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First post, by Malik

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This is a patched SVGA driver that I found 2 or 3 years back. Not sure how many have got it, but here it is.

Extract it.

Notes on usage :

1.) Use it AFTER installing windows. Select the VGA or VGA 3.0 option under win 3.x setup.

2.) Then, when you're in windows, go to windows setup and change the display to 640x480x 256 colours.

3.) Save and EXIT.

4.) Overwrite the svga256.drv by copying this driver into the Windows directory. ( So make a backup copy of your original svga256.drv if you have to or haven't done it yet.).

When you boot back into Win3.x, you should be able to see the new display as shown in the Windows Setup section.

Some notes to consider :

a. I haven't tested in any higher res. modes yet.

b. I have done this successfully using my previous GeForce Ti 4200 card.

c. When you load up a dos program or screen from within windows and return to windows, the screen may get corrupted. Avoid using dos programs which will load full screen from within windows.

d. Haven't tested with a PCI-E card. But considering a "contemporary" retro rig, imho, the max expected graphics card we'll be using will be an AGP based card.

Attachments

  • Filename
    svga256.zip
    File size
    40.65 KiB
    Downloads
    1438 downloads
    File license
    Fair use/fair dealing exception

Reply 1 of 7, by elianda

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Malik this driver looks very similar like the ones in the Windows 3.1 High Speed SVGA driver pack from Microsoft.
Except that the driver in the package I have has a higher version number.

Are you sure that your driver is something special?

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Reply 2 of 7, by Malik

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Yes, it's patched to make it work. If I'm not wrong, only some bits were changed. So it might not be directly related to the file release date. And yes, it does use microsoft's svga driver.

Just remember to change the graphics mode to SVGA with the number of colours you want, (try it first with 640x480x256), either in control panel or externally at setup, BEFORE copying over this file into the windows directory.

In short, make changes in windows first, then overwrite the svga file.

EDIT : Here's the source : http://japheth.de/

Select Windows Tools at left pane and on the next screen scroll all the way down. What you see there is only the patcher.
Whereas the file I posted here is the actual patched svga256.drv file.

5476332566_7480a12517_t.jpgSB Dos Drivers

Reply 4 of 7, by Malik

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ih8registrations wrote:

Does anyone know what card/chip the original super vga driver is written for?

Ah, et4000 is one. No joy for et3k or paradise, and of course, not s3.

I'm not sure if this is the full list:

ATI VGA series, including
ATI VGA Wonder
ATI VGA Wonder Plus
ATI VGA Wonder 24XL

Cirrus Logic VGA (6420, 5420 series)

Oak Technology VGA (077 series)

Paradise VGA, including
Paradise VGA 1024
Paradise VGA Professional

Trident VGA (8900C series) *, including
Trident Impact

Tseng VGA (ET4000 series) **, including:
Boca VGA
Cardinal VGA
Diamond Speedstar series
Everex Viewpoint series
Metheus Premier VGA
Orchid Prodesigner II
Sigma VGA Legend
STB Powergraph

Video Seven VGA, including
Video Seven FastWrite
Video Seven 1024i
Video Seven VRAM
Video Seven VRAM II

Western Digital VGA

(I'm using S3's own ViRGE SVGA driver in my classic system.)

5476332566_7480a12517_t.jpgSB Dos Drivers

Reply 5 of 7, by ih8registrations

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Where did this list come from? Ah, http://74.125.113.132/search?q=cache:_VKjZjlO … lient=firefox-a

According this list:
http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:0WRzySJl6 … lient=firefox-a

The Paradise VGA Professional is a pvga1a, ie. it should work, but it doesn't.

Boils down to these chipsets:

ati 18800/28800
cirrus cl-gd542x
oak oti-077
trident tvga 8900c
tseng et4000
v7 headland ht/gc 205/208/209
paradise/wd pvga1a/wd90c00

Reply 7 of 7, by Malik

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WolverineDK wrote:

Malik, I would think it was cool if you used the driver and the Calmira stuff on windows 3.x so I think it is awesome.

Yes, you can use it with Calmira. I had once used this driver in a system with a Voodoo 4500 AGP card, and didn't notice any problems, other than the post-dos corruption screen as mentioned above. I was playing movies in avi format, and games with 256-colour support like some Sierra classics, successfully.

5476332566_7480a12517_t.jpgSB Dos Drivers