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Article #15215

Something Peculiar in 32K color mode of SVGA?

#15215
From: Mark Boyd
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 21:01
74 lines
3992 bytes
When I first got my Diamond Speedstar 24X, I installed it, in Windows
3.1, for 800x600x32K. When I tried to run it in that mode, the Windows
screen (not the banner or the winspeed driver announce screen - they
were OK) would briefly display and then, in much less than .1 second,
fade to black. Windows would be running OK, but with no video display.

I discovered, by chance, that a simpler boot disk (fewer TSRs) would
'fix' this problem, but I was unable to determine exactly what
sequence of events was necessary to create it. Moreover, I couldn't
get it working with the TSRs I wanted. I also determined that the
800x600x256 color mode was about 5 times as fast (!), So I forgot
about the 32K mode. Later, after making other, unrelated changes in my
startup files, I found that the 32K mode working again.  Wierd, but
then PC memory management is, at best, wierd.

Recently another person, KenHwee Tan at National University of
Singapore, posted an inquiry about a similar problem (800x600x32K
fading to black as soon as it comes up, other 800x600 modes work
fine), with an ET4000/RAMDAC based svga card. I've exchange several
mail messages with him about it. 

His problem seems to be monitor related, as it goes away after the
monitor warms up for half an hour.  I have an extensive technical
background (PhD in Physics and I had my 1st Class Radio license back
when it meant something), but I'm mystified as to what is going on
here. Also I'm curious. 

If you've have experienced this problem, or, better yet, know what the
cause is, please send me email. If there is significant response, I'll
summarize to the net. Thanks,

		Mark 
		boyd@cs.unca.edu
Subject: Something Peculiar in 32K color mode of SVGA?
Newsgroups: comp.periphs sci.electronics comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Organization: University of North Carolina at Asheville
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Summary: 
Keywords: 
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL3

When I first got my Diamond Speedstar 24X, I installed it, in Windows
3.1, for 800x600x32K. When I tried to run it in that mode, the Windows
screen (not the banner or the winspeed driver announce screen - they
were OK) would briefly display and then, in much less than .1 second,
fade to black. Windows would be running OK, but with no video display.

I discovered, by chance, that a simpler boot disk (fewer TSRs) would
'fix' this problem, but I was unable to determine exactly what
sequence of events was necessary to create it. Moreover, I couldn't
get it working with the TSRs I wanted. I also determined that the
800x600x256 color mode was about 5 times as fast (!), So I forgot
about the 32K mode. Later, after making other, unrelated changes in my
startup files, I found that the 32K mode working again.  Wierd, but
then PC memory management is, at best, wierd.

Recently another person, KenHwee Tan at National University of
Singapore, posted an inquiry about a similar problem (800x600x32K
fading to black as soon as it comes up, other 800x600 modes work
fine), with an ET4000/RAMDAC based svga card. I've exchange several
mail messages with him about it. 

His problem seems to be monitor related, as it goes away after the
monitor warms up for half an hour.  I have an extensive technical
background (PhD in Physics and I had my 1st Class Radio license back
when it meant something), but I'm mystified as to what is going on
here. Also I'm curious. 

If you've have experienced this problem, or, better yet, know what the
cause is, please send me email. If there is significant response, I'll
summarize to the net. Thanks,

		Mark 
		boyd@cs.unca.edu
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Message-ID: <1992Dec23.210153.27731@cs.unca.edu>
Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!sparky!uunet!gatech!concert!fletcher!boyd

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Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!sparky!uunet!gatech!concert!fletcher!boyd
From: boyd@cs.unca.edu (Mark Boyd)
Subject: Something Peculiar in 32K color mode of SVGA?
Message-ID: <1992Dec23.210153.27731@cs.unca.edu>
Organization: University of North Carolina at Asheville
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL3
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 21:01:53 GMT
Lines: 76