graphics card/video card. which?

[jarrad m]

hello,,
i looked for graphic/video card groups, but couldnt find any which
seemed like the right place... and seeing as how my problem is also
win98se related,, i decided to post here.

a friend brought a vid/graphic card over here, (which is it? vid or
graphic?)
and he wanted me to d/l the drivers for it as he isnt on the net.
(he bought the card from 'his' buddy cheap... no drivers though.)

i decided that i would d/l the drivers and now have them on my 98se
machine, but am wondering how i should go about intalling them after
i put his card in??
basically, i am just wanting to try out his card for the hellavit.. but i am
worried about what actually happens during this process. ?

i am worried because i dont know what is the correct procedure to do
something like this......
in other words,, i just want to quickly put his card in, load the drivers,
mess around with my computer while checking out how his card works..
and then,,, take the card out, and put mine back in.. i dont know how
to swap drivers back and forth, and in what manner it should be done.

thank you for help.
James

 

[Buffalo]

jarrad m wrote:
> hello,,
> i looked for graphic/video card groups, but couldnt find any which
> seemed like the right place... and seeing as how my problem is also
> win98se related,, i decided to post here.
>
> a friend brought a vid/graphic card over here, (which is it? vid or
> graphic?)
> and he wanted me to d/l the drivers for it as he isnt on the net.
> (he bought the card from 'his' buddy cheap... no drivers though.)
>
> i decided that i would d/l the drivers and now have them on my 98se
> machine, but am wondering how i should go about intalling them after
> i put his card in??
> basically, i am just wanting to try out his card for the hellavit..
> but i am worried about what actually happens during this process. ?
>
> i am worried because i dont know what is the correct procedure to do
> something like this......
> in other words,, i just want to quickly put his card in, load the
> drivers, mess around with my computer while checking out how his card
> works..
> and then,,, take the card out, and put mine back in.. i dont
> know how to swap drivers back and forth, and in what manner it
> should be done.
>
> thank you for help.
> James

Well, basically you uninstall the drivers for your present card (through
Add-Remove), shut down, switch cards, reboot and don't let the OS install
the drivers during bootup. Install them once you are at the Desktop. Most
drivers will install by just clicking on the new driver that you downloaded.
Again, it all depends on what OS you're using, the brand of video card
(graphic card) that is on the computer, and the brand of card you are going
to install.
If your present computer has a video card (adapter) built into the
motherboard, then you have to go into the BIOS to disable it.
If your present computer is using an AGP card and the new card is also AGP,
then you don't have to go into the BIOS. Same if both are PCI-e cards.
If you have an Nvidia based card, go the the mfg website to see how to
uninstall and install their drivers.
If it is an ATI based card, go to the mfg website to see how to uninstall
and install their drivers.
On some, you have to uninstall the vid control center first, before
uninstalling the vid drivers.
There are other methods which ensure more complete removal of old drivers
and proper installing of new ones.

 

[Buffalo]

Buffalo wrote:
[snip]
> Again, it all depends on what OS you're using, [snip]

I now see that it is Win98SE.
Be aware that when you remove the old drivers, the Desktop will have large
icons and poor resolution (640x480 until you install the drivers for the
'video graphic adapter card', ie: vid card).

See: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/131806

Again, different vid card mfg have different ways to install their drivers.
The following was for the old TNT drivers:

file:///C:/@ndrewfaq/drivers_and_bios/body_drivers_and_bios.html

 

[Buffalo]

Buffalo wrote:
> Buffalo wrote:
> [snip]
>> Again, it all depends on what OS you're using, [snip]
>
> I now see that it is Win98SE.
> Be aware that when you remove the old drivers, the Desktop will have
> large icons and poor resolution (640x480 until you install the
> drivers for the 'video graphic adapter card', ie: vid card).
>
> See: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/131806
>
> Again, different vid card mfg have different ways to install their
> drivers. The following was for the old TNT drivers:
>
>




1 - How do I completely remove my old drivers from my system before
loading new ones?

2 - Do I need to flash my video card's bios?

3 - What should my motherboard bios settings read?

4 - What should my AGP apperture by set to?

5 - My 2D performance seems sluggish with the 1.88 Nvidia drivers how
do I fix it?

6 - What should I set my AGP divider to in my motherboard bios?

7 - I boot my computer and evrything appears to be dark, then Windows
boots properly what's the matter?

8 - My computer won't allow me to go higher that 16 color mode, why?

9 - Should I turn the VSYNC ON or OFF?

10 - Where are these settings?

11 - I'm running Nvidia's reference drivers but my card is much
slower. Why can't I overclock?

12 - Can my TNT run GLide software?

13 - I just flashed my Graphics Blaster RIVA TNT with the BIOS update
and now my system will not boot at all. I just get a black screen. What
should I do?

14 - I get the message "Glimp_init: No hardware accelerator found."
OpenGL mode games didn't work either, but D3D games worked fine. What is the
problem?

15 - I have a RIVA TNT on NT running what I think are the detonator
drivers for NT. The problem is that any OpenGL apps flicker like crazy.
It's almost like vsync is off or something. How can I correct this?

16 - What are the best BIOS settings for an MVP 503+ based motherboard
and the RIVA TNT?

17 - I cannot get the display drivers for the RIVA TNT AGP video
adapter to work under Windows NT Workstation 4.0 with Service Pack 2. What
gives?

18 - The VSYNC option has disappeared in my Blaster Control menu. How
do I get it back?

19 - How do I enable VSYNC with the Nvidia reference drivers?

20 - I think I need to re-install OpenGL. How do I do it?

21 - I am having problems with DirectX. What should I do?

22 - Where can I find the Creative overclocking utility?

23 - My OpenGL acceleration is very bad is there a solution?

24 - When changing from 16 bit to 32 bit on the desktop, colors drop
out from icons, images etc. How do I solve this?

25 - I used to have a Diamond video card and keep getting the error
message "Error occured in DESK.CPL". How do I fix this?

26 - I have the unusual problem of MPEGs displaying with a green tinge
at 32 bit resolution. Is there a way I can fix this?

27 - I have installed the Creative drivers over the top of my old
Creative drivers and am left with two Blaster Control tabs in Display
properties. How do I get rid of one?



1 - How do I completely remove my old drivers from my system before
loading new ones?
- Ensure that you backup your current registry first by using the
Export Registry tag when you run "Regedit" from Start/Run under Windows
95/98. Then:
Switch to VGA driver and reboot.
In Windows\System folder delete all files that begin with bc* and nv*.
Look for a few bl* files too.
In Windows\Inf\Other folder delete Creative TNT INF
In Windows\Inf delete drvdata.bin and drvindx.bin
Run regedit
Look at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software keys for:

Creative or Creative Labs - open them and delete Blaster Control keys

Blaster Control headings - delete

NVIDIA Corporation - delete

Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\OpenGLdrivers - delete NVIDIA key


Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ControlsFolder\Display\shellex\PropertyShee
tHan dlers\BlasterControl - delete

Close regedit
Install new/old drivers


2 - Do I need to flash my video card's bios?
- My advice to new owners would be NOT to go flash a new BIOS if you
don't have a serious problem. I would even recommend you run the drivers
from the original CD for a couple of days to see what is wrong.
The BIOS upgrade is mostly meant for Motherboards having difficulties
with the way the TnT does AGP2x. Remember the old saying "if it ain't
broke don't fix it."


3 - What should my motherboard bios settings read?
- Assign IRQ to VGA (or video) - Find this somewhere in your BIOS set
it ON or AUTO.
Video BIOS cacheable - disabled.
Video BIOS shadow - disabled.
VGA Palette Snoop- disabled.
PCI Palette Snoop- disabled.
C8xxxx-CBxxxx Shadow- disabled.


4 - What should my AGP apperture by set to?
- In general, for AGP cards, setting the AGP apperture to half your
RAM is a good idea. In some problematic cases, setting it to 64 or 256 Megs
might prevent wierd lockups. Some owners may also require that it be set to
4 or 8 Megs to force the TNT to use it's own RAM instead of system RAM.


5 - My 2D performance seems sluggish with the 1.88 Nvidia drivers how
do I fix it?
- Go to your Display Properties Performance tab and slide the Hardware
Acceleration bar all the way to the left (None) and then back to the right
(Full) then hit the apply button and 2D performace should increase.


6 - What should I set my AGP divider to in my motherboard bios?
- In general you should always run your AGP divider at the following
rates:
Front side bus - 66 Mhz (run at 1/1), 75 Mhz (run at 1/1), 83 Mhz (run
at 1/1), 100 Mhz (run at 2/3). Remember with the "bastard" buses 75 and 83
Mhz your system is running off spec and data corruption of your hard disk
may occur. This is particularly true of the 83 Mhz front side bus.


7 - I boot my computer and evrything appears to be dark, then Windows
boots properly what's the matter?
- Some older BIOS don't allow the AGP to be the primary booting card.
Update your motherboard's BIOS, or don't forget to set AGP as primary.


8 - My computer won't allow me to go higher that 16 color mode, why?
- Most of the time you forgot to let the BIOS assign an IRQ to the TnT
card. Or it could be a bad/wrong installation of the drivers. Check
removing drivers section and be sure to install the right ones.


9 - Should I turn the VSYNC ON or OFF?
- This is a good question...with only two answers...Yes or No.
Why don't you try and see what the difference is. Some games don't
work well with Vsync ON, but most look better, On the other hand OFF. The
off setting is faster. You just have to try.
Be aware that VSYNCH off also can result in "tearing" in some
programs, particularly is the video board is overclocked.


10 - Where are these settings?
- Control Panel->Display
properties->Settings->ADVANCED->BlasterControl
See the little (icons)...The last one looks like tools and a PC card.
Click on it. Now Click on the button ADVANCED Settings at the bottom. For
OpenGL, you have to read the tweakTnT page, use Powerstrip, or Nvidia's
drivers.


11 - I'm running Nvidia's reference drivers but my card is much
slower. Why can't I overclock?
- Nvidia's drivers don't work with the TnTClk.exe overlcocking
utility. You must either use powerstrip, or the new FREE tool, MaxClk.


12 - Can my TNT run GLide software?
- Yes. Using the new Unified driver from Creative (currently in
BETA).
You will be required to enter a Creative TNT serial number when
downloading the Unified drivers from here:
http://order.soundblaster.com/escripts/download-unified.asp
Other "Glide Wrappers" are available from here:
http://www.devgames.com/GlideUnderground/


13 - I just flashed my Graphics Blaster RIVA TNT with the BIOS update
and now my system will not boot at all. I just get a black screen. What
should I do?
- This is a very rare occurrence caused by an incomplete BIOS flash
process. You should reflash the BIOS. There are a few ways this can be
accomplished. If you have another video card, replace the Graphics Blaster
RIVA TNT with it. Make a boot floppy. This can be done in Windows by
inserting a blank floppy disk and right mouse clicking on it and selecting
Format with the "Transfer system files" option. Extract the BIOS files to
the floppy disk. Open Notepad and type in the name of the BIOS flash program
as indicated in the readme.txt file. Save the file as Autoexec.bat on the
floppy disk. Make sure your system is set to read and boot from the floppy
if one is inserted (this is a motherboard BIOS setting option). Shut down
the system and replace the TNT back into the system. Reboot.
You will not be able to see anything on the screen but you should here
the system boot and read the floppy disk. After all disk activity ceases,
press the "F" key to begin the flash process. Wait one minute. Shut the
system off, remove the floppy and reboot.
Alternatively, rather than removing the TNT, as described above, you
may insert the other video card alongside the TNT if one of them is PCI.
This will allow you to view the boot and reflash process with the other
video card. Flashing the RIVA TNT BIOS while the other card is present will
not affect the other card, as the BIOS will only flash cards identified as
Graphics Blaster RIVA TNT.
If this does not restore your video card to full operation, you should
repeat the process described above but use the BIOS flash program which is
included on your Graphics Blaster RIVA TNT software CD.


14 - I get the message "Glimp_init: No hardware accelerator found."
OpenGL mode games didn't work either, but D3D games worked fine. What is the
problem?
- Make sure OpenGLdrivers key in your registry is set to
"RIVATNT"="NV4ogl.dll" Look for:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\OpenGLdrive rs
"RIVATNT"="NV4ogl.dll"


15 - I have a RIVA TNT on NT running what I think are the detonator
drivers for NT. The problem is that any OpenGL apps flicker like crazy.
It's almost like vsync is off or something. How can I correct this?
- In your registry under the NVIDIA entry look up these and change
both to 0 (for maximum performance):
enablebufferflipping
enablevblankwait


16 - What are the best BIOS settings for an MVP 503+ based motherboard
and the RIVA TNT?
- Make sure you disable "write cache pipelining" in the CMOS. If you
encounter any additional issues, you may need to also disable "turbo mode."


17 - I cannot get the display drivers for the RIVA TNT AGP video
adapter to work under Windows NT Workstation 4.0 with Service Pack 2. What
gives?
- Windows NT 4.0 requires a minimum of Service Pack 3 to correctly
support the TNT. Dual Processor systems require Service Pack 4 that
addresses some hardware abstraction layer issues that may prevent the TNT
from loading correctly.


18 - The VSYNC option has disappeared in my Blaster Control menu. How
do I get it back?
- The registry key BcTnt/Perf_Flag under
HKEY_Local_Machine/Software/Creative Tech/BlasterControl 2.0
Is preventing the VSYNC option in the BlasterControl driver 1.13. Set
this value to 00 00 00 01, and you should see the VSYNC option.


19 - How do I enable VSYNC with the Nvidia reference drivers?
- With the Reference drivers you could add a key to the registry to
enable extra settings, including enable/disable VSync. To do this, run
regedit, expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, expand Software and look for NVIDIA
Corporation. Expand this branch and you should see +NVIDIA detonator and
+RIVA TNT. Expand the RIVA TNT branch and there may or may not be a
+NV4Tweak key. If there isn't, right click on RIVA TNT and select new key.
Call this key NV4Tweak. Right click on NV4Tweak and select NEW DWORD VALUE.
Enter PowerUser. The word PowerUser will now appear in the right hand
window. Double click on it and set the value to 1.
Exit the registry and when you now go to the RivaTNT tab on the
display properties, a few new options will be available, including disable
wait for VSync (in D3D advanced) and a few new options in OpenGL. NOTE: in
the latest Nvidia drivers VSYNC is called VBLANK. Or, alternatively, you can
do a complete driver re-install as outlined above.


20 - I think I need to re-install OpenGL. How do I do it?
- If you use Windows 98 just go to start->run and type 'sfc'. Select
'Extract one file from installation disk' and type opengl32.dll press start.
In the 'Restore from:' field put your windows 98 cd rom drive eg. d:\win98.


21 - I am having problems with DirectX. What should I do?
- The RIVA TNT requires a minimum of DirectX 6 to run but 6.1 is
preferable. Download the file from the Microsoft site. If you are having
problems go to Program Files/Direct X/Setup and run the file dxdiags.exe.
The troubleshooting section should get you up and running.


22 - Where can I find the Creative overclocking utility?
- The utility is currently in Beta and not supported by Creative but
it is here:
http://www.soundblaster.com/hotgraphics/resources.html
or here
http://www.soundblaster.com/graphics/tnt2-ultra/resources.html


23 - My OpenGL acceleration is very bad is there a solution?
- It is likely that you have had a Voodoo card. Go to your win.ini
file. If you have an entry line reading "DVA=0", comment it out (put a in
front of it). Save the file and your acceleration should be back.


24 - When changing from 16 bit to 32 bit on the desktop, colors drop
out from icons, images etc. How do I solve this?
- After you go back to 32 bit colour Resize the icons to large ...
reboot and then go back to small.


25 - I used to have a Diamond video card and keep getting the error
message "Error occured in DESK.CPL". How do I fix this?
- Go to the registry editor (Start Menu/Run/Regedit). Navigate to the
HKEY_Local_Machine\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ControlsFolder\
D isplay\Shellex\PropertySheetHandlers\ You will see one or more keys named
Diamond. Delete them and the error message will disappear.


26 - I have the unusual problem of MPEGs displaying with a green tinge
at 32 bit resolution. Is there a way I can fix this?
- Go to Windows Media Player/Properties/Video Renderer/DirectDraw and
uncheck "YUV Flipping".


27 - I have installed the Creative drivers over the top of my old
Creative drivers and am left with two Blaster Control tabs in Display
properties. How do I get rid of one?
- You should always completely remove the old drivers, switching to
VGA, before installing new as per the FAQ. If the problem persists, use the
utility Dpsclean from http://www.entechtaiwan.com this will remove one of
the tabs.





file:///C:/@ndrewfaq/drivers_and_bios/body_drivers_and_bios.html

 

[Dan]

It depends. I use an Ati Radeon 9800 XT currently on my dual boot of 98SE
and XP Pro. 98SE is on C: in Fat32 and XP Pro. is in NTFS on D: drive.

"jarrad m" wrote:

> hello,,
> i looked for graphic/video card groups, but couldnt find any which
> seemed like the right place... and seeing as how my problem is also
> win98se related,, i decided to post here.
>
> a friend brought a vid/graphic card over here, (which is it? vid or
> graphic?)
> and he wanted me to d/l the drivers for it as he isnt on the net.
> (he bought the card from 'his' buddy cheap... no drivers though.)
>
> i decided that i would d/l the drivers and now have them on my 98se
> machine, but am wondering how i should go about intalling them after
> i put his card in??
> basically, i am just wanting to try out his card for the hellavit.. but i am
> worried about what actually happens during this process. ?
>
> i am worried because i dont know what is the correct procedure to do
> something like this......
> in other words,, i just want to quickly put his card in, load the drivers,
> mess around with my computer while checking out how his card works..
> and then,,, take the card out, and put mine back in.. i dont know how
> to swap drivers back and forth, and in what manner it should be done.
>
> thank you for help.
> James
>
>
>
>