos> <greenSize> <greenPos> <blueSize> <bluePos>
<rsvdSize> <rsvdPos>
An example UNIVBE.INI file might be:
[PixelFormat]
24 8 0 8 8 8 16 0 0
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
Section 5.:
Troubleshooting Guide
If you are encountering problems with UniVBE, please carefully review this
entire section and see if you can find the solution to your problem.
Please also consult the 'Known Bugs and Problems' sections which may
mention the problem you are having.
Linear framebuffer modes hang my machine
If when you attempt to use the linear framebuffer modes of UniVBE, and
your application (or VBETest) hangs you machine, you most likely have a
conflict with the location of the linear framebuffer and another device in
your system. It is also possible with older motherboards that the
motherboard cannot address the linear buffer where it is located, so you
may need to move it lower down in memory.
The first thing to try is changing the location of the linear framebuffer
with the -L command line option of UVCONFIG. The most compatible location
appears to be 32Mb, so you might try forcing it to 32Mb with UVCONFIG -
L32. It this does not work, you can try other locations above the end of
your normal system memory (if you have 16Mb RAM, dont attempt to enable
the buffer below 16Mb!).
If you still cannot get the linear buffer modes working, then disable the
linear buffer with UVCONFIG so that no applications will attempt to use
it.
The 15/16/24/32 bit TrueColor modes look wierd
This is caused by UVCONFIG possibly incorrectly identifying your RAMDAC
configuration. First check to make sure that UVCONFIG really has detected
the correct RAMDAC. If you dont know the part number of your RAMDAC, you
can determine this by looking at your video card. The RAMDAC is generally
the second or third biggest chip on the board, and you can check it
against the list of parts the UniVBE supports to find the one that matches
your system. Try forcing UniVBE to use the correct RAMDAC with UVCONFIG
once you have determined what it is meant to be.
If it still does not work, try forcing the RAMDAC to the 'Generic 24 bit
TrueColor DAC', which will not allow UniVBE to directly program the
RAMDAC. If this does correct the problem, please let SciTech Software know
about your card and the problems you had so that we can try and rectify it
in a future release. If you select this RAMDAC however, you will not be
able to use the low res HiColor game modes.
The 24/32 bit TrueColor modes have swapped colors
This is caused by UniVBE incorrectly determining the pixel format used in
the 24/32 bits per pixel modes. The most common situation is for cards
that have a DAC that sets up the 24 bit modes in BGR format rather than
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
RGB format (UniVBE should normally automatically detect this). To fix
this, you will need to create a UNIVBE.INI file and re-run UVCONFIG to
change the pixel format (see the section 'Manually Chaning TrueColor Pixel
Formats' for more information. If you need to change the 24 bit format to
BGR rather than RGB, you would create a UNIVBE.INI file with the following
information in it:
[PixelFormat]
24 8 0 8 8 8 16 0 0
386 Memory Managers
Sometimes a 386 memory manager can conflict with the correct operation of
UniVBE for certain video card configurations. If you have a 386 Memory
Manager installed such as EMM386, QEMM, QRAM or 386MAX and when attempting
the install UniVBE the machine just hangs, or an application attempting to
use UniVBE hangs you possibly have a memory manager conflict. Specifically
if you have an ATI Mach32 or Mach64 based video card (Graphics Ultra Pro,
Graphics Ultra Turbo) you will need to exclude the video BIOS region for
correct operation, so proceed to step 2. To attempt to solve this, try the
following steps (you might also like to refer to the documentation on your
memory manager - QEMM for instance has a long section on troubleshooting
such installation problems):
1. First do a clean boot (with no memory managers or TSR programs
installed apart from HIMEM.SYS and MSDOS) and attempt to install
UniVBE. In newer versions of DOS, you can do this by booting your
system and holding down the [F5] key after you see the message
_Loading MS-DOS .._. If UniVBE works in this configuration, then you
have a conflict, and proceed to step 2. If UniVBE still does not
work, then you possibly have a video card that is not fully supported
by UniVBE - please contact SciTech Software and let us know so that
we can attempt to rectify this in a future release.
2. Edit your CONFIG.SYS file and use the EXCLUDE option of your memory
manager to exclude the entire video BIOS region, reboot your machine
and attempt to install UniVBE once again. For EMM386 and QEMM the
command to put on the command line is:
X=C000-CFFF
3. If step 2 is successful, you can try to reduce the amount of memory
excluded with the above option which will provide you with more high
memory for TSR programs. To do this, lower the value in the second
number from CFFF to a value such as C7FF and lower. C7FF will
probably work with most configurations.
Common Questions and Answers
I just installed UniVBE, what does it do?
See the introduction of the manual for all of the features of UniVBE. One
of the nice things about UniVBE is that you just run it and it takes care
of things from then on. Rest assured that even if you can't see exactly
what it is doing, it has added many new software features to your system.
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
I have a PCI graphics card, do I still need a VESA VBE driver?
This is a very common question. VESA VBE is a software standard from VESA,
and should not be confused with VESA's popular VL-Bus. All graphics cards
need the VESA VBE software interface regardless of whether they use the
ISA, MicroChannel, VL or PCI busses. So the answer is that even though you
have a PCI graphics card, you will still need a VESA VBE driver so the
software can access the features of the card.
How do I know if my monitor is DPMS compatible?
The way to know for sure is to see look in your monitor's manual or to
look for _Energy Star_ logos on your system or monitor. A good rule of
thumb is that if you purchased your monitor after January 1994, it is most
likely DPMS compatible. If you install UniPower, you can test to see if
your monitor is compatible. It is nearly impossible to damage a monitor by
sending DPMS signals to it, so it won't hurt to try. Go to the Windows
Control Panel and select Desktop. Under screen savers select UniPower DPMS
and push the SETUP button. You will be given an option to test each power
management mode. Usually if the monitor is DPMS compatible, the screen
will go blank and the _power on_ LED at the front of your display will
turn to amber. If this happens, you know you have a DPMS monitor.
What happens if I don't register UniVBE?
If you don't register UniVBE, yet continue to use it, some of the
performance features will shut off after 21 days. You computer will not
_blow up_ and nothing will be erased. If you decide to register, all of
the features will be turned back on, it will load faster and you will no
longer get the message asking you to register your software.
Will UniVBE work as a Windows driver?
SciTech has released a technology called WinDirect that will allow games
and high performance applications to use VBE to directly access the frame
buffer under Windows. When those WinDirect applications appear, you will
be able to use UniVBE to support those Windows applications. Currently the
more typical Windows drivers do not support a VBE compatible interface.
This is not impossible, but it is something that Microsoft has chosen not
to do at this time. SciTech is working with application and system
software developers to allow them to use the VESA VBE interface properly.
How do I make my software recognize and use UniVBE?
It order for your software to use the VBE interface, you have to make sure
that it is configured properly. Usually there will be a setup utility with
your application that will ask you about the kind of hardware that you
have installed. You should select the _VESA_ or _VESA VBE_ option in your
software so that it can access the features of UniVBE. Please refer to
your application's manual if you are not sure how to do this.
I have installed UniVBE and my application software still doesn't work
properly.
Make sure you have reconfigured your application to use _VESA_ or _VESA
VBE_ instead of a setting specific to your graphics chip. One of the best
ways to see if UniVBE or the application is at fault is to run the VBETest
program. If it passes, most likely there is something wrong with your
application.
You don't support my graphics card in your program -- why not?
With version 5.1 of UniVBE, we are supporting almost every graphics card
currently on the market. For various reasons there are a few that we were
not able to support in this version. We are still working to support all
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
of the cards on the market. The VESA standard does require a certain kind
of graphics architecture so we will never be able to support such boards
as the IBM 8514/A or boards based on the TMS340x chips.
Should I load this in AUTOEXEC.BAT, or just when I need it?
Some people are concerned about loading UniVBE in their AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
They are afraid that UniVBE might conflict with something or use a lot of
memory. You should think of UniVBE like you think of a mouse driver --
they are both low level drivers that cause negligible impact to the
system. Since UniVBE uses around 8K of RAM and can be loaded high, it
doesn't use up many system resources in the process either. SciTech
recommends installing UniVBE in your AUTOEXEC file so that VBE is
available to all of your applications.
What other products does SciTech make?
SciTech's other products are currently focused on applications developers.
We will be releasing other products such as UniVBE in the near future. Our
developers tools include the free SuperVGA Kit with source code for
writing programs compatible with VESA VBE. We also have a higher level
graphics library call MGL. This library will transparently use the
features of the hardware including VBE 2.0 and linear frame buffer
support.
Technical Support
If you are experiencing problems running UniVBE, please do the following:
1. Read through the following sections of this manual to see if
your problem has already been addressed:
. List of Supported Card (is yours on the list?)
. Troubleshooting
. Common Questions and Answers
2. Try running VBETest to determine if there is a bug in UniVBE.
. If VBETest Passes:
Since VBETest is a very comprehensive test of the VBE
interface, most likely there is a bug in the way that your
program uses the VESA VBE standard. You should contact your
software application vendor.
. Otherwise, If VBETest Fails
a.) Try checking the _Ignore Old BIOS_ parameter in the
UVCONFIG.EXE and re-generate the UNIVBE.DRV file. This
will allow UniVBE to ignore any bugs that may reside in
your VGA BIOS.
b.) Try running VBETest again and see if it passes this
time. If it does, your problems should be solved, if not,
please continue on:
3. Email or mail the file VBETEST.LOG to SciTech for further diagnosis
at the address below:
Internet: : support@scitechsoft.com
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
Phone : 916-894-8400
FAX : 510-208-8026
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
Appendix A:
Supported Hardware
Following are lists of the various hardware that UniVBE will work with.
Please note that this list refers to the actual chips being used, not a
board-level implementation. Thus you will not see any products from
Hercules or Orchid on the list, but their products are supported because
they use S3, Cirrus, Tseng, etc. chips.
NOTE TO HARDWARE VENDORS: If your product is not on this list and you
would like your product to be supported by SciTech Software and it's many
OEM's, please send us technical specifications and sample boards and we
can include support for your products in our future release. Call or email
support@scitechsoft.com for more information.
Graphics Chips -- Standard Support
. Acer Labs ALi CAT-32/64
. Ark Logic ARK1000VL, ARK1000PV, ARK2000PV
. Avance Logic AL2101/2201/2228/2301/2302/2364 SuperVGA
. Ahead V5000A, V5000B
. ATI Technologies 18800, 28800, Mach32, Mach64
. Chips & Technologies 82c45x, 655xx, 643x0 WinGine
. Cirrus Logic CL-GD62xx, 5402, 5422/4/6/8/9, 5430/4
. Cirrus Logic LCD CL-GD64xx
. Compaq IVGS/AVGA, QVision QV1024/1280
. Diamond Viper P9000+W5186/OAK87 VLB and PCI
. Everex Viewpoint, Viewpoint/NI, Viewpoint/TC
. Genoa Systems GVGA
. Hualon HMC86304/14
. IIT AGX-010/11/14/15/16/17
. Matrox MGA Atlas
. MXIC 86000/86010 SuperVGA
. NCR 77C20/21/22E/32BLT
. OAK Technologies OTI-037C/057/067/077/087
. Paradise/Western Digital PVGA1A, WD90C1x/2x/3x
. Primus 2000 SuperVGA
. RealTek RTG3103/3105/3106 SuperVGA
. S3 86c911/924/801/805/928/864/964/866/868/968/Trio32/Trio64
. Sierra Semiconductor Falcon/64
. Trident 88/8900/9x00/8900CL/8900D/9200CXr/9400CXi/9420DGi/9440AGi
. Tseng Labs ET3000, ET4000, ET4000/W32/W32i/W32p
. UMC 85c408/18
. Video7 VEGA, HT208/209/216
. Weitek 5086/5186/5286, P9100
Graphics Chips -- Linear Frame Buffer Support
. Acer Labs ALi CAT-64
. ARK Logic ARK1000/2000
. ATI Mach32
. ATI Mach64
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
. Avance Logic ALG2302+
. Chips & Tech 65530+, 64300+
. Cirrus Logic 5426+
. Compaq QVision 1024/1280
. S3 86c805+
. Sierra Falcon/64
. Trident 8900CL+
. Tseng Labs ET4000W32i+
. Paradise/Western Digital WD90C1x+
DAC Chips
. Normal 8 bit DAC
. Sierra SC11481/6/8 15 bit DAC
. Sierra SC11482/3/4 15 bit DAC
. Sierra SC11485/7/9 16 bit DAC
. Music MU9c4870 16 bit DAC
. ATI68830 16 bit DAC
. Generic 24 bit DAC
. Music MU9C1880 (SS2410) 24 bit DAC
. AT&T ATT 20c490 24 bit DAC
. AT&T ATT 20c491 24 bit DAC
. AT&T ATT 20c492/3,WinBond 82c490 24 bit DAC
. AT&T ATT 21c498 24 bit DAC
. Acumos ADAC1 24 bit DAC
. Sierra SC15020 24 bit DAC
. Sierra SC15021 24 bit DAC
. Sierra SC15025 24 bit DAC
. Sierra SC15026 24 bit DAC
. Sierra Falcon/64 Internal 24 bit DAC
. Cirrus Logic 24 bit DAC
. Music MU9c4910 24 bit DAC
. SGS/Inmos STG1700 24 bit DAC
. SGS/Inmos STG1702 24 bit DAC
. SGS/Inmos STG1703 24 bit DAC
. ICS GENDAC 24 bit DAC
. S3 86c716 (SDAC) 24 bit DAC
. S3 Trio Internal 24 bit DAC
. Trident TDK8001 or Internal 24 bit DAC
. Avance Logic ALG1201 24 bit DAC
. Avance Logic ALG1301 24 bit DAC
. UMC UM70c188 24 bit DAC
. Chrontel CH8398 24 bit DAC
. BrookTree Bt481 24 bit DAC
. BrookTree Bt482 24 bit DAC
. BrookTree Bt484 24 bit DAC
. BrookTree Bt485 24 bit DAC
. BrookTree Bt477 24 bit DAC
. AT&T ATT 20c504 24 bit DAC
. AT&T ATT 20c505 24 bit DAC
. TI TVP3020 24 bit DAC
. TI TVP3025 24 bit DAC
. TLC34075,ATI68875,Bt885 24 bit DAC
. TLC34076 24 bit DAC
. ATI68860,ATI68880 24 bit DAC
. C&T 643xx Internal 24 bit DAC
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
DAC Chips -- 320x and 360x 15/16 bit modes
The following is a list of RAMDAC's that currently support the new SciTech
low resolution 320x200/240/400 and 360x200/240/400 line 15 and 16 bits per
pixel video modes. We are currently working on supporting many more
RAMDAC's in the next release of UniVBE.
. Sierra SC1148x DAC
. Music MU9C1880 (SS2410) 24 bit DAC
. AT&T ATT 20c490/1/2/3 24 bit DAC
. Acumos ADAC1 24 bit DAC
. Sierra SC1502x 24 bit DAC
. Sierra Falcon/64 Internal 24 bit DAC
. Cirrus Logic 24 bit DAC
. Music MU9c4910 24 bit DAC
. SGS/Inmos STG170x 24 bit DAC
. ICS GENDAC 24 bit DAC
. Trident TDK8001 or Internal 24 bit DAC
. Avance Logic ALG1201/1301 24 bit DAC
. Chrontel CH8398 24 bit DAC
. C&T 643xx Internal 24 bit DAC
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
Known Bugs and Problems
This file documents known problems with the Universal VESA VBE. SciTech
Software have done their best to try to fix all known problems, but some
still persist and may well be limitations in the particular video
controller hardware and may not be fixable.
Generic Problems:
Virtual scrolling tests:
Many chips have hardware problems that cause the extended CRTC
scrolling functions to display erronous information when scrolled to
certain locations when a wide virtual buffer is enabled.
Because the virtual scrolling tests in SVTEST are done without
retrace enabled, horiztonal and virtual scrolling can cause
intermittant interferance causing the display to 'jump' from location
to location.This is normal.
320x200/240/400 8/15/16 bit SuperVGA video modes:
Because these modes are emulated using 640x480x256, on some chips if
you have the refresh for 640x480x256 set to a very high value, these
modes can get squished small vertically on non Multi-Scanning
monitors.
Chipset Specific Problems:
S3 chipsets
On the newer S3 Vision 864/964 and above chips, the CRT controller
causes massive interferences if displaying from the first Mb and
writing to the second. This occurs in VBETEST, in the virtual
scrolling tests while drawing the test image.
On the S3 86c805revP chip (Goldstar component) the 320x200/240/400
lines mode do not work so have been mapped out. We are searching for
a solution at the moment.
On the S3 86c805 (all revs) the 320x200/240/400 line modes do not
work with the linear buffer enabled, so the linear buffer is disabled
for these modes.
Cirrus Logic 64xx chipsets
The CL-GD64xx LCD controller chipsets cannot currently display past
256k in 16 color modes.
Western Digital WD90C33 chipsets
320x200/240/400 line 8 bit modes are not supported on this chip. We
are searching for a method that works (the other WD chips work,
except this one).
On cards with 2Mb, the linear framebuffer mode can only access the
first 1Mb of video memory. Hence it is disabled for this chip in 2Mb
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
configurations. If you wish to use the linear buffer, force UVCONFIG
to use only the first 1Mb of video memory.
Tseng Labs chipsets
ET3000 chips cannot display past 256Kb in 16 color video modes.
ET4000AX and ET4000/W32 chips do not support the linear framebuffer
(a hardware problem prevents it from working). The ET4000/W32iRevA
and above chips do however.
ET4000/W32pRevA&B chips do not support a linear framebuffer past 1Mb
(hardware problem). Hence on this chip, the linear buffer is disabled
if you have 2Mb video memory. To enable the linear buffer, force
UVCONFIG to configure the card with only 1Mb video memory.
Weitek P9000 chipsets
All P9000 chipsets do not support extended CRTC addressing and hence
cannot support double buffering as it is usually performed by VBE
1.2/2.0 applications. This is a hardware problem, and cannot be
solved (this includes the Diamond Viper). All P9000's boards (execpt
the Diamond Viper) do not have bank switching registers, so only the
W5x86 support chips can be used for SuperVGA support, resulting in a
lack of video memory and resolutions.
Weitek P9100 chipsets
All P9100 chipsets have built in Weitek 5286 SuperVGA support and can
address 1Mb of shared video memory between the native P9000 core and
the SVGA. However only 256 color modes are currently supported from
DOS, and for some reason the extended page flipping code does not
work properly.
ARK Logic ARK1000/2000PV
Currently UniVBE cannot display past 256k in the 16 color modes, so
paging causes problems in these modes.
Acer Labs AliCAT-64
Currently UniVBE cannot display past 256k in the 16 color modes, so
paging causes problems in these modes.
List of cards tested with UniVBE 5.1
Thoroughly tested by SciTech Software:
. Generic S3 ISA 1Mb (S3 86c911, Sierra SC11483 HiColor DAC)
. Actix GE32+ VLB 1Mb (S3 86c805revA/B, ATT 20c490 TrueColor DAC)
. Jayton VL-41 VLB 1Mb (S3 86c805revP, Chrontel CH8391 TrueColor DAC)
. Number Nine GXE64 VLB 2MB (S3 Vision 864, ATT 21c498 TrueColor DAC)
. Number Nine GXE64Pro PCI 2MB (S3 Vision 964, TI TVP3025 TrueColor
DAC)
. Diamond Stealth 64 DRAM 2Mb VLB (S3 Vision 864, ICS GENDAC TrueColor
DAC)
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
. Diamond Stealth 64 DRAM 2Mb PCI (S3 Trio764, built in TrueColor DAC)
. NCR 77C32BLT VLB 2Mb (ATT 20c490 TrueColor DAC)
. Cirrus Logic 5420 ISA 1Mb
. Cirrus Logic 5422 ISA 1Mb (Built in TrueColor DAC)
. Cirrus Logic 5424 ISA 1Mb (Built in TrueColor DAC)
. Cirrus Logic 5426 VLB 1Mb (Built in TrueColor DAC)
. Cirrus Logic 5428 VLB 2Mb (Built in TrueColor DAC)
. Cirrus Logic 5429 VLB 2Mb (Built in TrueColor DAC)
. Cirrus Logic 5430 VLB 2Mb (Built in TrueColor DAC)
. Cirrus Logic 5434 VLB 4Mb (Built in TrueColor DAC)
. Cirrus Logic 5434 PCI 2Mb (Built in TrueColor DAC)
. Cirrus Logic 6440 LCD 1Mb (Clone Laptop)
. Orchid Kelvin VLB 2Mb (Cirrus Logic 5434 Built in TrueColor DAC)
. Genoa GVGA 6400 ISA 512Kb
. Ahead V5000B ISA 512Kb
. Primus P2000 ISA 1Mb (ATT 20c491 TrueColor DAC)
. Hualon HMC86314 ISA 512Kb
. UMC UM86c418 ISA 512Kb (Sierra SC11483 HiColor DAC)
. Tseng Labs ET3000 ISA 512k
. Orchid Pro Designer II ISA 1Mb (Tseng Labs ET4000)
. Everex Viewpoint VRAM ISA 1Mb (Ev623 + Tseng ET4000AX)
. MegaEva/2 ISA 1Mb (ET4000 Sierra SC11486 HiColor DAC)
. MegaEva/32i/VL VLB 2Mb (ET4000/W32i, Winbond 82c490 TrueColor DAC)
. Tseng Labs VGA/32 PCI 2Mb (ET4000/W32p Rev C, STG1703 TrueColor DAC)
. Diamond Stealth 32 2Mb VLB (ET4000/W32pRevA, SGS STG1702 TrueColor
DAC)
. Video 7 VRAM ISA 512Kb (HT208)
. Headland VRAM 2 ISA 1Mb (HT209/D)
. Headland Win.VGA ISA 1Mb (HT216/F)
. ATI VGA Wonder ISA 512k (18800)
. ATI VGA Wonder ISA 512k (28800-5)
. ATI Graphics Ultra Pro VLB 2Mb (Mach32 68800-6, ATI68875 TrueColor
DAC)
. ATI Graphics Ultra Pro PCI 2Mb (Mach32 68800-6, ATI68875 TrueColor
DAC)
. ATI Graphics Pro Turbo VLB 4Mb (Mach64 88800-GX, ATI68860 TrueColor
DAC)
. ATI Graphics Xpression PCI 2Mb (Mach64 88800-GX, STG1702 TrueColor
DAC)
. Trident 8900CL ISA 1Mb
. Trident 9000A ISA 512Kb
. Trident 9000B ISA 512Kb
. Trident 9400CXi VLB 1Mb (Built in TrueColor DAC)
. Oak OTI-037C 512Kb
. Oak OTI-067 512Kb
. Oak OTI-077 512Kb/1Mb
. RealTek RTVGA 3106 ISA 1M
. Paradise VGA Plus Card ISA 256k (8 bit PVGA1A)
. Paradise ISA 256k (16 bit PVGA1A)
. Paradise Windows Accelerator ISA 1Mb (WD90C31 Sierra SC11483 HiColor
DAC)
. Cardex C33 VLB 2Mb (WD90C33 ATT 20c490 TrueColor DAC)
. Western Digital in Toshiba T4440C Laptop 512k (WD90C30)
. Dolch PIT Viper ISA 512k (C&T 65535)
. Spider 256 Cache VLB 1Mb/2Mb (C&T 64300, Internal 24 bit DAC)
. Boca Vortex ISA 1Mb (IIT AGX-014, SC15025 TrueColor DAC)
. Spider Black Widow Plus PCI 1Mb (IIT AGX-016, SC15021 TrueColor DAC)
. Sierra Falcon/64 PCI 2Mb (SC15064, built in TrueColor DAC)
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
. ARK Logic PCI 1Mb (ARK1000PV, UMC9591L (20c490 comp) TrueColor DAC)
. ALi CAT-64 PCI 2Mb (ALi M3145, STG1702 TrueColor DAC)
. Avance Logic ALG2228 VLB 1Mb (ALG1201 TrueColor DAC)
. Avance Logic ALG2301 PCI 2Mb (ALG1201 TrueColor DAC)
. Avance Logic ALG2302 PCI 2Mb (ALG1301 TrueColor DAC)
. GXA-9000 VLB 2Mb (Weitek P9000+5086, Bt486 TrueColor DAC)
. Diamond Viper VLB 2Mb (Weitek P9000+W5186, Bt485 TrueColor DAC)
. Diamond Viper VLB 2Mb (Weitek P9000+Oak87, Bt485 TrueColor DAC)
. Diamond Viper PCI 2Mb (Weitek P9000+Oak87, Bt485 TrueColor DAC)
. Diamond Viper SE 2Mb PCI (Weitek P9100, IBM RGB525 TrueColor DAC)
. Diamond Viper Pro Video 2Mb PCI (Weitek P9100, IBM RGB525 TrueColor
DAC)
. Compaq QVision/1280 ISA 2Mb (QVision 1280, Bt485 TrueColor DAC)
. Media Vision Pro Graphics 1024 - uses Cirrus Logic SuperVGA modes
. Media Vision Pro Graphics 1280 - uses only Standard VGA modes
. Matrox MGA Ultima Plus 4Mb VLB (MGA Atlas, TVP3020 RAMDAC)
Reported to work from UniVBE users:
. Actix GE32+ ISA 1Mb (S3 86c801, ATT 20c490 TrueColor DAC)
. UMC 85c408 512k with HiColor DAC
. HMC 86304 256k, 512k
. Trident 9000i 512k with HiColor DAC
. Trident 8900C 1Mb
. Trident 8900B 1Mb
. Trident 9000B 512k
. MXIC 86000 512k
. Avance Logic ALG2101 1Mb with HiColor DAC
. Oak OTI-077 1Mb
. Oak OTI-087 1Mb with HiColor DAC
. Oak OTI-067 256k
. Western Digital WD90c31 1Mb with TrueColor DAC (AT&T 20c492)
. Western Digital WD90c33 1Mb with TrueColor DAC (Sierra SC15025)
. NCR 77C22E 4Mb
. Tseng Labs ET4000AX 1Mb with TrueColor DAC (SS24)
. Tseng Labs ET4000/W32 1Mb with TrueColor DAC (AT&T 20c490)
. Tseng Labs ET4000/W32i 2Mb with TrueColor DAC (Sierra SC15025)
. Tseng Labs ET4000/W32i 1Mb with TrueColor DAC (Sierra SC15025)
. Tseng Labs ET3000AX 512k
. Primus P2000 2Mb with TrueColor DAC (AT&T 20c492)
. Acumos AVGA2 512k (actually a Cirrus 5421 equivalent chipset)
. Cirrus Logic 5420 512k with HiColor DAC
. ATI Graphics Ultra Pro 2Mb with TrueColor DAC (TI34075)
. Weitek 5186 256k (on a P9000 board)
. Western Digital WD90c24 1Mb with HiColor DAC
. Western Digital in Toshiba T6600 Laptop 512k (WD90C26A)
. RealTek RTG3105 512k
. Trident 9000B 512k
. Cirrus Logic 5426 2Mb
. Chips & Technologies 82c450 in Macintosh Quadra 800 with DOS card.
. STB WINDX ISA 1Mb (S3 86c911)
. Diamond Stealth VRAM ISA 1Mb (S3 86c924)
. Diamond Stealth 24 VLB 1Mb (S3 86c805 TrueColor DAC)
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
Appendix B:
VBE Compatible Applications
The following is a vastly incomplete list of products that use VBE
standards. We are trying to create a complete listing of VBE 2.0
applications so if you know of applications that support VBE that are not
on this list, please email the information to support@scitechsoft.com and
will include them on future updates.
Vendor Application
Access Software Links/386
Under a Killing Moon
AutoDesk AutoCAD Release 12
AutoShade
Animator
Animator Pro
Compton's Newmedia Songs from Bear
Country
Dyned Dynamic
English/Japanese/etc.
Electronic Arts NHL Hockey 95
Interplay The Sim City Series
Legend Deathgate
Entertainment
Maxis The SimCity CD ROM
Novell The WordPerfect
Series
Strategic
Simulations, Inc.
Time Warner Rise of the Robots
Interactive
Trilobyte The Seventh Guest
The Eleventh Hour
40
UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
Appendix C:
Developer Information
UniVBE Programming Information
For information about how to program to the UniVBE and the VESA VBE
standards in general, we suggest the following references:
. SuperVGA Kit
. SciTech MGL Graphics Library
. VESA VBE Spec (available directly from VESA at 408-435-0333)
Video Modes Supported by UniVBE
VBE 2.0 allows vendors to extend the video numbers to whatever values they
wish, so we have taken the liberty to extend the mode numbers used by the
UniVBE to include modes supported by a number of popular video cards on
the market as well as some new modes that we have created. Depending on
how well your applications have been written, they may or may not be able
to use those modes.
If you are a developer wishing to take advantage of these modes, please
consult the SuperVGA Kit (available from SciTech Software) for more
information and programming examples. When you are using VBE, it is best
to query the type of mode you want first (i.e. 800x600/256 color), find
out the mode number, then use that mode number as a tag to set the mode.
The video modes supported in UniVBE along with internal modes numbers used
by UniVBE are as follows:
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
List of UniVBE Mode Numbers
Color Resoluti Mode Colors Resoluti Mode
s on on
16 640x350 150 65,536 320x200 10E
16 640x400 151 65,536 320x240 132
16 640x480 152 65,536 320x400 133
16 800x600 102 65,536 360x200 134
16 1024x768 104 65,536 360x240 135
16 1280x102 106 65,536 360x400 136
4
16 1600x120 123 65,536 640x350 11F
0
256 320x200 153 65,536 640x400 120
256 320x240 154 65,536 640x480 111
256 320x400 155 65,536 800x600 114
256 360x200 156 65,536 1024x768 117
256 360x240 157 65,536 1280x102 11A
4
256 360x400 158 65,536 1600x120 126
0
256 640x350 11C 16M 320x200 10F
256 640x400 100 16M 320x240 137
256 640x480 101 16M 320x400 138
256 800x600 103 16M 640x350 121
256 1024x768 105 16M 640x400 122
256 1280x102 107 16M 640x480 112
4
256 1600x120 124 16M 800x600 115
0
32,76 320x200 10D 16M 1024x768 118
8
32,76 320x240 12D 16M 1280x102 11B
8 4
32,76 320x400 12E 16M 1600x120 127
8 0
32,76 360x200 12F 16M+A 640x350 142
8 *
32,76 360x240 130 16M+A 640x400 143
8 *
32,76 360x400 131 16M+A 640x480 128
8 *
32,76 640x350 11D 16M+A 800x600 129
8 *
32,76 640x400 11E 16M+A 1024x768 12A
8 *
32,76 640x480 110 16M+A 1280x102 12B
8 * 4
32,76 800x600 113 16M+A 1600x120 12B
8 * 0
32,76 1024x768 116
8
32,76 1280x102 119
8 4
32,76 1600x120 125
8 0
* 32 Bits Per Pixel
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
UniVBE also fully supports the 32 BPP video modes popular on the latest
video cards. These modes usually run much faster than the equivalent 24
bit modes, but take up considerably more memory (you need at least 2Mb to
run 640x480x32bit).
Hardware Limitations
Note however that even though UniVBE may support a particular video mode,
this mode will only be _valid_ if there is enough video memory installed,
and if the underlying video hardware can support it. UniVBE fully supports
the 640x350, 640x400 and 640x480 modes with 256/32k and 64k colors on all
video cards that have enough video memory, using proprietary emulation
techniques if the underlying video BIOS does not directly support it.
Extended Text Modes
UniVBE does not provide support for any of the extended text modes that
your video card may provide, but will provide support for any extended
text modes supported by an underlying VESA VBE compliant BIOS or TSR. Thus
if your video card already has a VBE compliant BIOS or you install your
vendor supplied VESA VBE TSR for your video card before installing UniVBE,
an automatic pass-through mechanism will be used to ensure the extended
text modes still work correctly.
Distribution Licensing Information
If you are the author of a freeware, shareware or commercial application
and wish to distribute a Shareware or Licensed copy of the Universal VESA
VBE with your package, you must purchase a Software License Agreement from
SciTech Software. The following conditions must also be met:
Please contact SciTech Software directly for Software Licensing
information
and pricing:
Licensing Department
SciTech Software USA
5 Governors Lane, Suite D
Chico, CA 95926
USA
Phone : (916) 894-8400
Fax : (510) 208 8026
Email : sales@scitechsoft.com
See the Software License Agreement at the beginning of this manual for
further Shareware Distribution information
43
UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
Appendix D:
Glossary
Bank Switching - Due to limitations of the PC architecture, application
software can only access the graphics memory in 64K banks. When the
software needs to change the image on the display, it must switch to the
bank of memory on the video card that contains the image that it wants
to change. Each graphic chip implements bank switching in a different
way, so VESA created the VBE Core standard to provide a common way to do
bank switching. Newer graphics chips fix this problem by implementing a
_linear frame buffer_ mode (see definition below).
BIOS - Basic Input Output System. This is the low level code that makes
the graphics card start up and operates correctly. It is normally stored
in a Read Only Memory chip on the graphics board and it can be upgraded
or supplemented to provide additional functionality with a program like
UniVBE.
BPP - Bits Per Pixel. It signifies how many colors can be displayed in a
particular video mode. 8BPP=256 colors, 15BPP=32,768 colors;
16BPP=64,5536 colors; 24BPP=16.7 million colors.
Color Depth - This refers to how many colors are being displayed. The
higher the color depth, the greater number of colors. The more colors,
the more memory is required on the graphics card. Generally, the higher
the color depth, the more realistic the image displayed.
DAC - Digital to Analog Converter. This is the chip that converts the
digital signals in the graphics chip to the analog signals that a
standard super VGA monitor requires. The DAC chip also generates all of
the colors for a graphics chip. Generally, the better the DAC, the more
colors you get.
Double Buffering - This is a programming technique that uses the fact that
most graphics cards have more memory on them then is actually used to
display an image. This extra, or _off screen_ memory can be used to
begin generating the next image that the user will instantanly see the
next frame. This way the user does not have to watch each frame get
rendered by the computer. This technique is used extensively in computer
games to produce flicker free animation.
DPMS - The VESA Display Power Management Signaling standard is the method
that a graphics controller signals to the display to power down. These
signals are generated differently on each graphics controller so VESA
also created a standard software interface (VBE/PM) so that screen
savers and operating systems wouldn't have to know about each graphics
chip just to set the mode.
Energy Star Computers Program - This is an effort organized in 1993, by
the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to encourage manufacturers
to create more energy conscious office products. VESA worked closely
with the EPA in creating the DPMS and VBE/PM standards so that computers
and displays could be the Energy Star requirements in a standard way.
Most, if not all, DPMS monitors are Energy Star compliant. To meet the
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
Energy Star guidelines a computer or display must use no more than 30
watts of electricity when idle.
Frame Buffer - This is the memory where a computer image is stored. This
memory is usually located on the graphics card and is completely
separate from the computer system's main memory. When you are looking at
an image displayed on a computer screen, you are actually viewing the
image stored in the frame buffer.
Linear Frame Buffer - This is a high performance replacement for bank
switching whereby all of the graphics memory can be accessed in one
contiguous block of memory. In order to use linear frame buffer mode, a
graphics chip must support it, must be running VBE 2.0 or other
specialized driver and must be running in protected mode. This is
because the computer will map the graphics memory into the system memory
address space. In order to do this, it must have access to more than the
640K that it would get in _real mode_.
Paging - Another term for _bank switching_ (see above definition).
Pixels - A pixel is an individual dot of light that the graphics card can
turn on or off or change the color of. A monitor can display many
thousands of pixels. The more pixels, the more defined a computer image
becomes. Generally, as the number of pixels displayed increased, the
performance of the computer reduces, thus many computer games run in
lower resolutions with a higher (more realistic) color depth.
Protected Mode - Normally a PC can access 640K of RAM. By going into
protected mode, software has full access to all of the memory in a
computer system. The problem with protected mode is that when running in
protected mode, the software no longer has access to some of the
computers resources. This is why VBE 2.0 was created; software can jump
down to _real mode_ get the information from VBE and switch back to
protected mode. Before VBE 2.0, an application had to do that each time
that it wanted to access the graphics card. With VBE 2.0, it only has to
do it at initialisation time, so VBE 2.0 is much faster then earlier
versions of VBE.
Real Mode - This is the opposite of protected mode. In this mode of
operation, a software application can only access 640K of RAM. If an
application runs in real mode, it can only access the graphics card
using bank switching. In order to access VBE, an application must be in
real mode, therefore protected mode applications will switch to real
mode, access VBE, then switch back to protected mode to continue
executing. With VBE 2.0, this only has to happen at initisalisation
time.
Resolution - This refers to the number of pixels that are displayed on the
screen. For instance, 1024x768 means that 1024 pixels are display across
and 768 pixels are displayed down for a total of 786,432 pixels.
ROM - Read Only Memory. This is a chip where the BIOS is stored on a
graphics card.
SVGA - Super VGA. The original IBM Video Graphics Array, or VGA card had
limited ability to display graphics. Quickly, other manufactures
enhanced the original design of IBM's VGA, while still maintaining
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
compatibility with IBM's original VGA card. These enhanced cards have
come to be known collectively as _Super VGA_ cards.
Thunk - This is when an application changes from protected mode back to
real mode. Thunking will slow down an application considerably. By
minimizing thunking, VBE 2.0 will dramatically increase the performance
of a graphics application.
TSR - Terminate and Stay Resident program. This is a program that runs,
loads itself into memory and then allows the user to run other programs.
TSR have gotten a bad name because many early applications tried to be
TSRs and they conflicted with many other applications. Low level drivers
like UniVBE or mouse drivers are also TSRs. Since they operate at a very
low level, they seldom if ever conflict with applications (as a matter
of fact applications run better with these TSRs!)
VBE - VESA BIOS Extension. This is an extension of the BIOS defined in the
original IBM VGA card. VESA added new functionality to the BIOS to
provide software developers access to new features that have been added
to SVGA cards. There are several VBE module that address new features
that have been added over the years.
VBE/PM - VESA BIOS Extension/Power Management - This is a module of VBE
that allows applications to issue standard calls to a SVGA card to power
down the monitor. VBE/PM allows operating system and application vendors
a standard interface to control the monitor. Without VBE/PM a screen
saver would be required to write special software for every graphic card
on the market.
VESA - The Video Electronics Standards Association is an organization that
was formed in 1989 to standardise graphics and display hardware and
device interfaces. It has over 200 member companies from the display,
graphics chip, graphics board, system and software companies. They can
be reached at: Video Electronics Standards Association, 2150 North First
Street, Suite 440, San Jose, CA 95131. (408) 435-0333, (408) 435-8225
FAX
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
Appendix E:
VESA Software Standards Overview
In order for you to better understand the features that UniVBE gives you,
it is helpful to provide a brief overview of the various VESA standards
that are relevant to UniVBE. Since all of the software interface
specifications are built into the BIOS of the graphics card, they are all
modules of the VESA BIOS Extension (VBE) standard.
VESA BIOS Extensions (VBE Core) 2.0 - This standard provides the primary
functionality of the VESA BIOS Extensions. It allows applications to find
out the capabilities of the graphics card and the ability to set the
display modes that it finds. VBE 2.0 adds some new features above the
prior VBE 1.2 standard including linear frame buffer access and protected
mode banking. With VBE 2.0, many new graphics boards will be able to be
supported in their relatively high performance modes. Some of the VBE Core
2.0 features include:
. Linear Frame Buffer Access. This allows the frame buffer to be
accessed directly in protected mode as one large area of memory
instead of in individual chunks.
. Protected Mode Banking. This allows access to the frame buffer from
protected mode with out _thunking_ down to real mode, thus slowing
the computer down.
. SuperVGA double buffering. Allows high performance animation to
provide for smooth animation for computer games and other high
performance graphics programs.
. SuperVGA virtual screens. Programs may set up a huge virtual display
resolutions, and smoothly scroll a window with less physical
resolution around within this buffer.
. High Color Modes. Support for the 32,000, 64,000 and 16.7 million
color video modes. As well as supporting the industry standard 16 and
256 color video modes for resolutions from 320x200 right up to
1600x1200.
VESA Display Power Management (DPMS) 1.0 - DPMS is a hardware standard
that allows graphics card cards to communicate with DPMS compliant
monitors via a special signaling system that can be used with existing
graphics controllers and monitor cables. This signaling system allows the
video card to tell the monitor to go into a number of different power
management or power saving states, which effectively allow the monitor to
turn itself off when it is not in use. The primary benefit of this is
dramatically decreased (up to 90%!) power consumption when your computer
is sitting idle, thus saving both energy and money.
There are four power management states. Each of the different states
provides a tradeoff between power consumption and recovery time (the time
it take before you can see the picture again!). The following table
outlines the currently defined power management states, and how they
relate to each other. Also included are some ballpark figures for power
consumption and recovery times, but you should consult the documentation
that comes with your video monitor for more accurate figures:
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
VESA DPMS Monitor Modes
State Power Recovery Notes
Time
On 100% N/A Normal use
Standb < 80% ~1 sec Minimal power reduction
y (optional)
Suspen < 30 ~4 secs Substantial power reduction
d watts
Off < 5 ~8-20 secs Lowest level or power - non
watts operational
VESA BIOS Extensions/Power Management (VBE/PM) 1.0 - Once VESA created the
DPMS standard for the electronic signal between the graphics card and the
display, they realized that since DPMS is enabled differently on each
graphics card, they needed to have a standard interface so that software
and operating systems could control the signaling. They created VBE/Power
Management for this purpose. The way it works is that a screen saver or
operating system (such as Windows 95) makes a VBE/PM call to the graphics
card. When the graphics card receives a VBE/PM function call, it then
generates the DPMS signals to the monitor. This way, the application never
has to know exactly how the graphics card generates those signals, it just
make the VBE/PM calls and lets the graphics card handle it. Since VBE/PM
is a relatively new standard, many older graphics cards do not support it.
UniVBE automatically provides support for VBE/PM on all supported graphics
cards.
Other VESA Software Standards and Proposals
VBE/Display Data Channel (VBE/DDC) 1.0 - This is the software interface to
the _plug and play_ monitor interface standard. It allows a graphics
controller to determine what kind of display is connected so that it can
configure itself correctly -- all without any intervention from the user.
VBE/Audio Interface (VBE/AI) - This is a VESA software standard for audio,
similar to VBE Core that allows software to control audio hardware without
having to write special drivers for every card on the market. Since it
insulates the software vendor from worrying about interrupts, it is
crucial for compatibly with the forthcoming plug and play compatible
systems. These new systems will be able to switch interrupts on the fly
and will cause software with hard coded interrupts to fail. The pending
VBE/AI 2.0 standard will support protected mode access to the audio
hardware.
VBE/Accelerator Functions (VBE/AF) - This is a proposal within the VESA
Software Standards Committee to standardize common acceleration functions
available on most hardware today. Some of the functions that are being
considered for the standard are access to hardware cursors, Bit Block
Transfers (BIT BLT), off screen sprites, hardware panning, drawing and
other functions. This proposal has the potential to dramatically increase
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
the baseline performance of games, operating systems and other
applications.
VBE/Graphics Configuration (VBE/GC) - This proposal will allow
applications, utility software and operating systems a standardized way to
set numerous parameters of a graphics controller to optimize it with the
display. One of the purposes of the specification will be to allow the
user to change the refresh rates generated by the graphics card to better
match the installed display and user preferences.
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
Appendix F:
Order/Product Feedback Forms
Order/Registration Form
SciTech Software ___/___/___
5 Governors Lane, Suite D MM/DD /YY
Chico, CA 95926 USA
Toll free/Phone/Fax: 800-4UNIVBE/916-894-8400/510-208-8026
PLEASE PRINT OR TYPE CLEARLY!
Name:
__________________________________________________________________
Company:
_______________________________________________________________
Address:
_______________________________________________________________
__________________________________Zip/Postal
Code______________
______________________________________ Country
________________
Phone: ___________________________________ Fax:
_______________________
Email:
_________________________________________________________________
Register product(s) to: [ ] Company [ ] Individual
Pay By: [ ] Check (USA only) [ ] Money Order [ ] Credit Card
Credit Card Orders: MasterCard / Visa / American Express(circle one):
Card Number ___________________________________ Expires ___/___
Exact name on card (print) ____________________________________
SHIPPING CHARGES: If a disk & manual are ordered from outside of the
USA, the shipping charge is US$8 and will be delivered via airmail.
For orders within the USA, the shipping charge is US$4. Orders without
disk & manual will receive a receipt and registration code via airmail
for no additional shipping charge.
Price List Cost Qty Price
------------------ ------------------ ----- --- ------
Upgrade from UniVBE/Pro 4.x (registered) US$16* ___ $ ______
50
UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
UniVBE/Pro 5.x US$28* ___ $ ______
Manual + Disk [ ] 3.5" [ ] 5.25" US$10 ___ $ ______
*Includes all 5.x upgrades (available online)
Subtotal: $ ______
CA residents add 7.25% sales tax: $ ______
Shipping Charges (See above for amount!): $ ______
Total Enclosed: $ ______
I have read and agree to abide by the enclosed license agreement and I
agree to be bound by my credit card agreement.
(Signature required)
________________________________________________
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UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
Product Feedback Form
By taking a moment or two to fill out this form, you will enable us to
serve you better in the future:
1. Where did find our program (please list forum/library or location
downloaded)?
[ ] America Online __________________
[ ] Compuserve ____________________
[ ] Internet ______________________
[ ] BBS ____________________
[ ] Other (Please specify) ___________________
2. Which version of our software did you receive?
3. What type of board/chip do you have? __________________
4. What feature(s) do you like the best about our software?
5. Which applications that you are using UniVBE with?
6. Do you have any comments or suggestions for future versions?
52
UniVBE 5.1 Users Guide
Index
386 Memory Managers, 25
Bank Switching, 40
BIOS, 1, 2, 11, 20, 25, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43
Command Line Parameters, 21, 22
DAC, 30, 40
DPMS, 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 40, 42, 43
Frame Buffer, 40
Installation, 5, 7, 8
Licensing, 39
Registering, 8
Technical Support, 27
Troubleshooting, 24
UniCenter, 2, 18, 19
UniPower, i, 7, 10, 16
UNIVBE.INI, 19, 22
VBE/AF, 43
VBE/AI, 43
VBE/DDC, 43
VBE/GC, 43
VBETest, 11, 27
53