🚀 go-pugleaf

In article: <01bc2c93$2281fc50$5cee989e@ganesh>  "robin" 
<robin@cryogen.com> writes:
> 
> 
> 
> Richard Ashton <news@corixia.demon.co.uk> wrote in article
> <857877290snz129.os2.7@corixia.demon.co.uk>...
> > In article <01bc2c36$29106e10$5cee989e@ganesh> 
robin@cryogen.com "robin"
> writes:
> > 
> > } This explains the problems I've been having!
> > }
> > } Has anyone tried contacting Matrox about this?
> > 
> > Have you read and implemented the readme.nt ?
> > 
> 
> I don't seem to have this file.  Where is it?  File find couldn't find any
> files with this name, and there wasn't any such file in the Matrox 
archive.
> 
> Could you send me a copy?
The reason you don't have this file, is that with the latest drivers, 
Matrox accepted complaints from quite a lot of users who had never 
found the file, because '.nt' wasn't a standard 'text' extension, and have 
now re-named it 'readme.txt'. It has been included with every driver set 
for the last few years for this OS (3.x and up).
The following is the 'bit' of the file covering the registry settings, but the 
newest drivers do not need these, since there is now a set of 'tick 
boxes' in the 'MGA Settings' 'Advanced' 'Performance' window, to 
control these features. 'UserSynchroniseEngine' is the one that gives 
most problems. 

Registry settings (for advanced users only) 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
Information held in the Windows NT registry can have a direct effect on 
the 
whole system.  Introducing incorrect values can cause serious 
problems and 
may make it necessary to reinstall Windows NT.  The changes outlined 
below 
should have effects limited to the Matrox Millennium/Mystique drivers.  
However, if you accidentally modify values that make your system 
unusable, 
please note that it is often possible to undo the damage by using the 
'Last Known Good Configuration' option at boot time.  It is also possible 
to save a copy of your registry settings prior to any modification. 
 
The configuration of the MGA Windows NT driver and of MGA 
PowerDesk is saved 
in the registry.  The most important parameters can be modified 
through the 
MGA PowerDesk, but others can be accessed only through the Registry 
Editor. 
Most users will find that the default values are best for their system. 
However, specific problems will be solved through these switches.  The 
values are: 
 
User.AlternateLines when set to 1, allows lines defined by integer 
coordinates
                    to be drawn using the faster AUTOLINE opcode of the 
                    drawing engine.  The convention used to determine which 
                    pixels contribute to a given line is slightly different 
                    in AUTOLINE and in Windows NT.  Setting AlternateLines 
                    to 1 trades off compliance with the Windows NT 
conventions 
                    for performance.  A value of 0 will enforce compliance. 
                    Lines defined by non-integer endpoint coordinates are not 
                    affected by this setting. 
 
                    The default value of User.AlternateLines is 0. 
 
User.CenterDialogs  has no effect on Windows NT 4.0. 
 
                    The default value of User.CenterDialogs is 0. 
 
User.ComplexBlt     when set to 1, allows the hardware to accelerate 
some 
                    complex raster operations (ROPs) by executing a 
sequence 
                    of simple ROPs (ORing, ANDing, etc...).  A value of 0 
                    will result in complex ROPs being performed in software. 
 
                    The complex ROPs are performed directly on the display 
                    through a succession of simple ROPs.  Artifacts (flashing) 
                    in the target display area may become visible when an 
                    intermediate result in video RAM is displayed on a given 
                    refresh cycle, to be replaced by the final image on the 
                    next cycle. 
 
                    The default value of User.ComplexBlt is 1. 
 
User.DeviceBitmaps  when set to 1, allows use of off-screen memory for 
                    caching bitmaps.  This will allow the hardware to 
                    accelerate drawing to bitmaps.  A value of 0 disables 
                    bitmap caching, allowing the CPU to draw onto all 
                    bitmaps.  Bitmap caching is internally disabled when 
                    a desktop requiring more than one card is in use, 
                    regardless of the registry setting. 
 
                    The default value of User.DeviceBitmaps is 1. 
 
User.EnableUSWC     when set to 1, allows direct frame buffer access to 
use 
                    the Write Combining feature of the Pentium Pro processor. 
                    Setting this value to 0 may result in slightly lower 
                    performance. 
 
                    The default value of User.EnableUSWC is 1. 
 
User.MgaInfoFile    when set to 1, allows use of the MGA PowerDesk to 
                    control refresh rates.  A value of 0 will allow all 
                    available refresh rates to be listed. 
 
                    The default value of User.MgaInfoFile is 1. 
 
User.SynchronizeDac when set to 1, will require the driver to wait for a 
                    vertical sync before programming the ramdac with a new 
                    pointer shape or a new palette.  If you notice stray 
                    pixels flashing around the pointer, setting this flag 
                    to 1 might fix the problem.  Setting it to 0 will result 
                    in slightly better performance. 
 
                    The default value of User.SynchronizeDac is 0. 
 
User.SynchronizeEngine when set to 1, will require the driver to wait 
for 
                    the Millennium hardware to be ready to accept new data 
                    before programming the next operation.  Setting it to 0 
                    will result in better performance. 
 
                    On most x86-based systems, the PCI logic should ensure 
                    that such a check is redundant.  If you're experiencing 
                    problems that might be related to timing (with 
                    communication programs, for instance), setting this value 
                    to 1 may be of help. 
 
                    The default value of User.SynchronizeEngine is 0. 
 
Modifying keys and values in the registry is done through the Registry 
Editor.  The Registry Editor can be invoked in the following way: 
 
      - Use Start/Run..., or open a Command Prompt window, and type 
        'regedt32'.  Alternately, from the Windows NT Explorer, go to 
        SystemRoot\system32 and double-click on Regedt32.  The Registry 
        Editor will come up. 
 
To examine or to modify the values that govern the behavior of the 
Matrox 
Millennium/Mystique driver: 
 
      - Select the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE window. 
 
      - Travel down to the key named: 
        
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\mga64\De
vice0. 
 
You will find the values in the right window pane.  To modify any of 
them: 
 
      - Double-click on the selected value. 
 
      - In the DWORD Editor, change the value to '0' or '1'.  The new 
value 
        will take effect the next time you reboot. 
 
PowerDesk settings are kept under the key: 
        
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MGACtrl 
and its subkeys.

Best Wishes

-- 
--------------------------------------------------------------------
| EMail roger@ttelmah.demon.co.uk  http://www.ttelmah.demon.co.uk/ |
| A beard! A beard! cried Fly Nicholas.'By God, that's a good one!'|
| (Chaucer)                                                        |