cem@ihlpf.ATT.COM (Malloy) (03/15/88)
Yesterday I received an Orchid Technology Designer Video Graphic
Array (VGA) card. Here is what happened when I installed it.
The first thing that I did was to open the box and remove all of the
documentation that was there. I then read all of it. This probably the
single most important step. Next, I read it all again. (This was partly due
to the fact that the system was in use for the purpose that I bought the AT&T
6386 WGS for in the first place - Desk Top Publishing.)
The first thing that I did was to remove the current video card (an
AT&T VDC400) and the monochrome monitor (a Xerox monitor). Next I double-
checked the switches on the VGA card to make sure that they were set for the
type of monitor that I own. Once that was accomplished, I plugged the card
into the left-most slot. This is an 8-bit slot, that the documentation
recommended be used. Finally, I connected the Zenith 1490 Flat Screen Color
Monitor to the card.
The only thing left to do was to power the system up and install the
software. Right? Wrong!
I powered up the system and stared at a blank screen. After what
seemed like an eternity, something happened. The system accessed the floppy
drives and then the hard disk. The system was running fine except for one
minor problem, there was still nothing on the display. I called "Tech
Support" at Orchid. They suggested that I change the position on the switch
on the motherboard for the "monitor type". I said that there was no switch,
the AT&T 6386 WGS keeps all "switch" information in CMOS. It is changeable
through the "SETUP" program. He then suggested that I remove the new monitor
and card, and put the old monitor and card back in the system and run the
"SETUP" program and set the monitor type to "EGA". The manual indicates that
this is possible, so I tried it. After I got the system back with the old
equipment, I ran "SETUP" and found (much to my surprise) that the only
monitor types listed were <40 column color> and <80 column color>, no "EGA".
The people at Orchid were very helpful. They said that they would check with
some of their sources and that I should do the same. I placed two phone
calls. The first was to the VAR that I bought the system from. By this time
the service people at the VAR were gone (it was around six at night). The
second call was to a friend (Hi George). He suggested that I disconnect the
batteries. This made perfect sense, since the batteries are the only thing
that keeps the system from "blowing it's little mind". I removed the leads
from the motherboard and waited about 10 minutes for the CMOS to clear. Then
I installed the VGA card and Flat Screen monitor again and reattached the
leads to the CMOS.
POWER ON! The monitor comes to life! {Joy!} Another problem
appears. {Depression!} The screen is filled with "."'s and ","'s. The real
characters are almost legible. At this point I figured that I might be able
to get the CMOS set and that would clear the extra characters. I run the
"SETUP" program and set everything to what I believe is correct and reset the
system. I still have the extra characters.
I have only one more idea. I removed all of the cards in the system
except Memory, Disk Controller and VGA. Power up, again! IT WORKS! No
extra characters!
My last chore was to find the offending card. I put every card back
in, one at a time.
Mouse card. O.K.
Game card. O.K.
Music card. O.K.
Scanner card. BINGO!
Get out the hardware reference manual for the scanner card, and check
the addressing. The card is set to C400. The VGA card uses this address.
Set scanner to DC00 and replace it in the system. Final power on? Yes!
Everything is working, mouse, scanner, joystick and most of all the Flat
Screen Color Monitor looks great.
The moral of the story is:
If you have an AT&T 6386 WSG and you are installing a VGA card to replace an
AT&T video card, do two things.
1. Remove the batteries from the CMOS and let it "blow it's little mind".
(This takes about 5 or 10 minutes.)
and
2. Re-address any addressable cards (like scanners) so that the address
does not fall within the A000-C800 range.
--
____ _______ _____ _______ ------- Clancy Malloy
/ __ \ |__ __| / _ \ |__ __| -====------ Unix System Administrator
| (__) | | | \ \ \_\ | | -======------ ...!ihlpf!cem
| __ | | | / \ __ | | --====------- IH 4A-245 x3946
| | | | | | | (\ / / | | ----------- AT&T Bell Labs
|_| |_| |_| \_____/ |_| ------- Naperville, IL