[comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc] Problems with TVGA 256 colours. SUMMARY

edwin@ccu1.aukuni.ac.nz (Ng) (11/29/90)

I had several suggestions on what's wrong with my TVGA card and even
more requests for a summary.  It seems that my problem is very 
common all over the world and I think it must be a design fault.

I still haven't got a homemade solution to my problem because most
of the suggestions require access to other equipment which I need
to buy, borrow or beg.

Anyway here is a brief summary for all those who are waiting for it.
I thought that I should post this before I leave for the summer 
holidays here.  I shall be away for 2 months so if you send me mail
don't expect a reply soon.

Suggestions to the source of the problem:
(You will have to figure how to solve it yourself, sorry)

1.  Wrong frequency crystal.
>It turns out some TVGA are shipped with a low frequency crystal. 
>You can't get 640*400*256 and 640*480*256 out of them. 
>I think you need a crystal of 44MHz, not 40MHz.

2.  Old Trident 8600 chipset instead of the new 8800.  Most new drivers
are written for the 8800.

3.  Old incompatible BIOS on the card itself.

4.  Dip switch or jumper settings are wrong.

5.  Need to full multi-sync instead of the cheap dual-sync monitor
to get the full 640x480x256c.  Either change the card or get a much
more expensive monitor.

That's all I have so far.  Thanks to all who contributed.

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* Edwin Ng                                          *
* E&E Engineering, University of Auckland           *
* Private Bag, Auckland                             *
* NEW ZEALAND                                       *
*                                                   *
* Fax: 64 9 366 0702                                *
* E-mail: edwin@ccu1.aukuni.ac.nz                   *
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