Origin - Tech - Help - Video Card FAQ

Video Card
Frequently Asked Questions
t e c h n i c a l i n f o r m a t i o n

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Video Cards:

I'm getting a Black Screen Lockup in DOS!

If you see a black screen and experience a "lockup" as soon as you try to launch your game, it could be the result of several factors. The first thing with any lockup is to make sure that you have turned "off" the sound for the game. Run the INSTALL program for the game and select "None" as your music card, and "None" as your digital sound card. Run the game again and see if the lockup persists. If it does not, then you know that you can solve the problem by adding the correct values for the sound card setup in the sound settings program. If the lockup continues, you know it's not the sound card.

You should start suspecting the video card as the root of the problem.

Make sure that you have loaded the appropriate VESA driver for your video card. If your video card does not require a TSR program for Super-VGA functions, then there might be a problem with the specific video card hardware. Try using a generic (universal) VESA driver first. If this does not solve the problem, then you may need to check our download area for information about patches for the game that is having trouble.

What is SVGA?

VGA is generally considered to be the 320 pixel by 200 pixel screen resolution. When your video card is showing a 320 by 200 pixel image in full-screen, you can draw the conclusion that your video card is running in VGA Mode. Higher modes mean greater numbers of pixels.

640 pixels by 480 pixels, 800 by 600, and 1024 by 768 pixel resolutions are common Super - VGA Modes.

Most Origin games use Super-VGA for their display systems. In order to avoid lockup problems with these games, you should check to see if your video card has what is called "on-board VESA compliance." This indicates that your video hardware is prepared to run SVGA applications without any special drivers.

Special Note: Windows 95 will allow for SVGA video modes with most video cards even when SVGA is not directly available in MS-DOS mode. Since many Origin games need to run in MS-DOS mode, the appropriate MS-DOS version driver for your video card will have to be loaded into memory. This is due to the fact that Windows 95 will no longer be providing the SVGA abilities when your system is in MS-DOS mode.

What is VESA?

VESA is the acronym for a video standard used by our industry. The existence of the video standard allows many software developers to use Super-VGA modes with their games and other applications. They *code* their software to operate within the constraints of the VESA standard in order to make sure that their software looks the way it should on your monitor.

When your video card is VESA-compliant it means that software that uses the VESA standard will be able to communicate with your hardware to create Super-VGA images on your screen.

How do I find a VESA driver for my video card?

If your video card does not have "on-board" VESA, you will need to find a software TSR (terminate and stay-resident) program that will enable SVGA with your video hardware. It is quite common to find proprietary drivers (created by hardware manufacturer) that will do this quite easily. However, it is also possible that you will have to search elsewhere for these VESA drivers.

The first place to start looking is your own software library. Many times, floppy disks and CD-ROM's that are shipped with a computer system contain necessary MS-DOS drivers. See if anything related to the manufacturer of your video card exists in your own libraries. If you do not find anything, you should try the WEB. Search the Internet for the name of the video card manufacturer. It is very, very likely that the most recent VESA / SVGA drivers are going to be available for download from the manufacturer's web site.

If you cannot find success through the Internet, you will need to contact the vendor of the system. The retailer / vendor should have drivers available for you.

What do I do with the VESA driver after I find it?

Once you have the right driver for SVGA, you will need to run the driver. Most often, these drivers are TSR programs that can be run from the AUTOEXEC.BAT file of your boot disk or shortcut (used to run the game).

Add the path and filename to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file and then restart your system.

[[ For example:

If I own the BARNO 0878 PCI video card, and have to load a file called "BARVBE" in order to get VESA compliance, I'll first find the folder that contains the "BARVBE" file…

Turns out that this file is in the C:\UTILITY\DOS directory.

Therefore, in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file of my boot disk, I add the line:

C:\UTILITY\DOS\BARVBE.EXE

* end example * ]]

My game's Video is messed up!

If black lines appear in your game's video, or if the screen is *rolling (as if the vertical hold is badly adjusted on a television set), you will probably need to use your video card's proprietary VESA driver.

If your game's video is displaying inappropriate colors (a "palette shift") you may also want to use your video card's proprietary VESA driver. However, you might also want to check out our downloads site for possible patches and upgrades for the game that you are having problems with.

My game's Movies are messed up!

When a game with movie (full motion video or *animated*) sequences is having problems with stuttering or pausing, first check out the sound configuration. Under MS-DOS mode : Run the INSTALL program for the game and select "None" as your music card, and "None" as your digital sound card. Run the game again and see if the lockup persists. If it does not, then you know that you can solve the problem by adding the correct values for the sound card setup in the sound settings program. If the lockup continues, you know it's not the sound card.

Try using the VESA driver written by the manufacturer. If this does not solve the problem, we recommend that you try using a generic (or *Universal*) VESA driver.

Under Windows 95: Run the DXSETUP program. Check to make sure that BOTH your Display Adapter and Audio Driver are "Certified." If they are not certified, then you will need to get DirectX drivers for both of these components from the hardware manufacturer.

If these devices are both "Certified" but the game continues to pause or lock up during movie sequences, see the answer to My Game won't work even though DXSETUP says "CERTIFIED!" later in this page.

How do I speed up my Video?

Most of the "game" sequences depend heavily on your processor speed. Most games that try to render 3D objects in real-time on your computer system are going to spend most of their time dealing with the CPU. Tip: Make sure that your bios settings are configured to enable EXTERNAL and INTERNAL caches. Keep on the lookout for separate PCI "Burst" cache that may also be enabled.

Make sure that you have the most recent drivers for your video card. Contact the manufacturer of the hardware if you are not sure.

Adding Video RAM to the card may also be an option. The greater the RAM on-board, the more the video card will be able to "store"… and the faster it will be able to perform.

How do I optimize my game for my Video card?

Depending upon the game title, you may be able to enhance overall performance within the game options. Crusader, Wing Commanders 3 and 4 feature detail shaping that can allow for much faster video performance.

Try running the game in VGA mode. Fast action sequences are generally much, much faster in this resolution because of the limited workload for the processor.

You might want to seek out other alternatives in the game configuration. Mesh detail, Far Clipping Plane, Object Detail, and special effects (such as shadows and "Detailed Helicopters" in AH64-D Longbow can be adjusted to suit your video card. Additionally, Crusader (No Remorse and No Regret) both allow you to change the *size* of the movie playback screen, the complexity of special effects (such as explosions) and other video-related features.

What is "Far Clipping Plane?"

The 'far clipping plane' is the furthest area from your player *object* that can be seen. It is, for all intents and purposes, the "Horizon" in the game. The further the horizon is from the player, the more work the CPU has to do in order to maintain that world. The closer the horizon, the easier the workload on your PC. For best results, try bringing the 'far clipping plane' as close to your forward view as possible without losing world detail.

What is "Mesh Detail?"

Much like 'far clipping plane' this adjustment enhances the speed at which your game plays. If you can manipulate the 'mesh detail' (AH64-D Longbow has this feature. Other products such as Strike Commander do not employ this technique.) you can limit the number of polygons that are being drawn for the world terrain. The fewer that the game has to draw, the less your PC is having to work… therefore the game runs much faster. The results of diminishing "Mesh Detail" can be a persistence of 'popping' terrain features that might be unwanted by some users. The key to getting this feature to work for you is to use it in combination with the 'far clipping plane' adjustments to find the optimal balance between the game's appearance and the game's speed.

What is DirectX?

To software developers, DirectX is known as a set of API's: integrated programming tools that aid in the creation of multimedia software. API stands for "Application Programming Interface," and indicates that DirectX is an interface through which software developers can program their applications.

When a developer uses DirectX, the end result is a piece of software that can communicate reliably to the user's hardware (Video, Sound, Input Devices, modems, etc.) through the use of DirectX drivers.

How do I use DXSETUP to solve my problem?

If you are having a problem with a Windows 95 game that uses DirectX, use the "DXSETUP.EXE" program to start your troubleshooting. When you run this program, you will see whether or not your video drivers are "Certified."

To find DXSETUP.EXE, click on the Windows 95 "START" button. Click on "FIND" and then select "Files or Folders…" A menu will appear that will allow you to type in the name of the program you're looking for. Type in "DXSETUP.EXE" in the NAME box and then press the "Find Now" button. (You may need to change the "Look In" option from your hard drive C:\ to your CD-ROM drive letter so that the Find command can search the game CD)

Once DXSETUP is running, look at the column on the right-hand side. If you see a *blank*, or if you see a message stating "No hardware support," you will need to contact your hardware manufacturer for updated DirectX drivers. This program requires that your system be "Certified" in all areas of DirectX. If it is not, you will experience a variety of performance-related problems (lockups included).

Where can I get DirectX drivers?

You can get DirectX drivers from the hardware manufacturer and from Microsoft. The best bet (if you are missing DirectX drivers for your hardware or are not getting a "Certified" readout through DXSETUP) is to contact the manufacturer of the hardware and have them send you a DirectX compatible driver.

My Game won't work even though DXSETUP says "CERTIFIED!"

Sometimes, when first trying to assess what hardware is present on your system, Windows 95 may make a decision about video drivers that may not translate well to DirectX. In order to solve a problem like this, you'll want to revert to the Standard Windows 95 SVGA driver and then reinstall DirectX.

Right click on your Windows 95 desktop. The "Arrange Icons" menu will appear. When it does, go to the bottom of the menu and click on "Properties." On the "Display Properties" window, click on the SETTINGS tab. Near the bottom of this window, click on the "Change Display Type" button. Near the top of the new window, click on "CHANGE" next to the ADAPTER TYPE listing.

Windows 95 will build a driver information database and then present you with a menu of options in a window called "Select Device." Near the bottom left of this window, click on the circular button next to "Show All." You will see a new window with all available drivers listed. On the left hand side, go to the top of the list and chose "(Standard Display Types)." Click on "(Standard Display Types)" and then click on "Super VGA" when it appears in the window to the right-hand side.

You will need to re-start your computer at this point.

Allow Windows 95 to setup the "Standard" display type for SVGA. Once you have rebooted completely, run the DXSETUP.EXE program for your game and reinstall DirectX. If you encounter more problems, you should reinstall the manufacturer's drivers using your original Display Adapter installation disks.

How do I find out what video card I have?

Right click on your Windows 95 desktop. The "Arrange Icons" menu will appear. When it does, go to the bottom of the menu and click on "Properties." On the "Display Properties" window, click on the SETTINGS tab. Near the bottom of this window, click on the "Change Display Type" button. Near the top of the new window, you should see the name of the manufacturer and the type of display model that your system currently has installed.






























































































































Copyright 1997 Origin Systems, an Electronic Arts Company