🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <Bzp9Av.4FF@cantua.canterbury.ac.nz> cameron@cosc.canterbury.ac.nz writes:

>
>Do you have a dual display working on a 486 under
>windows ?
>
>I can get a Herc card and mono monitor working in my 486
>together with main VGA display card and monitor. Turbo
>Debugger uses it fine... BUT the whole windows environment
>is slowed down (screen updates) when the herc card is
>in place, also problems with the hard disk controller..
>
>I've got  DualDisplay=1 in my system.ini..and the herc card
>is a recent model.  The machine isn't slowed down in normal
>DOS mode.. 
>
>SO what do I need to do to get the second display working
>on the 486 ?  I've been through all available windows and
>Turbo C docs.. but the only setting I could find was
>the "dualdisplay=1" - make no difference..
>
>The vga card is a ET4000 is 1Mg RAM.. Machine is 33Mz TP
>486
>
>Thanks
>Cameron.
>
>
>

The reason for this slowdown is simple.  If you have an 8-bit secondary
video card in your machine - which ALL mono card are - then the primary
colour video card is *also* forced into 8-bit mode.  As you've discovered,
8-bit access to a video card makes Windows s-l-o-w.

There's absolutely no way around this - it's just the way the AT bus
works, unfortunately.  If you must have dual displays, the only thing you
could do (if you're rich!) is have an 8514/a card such as an ATI Ultra
as your primary display, and 16-bit VGA as secondary.

Personally, I live with CodeView on a single monitor.  Not too bad, once
you get used to it.

Chris
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| Chris Marriott                           | chris@chrism.demon.co.uk    |
| Warrington, UK                           | BIX: cmarriott              |
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