Why pure dos? most dos games start perfectly from win9x. just place the right glide file in the game directory for the right card.

Most glide games work with voodoo3, even the early ones. Just use the right patches and the right 3dfx drivers (oldest for voodoo3).

meljor wrote:

Why pure dos? most dos games start perfectly from win9x. just place the right glide file in the game directory for the right card.

Most glide games work with voodoo3, even the early ones. Just use the right patches and the right 3dfx drivers (oldest for voodoo3).

Because the system is primarily a DOS 6.22 / Windows 3.1 build. I do dual boot it with Windows 98, but I'm setting it up so that I boot to DOS for DOS games and Windows 98 for Windows 9x games. I originally intended to just have 2 V2-SLI cards, but there is one game I own and 2 that sound good (I would buy them if I ever came across them at a good price,) that don't work with the V2. So, after reading that V1 + V2 was easy, and finding one at an awesome price, I got one. Only, it doesn't work with DOS - Cannot get an image from the V1 if both are in the system and chained (2D - V1 - V2 - Monitor or 2D - V2 - V1 - Monitor.) I would have to install a HW switch and switch to the V1 manually. I don't really want to do that if I can find a way around it.

There are even more places that say V2 + V3 or even V1 + V3 are easy. However, all the instructions I'm finding are only good for the Windows 98 boot. The 1 game I own is listed as working fine with V3 (Blood,) but there are also games I own that are listed as not working with the V3 (they work fine with V2 though.) Of the other 2 games, 1 is listed as working with V3 and the last is an unknown. The 4th (and last,) game that is listed as failing on the V2 isn't in English, and I'm not a big fan of tennis games anyways.

Finally, V3's are a bit more expensive than a V1 (I paid $11 with shipping,) so I'd rather have more information before making the investment. Not to mention, I will have to mod my MB to support the V3 anyways. The voltage regulator on the GA-6BXC (rev 1.9,) only supplies 2.5A to the 3.3V line on the AGP port, the V3 uses 4-5A. It's a rather easy mod, but I don't want to do it if the V2 + V3 in pure DOS is going to give me the same problem anyways. I'd rather just give up on having those 3 games in 3DFX mode than have an external switch.

I was hoping someone had tried that combination in a pure DOS environment and knew how it works out. If all I need is the correct environment variables and/or the correct GLIDE2X.OVL file for the correct card, and the video will pass through correctly, then I have a plan. I'll have to wait until the end of December to actually get anything, but I'll know how to proceed when the time comes. Or, I'll know that it just won't work the way I want and stick with what I have.

All that being said, if someone actually knows how to get the V1 + V2 to work without the V2 killing the V1 video like it is now, I'd happily (ok very happily,) select that as a solution as well 😀

I guess nobody has experience getting a Voodoo 3 or Voodoo 1 working along side a Voodoo 2 in pure DOS. I'm using DOS 6.22, but I would assume instructions for getting it to work in any other DOS version should be similar. I'll have to either take a risk and experiment on my own or just resign myself to only playing those in software mode 🙁. Not that big a deal, it's just 4 games (Blood, Dreams to Reality, Prost Grand Prix 1998, & Tie Break Tennis 98.) But I was hoping someone had already faced this issue in DOS since there are so many threads about getting it working in Windows already.

If I experiment myself, and this thread isn't too old, I'll post the answers myself for others who might be curious in the future.

Sorry, no experience with this.

I just replace the video card if I want to play/test one of the below average games like Dreams to Reality, Prost Grand Prix and Tie Break Tennis 98 are. Having multiple 3DFX cards in one machine is asking for trouble for everyday use.

V1 -> passthrough cable -> V2 -> passthrough cable -> V3/V5/another videocard? And in DOS?
Theoretically it must work if you copy corresponding glide2x.ovl in the game directory. Practically - don't know, haven't tested this...

Gamecollector wrote:

V1 -> passthrough cable -> V2 -> passthrough cable -> V3/V5/another videocard? And in DOS?
Theoretically it must work if you copy corresponding glide2x.ovl in the game directory. Practically - don't know, haven't tested this...

Well, I can state, with a fair amount of authority, that connecting V1 -> passthrough cable -> V2 -> passthrough cable -> 2D video card or V2 -> passthrough cable -> V1 -> passthrough cable -> 2D video card will not work in DOS mode regardless of the glide2x.ovl files you make available to each program. Oh, all the V2 games work just fine, it's just the V1 that will be blocked (somehow,) from giving you video. It's like the V1 is being passed the correct display data, but the V2 is taking over the display, overriding the V1's attempt to display what it's been given.

Take the V2 out of the passthrough loop (V1 -> passthrough cable -> 2D card,) and V1 games work just fine, even with the V2 still in the machine (just not connected to the passthrough chain.) If you are willing to deal with a physical switch box, it would be easy to just connect things like so: V1 -> Switch Box Port B & 2D Card -> passthrough -> V2 -> Switch Box Port A. Then just set the switch box to A for most things, and switch the B whenever you are playing one of the 4 games that don't like the V2.

I'm trying to see if there is an alternative to the switch box before I decide if I'm going to go that route or not. At the moment the point is sort of moot, as I cannot seem to get Blood 3DFX running anyways (another thread.) If I can get it running, and if I cannot get information from someone with a V2 & V3 installed in the same system, I might just say "to heck with it," and get a VGA switch box (and the necessary cables.) I might also just experiment with a V3 (when I can get one, and after modding or replacing my MB.) Looking at eBay prices, and all things considered, the cost is close to the same either way.

Don't have a Voodoo1 (only Voodoo2) so can't test this. Maybe later I will buy one for testing...

Well, got a Voodoo 3 installed now and am having problems in DOS. If I try to use the Voodoo 2's GLIDE2X.OVL I get a "Failed grSstQueryHardware" message with Shadow Warrior, and a lockup on 3D initialize with Tomb Raider (Blood still refuses to even try.) The Voodoo 3's OVL seems to work fine as far as I can test it. Shadow Warrior won't run (but the compatibility matrix notes that for the Voodoo 3.) Tomb Raider loads up and I can move around, but crashes eventually. It locks up when I try to bring up the menu as well. Blood still refuses to load.

Since I cannot fully test the V3, as I can't find any of my 3DFX games that are compatible with it, I'm going to assume that the Voodoo 3 is working just fine. With the error message I'm getting, I'm wondering if there is possibly an environment variable I can set to use the Voodoo 2. Otherwise, pairing the V2 & V3 in a DOS system is a failure, just like pairing the V1 with the V2 in a DOS system was.

Well, have to make a correction. Switched back the TNT2/M64, and had the same error. Lowered the FSB to 50 and the problem went away with both Shadow Warrior and Tomb Raider. So, use the V3 OVL and Tomb Raider will try the V3 but crash (like the compatibility matrix indicated.) Use the V2 OVL and Shadow Warrior and Tomb Raider both run just fine with the V2. As long as FSB is set to 50Mhz. Set it to 66.6Mhz or higher and they both fail. Back to the problem I was having except with the v3.01.00 drivers 🙁 I don't really want to play musical PCI slots again, but I will if I have too. First, though, I think I'm going to go through all the different OVL versions again.

I know people have had Voodoo 2's working just fine at 1.4Ghz with 100Mhz FSB. Don't know if they were in SLI or not in those cases, but I think they said they were. FYI, just in case someone is wondering, I did try Blood 3DFX with 50Mhz FSB, and the same problem (unable to load OVL file.) Also, I did try lowering the FSB when trying to get my V1 working (V2 always overrode the V1 if it was in the loop.)

Anyways, V2's and V3's work just fine together in DOS. Just use the appropriate OVL file with whatever you are running. Most games that won't work on the V2 will work on the V3. OK, 2 of them work, 1 kinda works (Tie Break Tennis 98 only has 10% of the textures showing,) and 1 is still an unknown. On that last, anyone have "Prost Grand Prix 1998" and a Voodoo 3? If you don't have the V3, feel free to mail me the game and I'll test it 😈 heheh JK. Although, Blood 3DFX doesn't work for me, so maybe the other 3 won't either.

I tested Prost Grand Prix on the V3 the other day, I couldn't get it to run.

Well, more testing. Played musical PCI slots with all 10 versions of GLIDE2X.OVL for the Voodoo 2. The PCI slots and order of cards made absolutely no difference. With a normal FSB (100Mhz) none of them worked. If I slow down the FSB to any speed below 100 (50, 66, 75, or 83) the following revisions work:

• v2.10 July 14, 1998
  v1.02.51 April 23, 1998
  v1.03.00 June 18, 1998
  v3.01.00 October 11, 1998 &
  v3.01.01 January 22, 1999

None of the others ever worked. I tried adding wait states to the PCI, but that didn't help. Of course, I can't find specific details on those variables other than that they exist. So, I could be using them wrong 🙁 As it stands, setting the FSB to 50Mhz or 66Mhz are the only 2 that won't overclock the PCI bus. Though setting it to 75Mhz only over clocks by a small amount (37.5Mhz instead of 33.3Mhz.) But there isn't much different between 925Mhz & 1050Mhz (14% increase.)

Well, since even a v2 and 3 are giving you problems, something must be wrong with your board or settings. And that is your problem with the v1 right there, as the v1 is very sensitive in some systems with high cpu clocks, high fsb or both.

Some have some luck with faster systems but in my experience a voodoo1 is best used in a system at or below p2-450.

example: my tualatin p3-s 1,4ghz is perfectly stable and works great with v2, v3 and voodoo 5 (agp and pci versions)

however, This system does not boot with a rush card and will not display anything 3d with a v1 installed (tested five voodoo1 cards and 2 rush, they all work well on slower systems like p1 mmx and k6-3)
They don't even work with the system at half the speed (66mhz fsb)

Voodoo2 and higher do not have these problems so if you have the option : try a different board or system.

It was in a different thread, but I was having a problem identical to this before. In attempting to fix it I went through 5 different motherboards, 2 CPU's, 3 graphics cards, 2 power supplies, 5 hard drives, and 8 sticks of RAM. I tried using only 1 Voodoo 2 card (first one, then the other.) In all cases the only way to get 3DFX working was to slow down the system. Since this was before I knew about SMB, that meant having to have the FSB always below normal (which I didn't want to do.) So I kept testing, and eventually discovered that the problem went away if I used the v3.01.00 October 11, 1998 GLIDE2X.OVL file. The problem remained with all other OVL versions. At that time I had a 800Mhz CPU installed. I now have a 1.4Ghz Slotket installed, and the problem has returned (with the mentioned changes.)

Also, the Voodoo 1 never gave me any problems by itself. The only problem I had was that if the Voodoo 1 and the Voodoo 2's were linked together, the Voodoo 2 would switch off it's pass through even if I was attempting to use the Voodoo 1. Even if the Voodoo 2's signal was going to the Voodoo 1 (so that switching off the V2's pass through shouldn't matter,) it would override the Voodoo 1 so that it's pass through remained on. Take the Voodoo 2 out of the pass through chain, and the Voodoo 1 worked just fine, even though the Voodoo 2 cards were still in the system (just not connected to anything.)

Also, my current Voodoo 2 speed issue remains even if I remove the Voodoo 3 card and use one of my other cards instead. The only constant is the brand/model of Voodoo 2 card I have (they are the same.) They are both STB Black Magic 12Mb Voodoo 2's. At one time, I had been considering changing to a different brand of Voodoo 2 cards, but I got it working before actually doing so. At this time, I simply do not have the funds to try that option now. I probably won't be able to even start thinking about changing Voodoo 2 cards for at least 6 months (having to move, and no place to go at the end of the year.)

*edit*
I would also like to note that in attempting to get the Voodoo 1 working with the Voodoo 2's, I did a Google search. In the results I found other forums where the only solution was to install a VGA switch box to manually switch to the Voodoo 1's signal. Also, I removed the Voodoo 1 before getting the Slotket, so it was being tested at 800Mhz instead of 1.4Ghz. So I can't say that it was working fine at 1.4Ghz, only 800Mhz.