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Resolution issues on Windows 98

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First post, by schnoots148

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Hello all, I can't seem to go above 1024x768 in windows 98 on 81.98 nvidia drivers (could not for the life of me get a signal with 45.23 which is best apparently). If I try to set 1280x720 or above I get a no signal or "input not support" error. My monitor is an aoc 1440p 32 inch CQ32G1.

I have installed the inf for the monitor which worked surprisingly, but I am still having the same problems. GPU works fine and isnt toast yet (quadro fx 1000) as when I plug it into a generic 1080p tv I can set the resolution to 1920x1080 just fine, and games run well. GPU is connected with DVI to HDMI cable.

With the use of powerstrip (which I have no idea how to use) all I get is 1920x1200 with a black bar on the side and a really low refresh rate. 1920x1080 through powerstrip as well had this weird issue where the cursor multiplied when hovered over a section of the screen and was super blurry. Powerstrip also reports that my max resolution is 1280x1440 which is far from right.

I've seen videos from philscomputerlab of him using monitors newer than mine with no issues on old pcs and I would really like to complete my setup with decent picture quality. I am aware that 1440p at 144hz is impossible on this card but that isnt a problem as I know its single link dvi only.

If anyone could point me in the right direction with maybe some better drivers or how to get powerstrip working right I'd greatly appreciate it!!

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Reply 1 of 21, by dominusprog

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Remove the Powerstrip, reinstall the driver and also try a different version of the driver.

NVIDIA Display Driver (9x)
https://theretroweb.com/drivers/93

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Reply 2 of 21, by schnoots148

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dominusprog wrote on 2023-08-24, 11:36:

Remove the Powerstrip, reinstall the driver and also try a different version of the driver.

NVIDIA Display Driver (9x)
https://theretroweb.com/drivers/93

45.23 is the first driver i installed, I get no signal at all on my monitor after rebooting from an install.

Reply 3 of 21, by DoZator

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You need to disable DDC in the registry and create custom permissions via PowerStrip.
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\Display\0000\DEFAULT]
"DDC"="0"

This will shift the scaling options to the monitor. The video card will not try to scale the resolution to a higher resolution, displaying the picture "as is". It also avoids low refresh rates at high resolutions. First, set the resolution through the nVidia control panel at 60hz, then increase it through the PowerStrip to the desired one. However, don't expect high frequencies, because DVI Dual-Link does not work with any 9x driver as it should. So you have regular DVI over HDMI. I manage to set 100hz for 1600x900 which is enough for me. For 1920x1080, I don’t remember how many Hz I managed to set as much as possible, I will have to check again. Custom resolution settings for custom resolutions can be copied to PowerStrip from XP and migrated to 9x. As for the strip on the side, I came across this, at low non-standard widescreen resolutions in games. It can be eliminated using the NVCLOCK.EXE utility, namely switching in the background using a batch file, executed with a delay of several seconds (so that the game has time to load) of the "nvclock -e 1" command, then the black bar is filled with a missing image. After that, you also need to distort the input using the buttons on the monitor (For example, from HDMI to DVI or VGA, then back to HDMI), because some kind of lag remains, as a result of which the resolutions switch for a long time. I don't know any other way. Since XP doesn't have this problem, it's most likely a problem with early 9x drivers.

Reply 5 of 21, by DoZator

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In technical terms, it is certainly easier to use a VGA-> HDMI converter, such as OSSC or a cheap Chinese one. They have a minimum of problems. However, the picture quality leaves much to be desired. You will not get a high-quality picture with any of them. Compared to native HDMI \ DVI, this is heaven and earth.

Reply 6 of 21, by schnoots148

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DoZator wrote on 2023-08-24, 13:34:
You need to disable DDC in the registry and create custom permissions via PowerStrip. [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControl […]
Show full quote

You need to disable DDC in the registry and create custom permissions via PowerStrip.
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\Display\0000\DEFAULT]
"DDC"="0"

This will shift the scaling options to the monitor. The video card will not try to scale the resolution to a higher resolution, displaying the picture "as is". It also avoids low refresh rates at high resolutions. First, set the resolution through the nVidia control panel at 60hz, then increase it through the PowerStrip to the desired one. However, don't expect high frequencies, because DVI Dual-Link does not work with any 9x driver as it should. So you have regular DVI over HDMI. I manage to set 100hz for 1600x900 which is enough for me. For 1920x1080, I don’t remember how many Hz I managed to set as much as possible, I will have to check again. Custom resolution settings for custom resolutions can be copied to PowerStrip from XP and migrated to 9x. As for the strip on the side, I came across this, at low non-standard widescreen resolutions in games. It can be eliminated using the NVCLOCK.EXE utility, namely switching in the background using a batch file, executed with a delay of several seconds (so that the game has time to load) of the "nvclock -e 1" command, then the black bar is filled with a missing image. After that, you also need to distort the input using the buttons on the monitor (For example, from HDMI to DVI or VGA, then back to HDMI), because some kind of lag remains, as a result of which the resolutions switch for a long time. I don't know any other way. Since XP doesn't have this problem, it's most likely a problem with early 9x drivers.

This worked FINALLY thank you so much!!! I could only get 1600x900 100hz just like you but that is 100x better than before. The NVCLOCK method you've mentioned for the black bar is smart too, didn't try it as the DDC registry method was good enough for me. Btw I have a geforce 4 ti with only vga on it and i'd like to hook that up to this same monitor, you mentioned vga converters - which one of the chinese ones gives the best quality? I know those two words cant be used in the same sentence but I can't really splash out on an OSSC

Thanks once again

EDIT: how does one obtain a full version of powerstrip..

Reply 7 of 21, by schnoots148

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Update on the situation: A few days after fixing it I'm back to square one, and I think this has to do with the fact that powerstrip is shareware and locks me out. I'm back to getting an "input not supported" message. Are there any alternative programs to powerstrip which allow me to bypass DDC and set 1600x900 @ 100hz? It was working so well like that.

Reply 9 of 21, by schnoots148

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agent_x007 wrote on 2023-08-31, 11:53:

Which pstrip version you are utilising ?
Maybe older/newer one will work better ?

I've tried 3.20 and the latest which is 3.90, both were the same. The oldest i could find is 2.78 but i haven't tried that yet, OS got corrupted and I need to reinstall

Reply 10 of 21, by schnoots148

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Does anyone know how to get power strip to apply its settings permanently and take control from the nvidia side? When I set 1600x900 @ 100hz all is fine until I reboot and get an out of range message.. I have to reinstall nvidia drivers for it to come back to normal again

Reply 12 of 21, by DoZator

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If "Custom Timing" is selected and the checked operating mode is saved:
8tm6yq7g.png
then it will be applied every time you start PowerStrip (By default, it is registered in autoload). Up to this point, the screen may be black. If WINDOWS was not completed correctly, then after starting WINDOWS (you will hear the sound of WINDOWS starting), the screen will be dark, because PowerStrip displays a dialog box that you need to confirm by pressing ENTER. After that, the mode is applied and the image appears.

There are several tricks to make sure that the image is always there.

Reply 13 of 21, by schnoots148

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DoZator wrote on 2023-09-06, 15:12:
If "Custom Timing" is selected and the checked operating mode is saved: https://s20.directupload.net/images/230906/8tm6yq7g.png […]
Show full quote

If "Custom Timing" is selected and the checked operating mode is saved:
8tm6yq7g.png
then it will be applied every time you start PowerStrip (By default, it is registered in autoload). Up to this point, the screen may be black. If WINDOWS was not completed correctly, then after starting WINDOWS (you will hear the sound of WINDOWS starting), the screen will be dark, because PowerStrip displays a dialog box that you need to confirm by pressing ENTER. After that, the mode is applied and the image appears.

There are several tricks to make sure that the image is always there.

You may be onto something here dozator, i've installed 56.64 nvidia drivers which got me much further than any other version - and i'm using version 3.80 of powerstrip (found the full version somewhere..) and I was able to set 1600x900 as a custom resolution and 95Hz referesh rate (100hz didnt survive on reboots, not sure why). Thankfully on reboots I do get a black screen which transitions into 900p and 95hz after a few seconds, and i was able to replicate this a few times to see if it carked itself. I will post an update if it destroys itself again.

One annoying issue i've been having while troubleshooting is how long 98 takes to boot, it spends 1 minute without hdd activity and then gets going after. Going into safe mode its almost instant. Some posts say its because of dhcp settings but i have no ethernet driver installed and I set a static ip of 192.68.0.1 - still nothing

Reply 14 of 21, by DoZator

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It is worth making sure that there is no case of forced scaling of 1600x900 to something higher (1600x1200 or 1920x1080)? This can be viewed in "Advanced timing options".

PowerStrip can slightly adjust the set values as it sees fit. Sometimes it turned out to be slightly lower than 100 (99, XXX) and to fix this, I set the value slightly higher than it was set earlier. Now I have a stable "100,375" and it does not change anymore. 1600x900 native, without scaling.

By the way, all settings are stored in "PSTRIP. INI" and if everything is already working stably, you can make a copy of this file in case something changes. For example, after connecting another monitor, I lost the settings in this file and then nothing worked. The forced zoom was always applied, even when I went back to the previous monitor. It's good that a copy of this file was made and I easily put everything back in place.

And the fact that Windows loads for a long time is definitely not the norm and the reasons here can be very different. However, this is not the subject of discussion on this topic and is unlikely to be related to it.

The only thing is, I haven't tried any PowerStrip versions below 3.90 Build 736 yet.

Reply 15 of 21, by schnoots148

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DoZator wrote on 2023-09-07, 18:33:
It is worth making sure that there is no case of forced scaling of 1600x900 to something higher (1600x1200 or 1920x1080)? This c […]
Show full quote

It is worth making sure that there is no case of forced scaling of 1600x900 to something higher (1600x1200 or 1920x1080)? This can be viewed in "Advanced timing options".

PowerStrip can slightly adjust the set values as it sees fit. Sometimes it turned out to be slightly lower than 100 (99, XXX) and to fix this, I set the value slightly higher than it was set earlier. Now I have a stable "100,375" and it does not change anymore. 1600x900 native, without scaling.

By the way, all settings are stored in "PSTRIP. INI" and if everything is already working stably, you can make a copy of this file in case something changes. For example, after connecting another monitor, I lost the settings in this file and then nothing worked. The forced zoom was always applied, even when I went back to the previous monitor. It's good that a copy of this file was made and I easily put everything back in place.

And the fact that Windows loads for a long time is definitely not the norm and the reasons here can be very different. However, this is not the subject of discussion on this topic and is unlikely to be related to it.

The only thing is, I haven't tried any PowerStrip versions below 3.90 Build 736 yet.

I've had the system disconnected and packed away for a few days and after booting it today i'm back to getting a no signal screen - would setting PSTRIP.ini to read only fix this for good? I'm not sure why it's forgotten everything i've done after some downtime. I also didnt notice any zoom in when I had it working, but I will still look into it. When you mention 100,375 what does the 375 mean. Many thanks once again for assisting me on this annoying issue

Reply 16 of 21, by schnoots148

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Update: Everything now works the way it should after lots and lots of trial and error. 56.64 is the best driver to use with a Quadro FX 1000 on win9x and ME, and 1600x900 @ 100Hz with my attached powerstrip parameters make it look perfect. I've installed windows ME as an experiment as I got sick of the long boot times of 98 that I couldn't fix, and its actually quite stable and snappy. Upon reboot when using a modern monitor like mine, you will get a "input not supported" error, this will eventually disappear on its own and if not it is because there are dialog boxes open such as "found new hardware" or "the file being replaced is older than the current one" which can appear after installing stuff. In this case you must spam the enter key and get it out of the way so windows can finish loading and for powerstrip to launch. I'm not sure if powerstrip has its own dialog box that pops up but regardless, the trick is to spam enter.

All credit goes to dozator for showing me how to do it right, imo this issue should be treated as a bigger deal as it allows us to use new high refresh rate monitors for superior experiences, that are readily available instead of chasing CRT's for those who don't have space for one, and also allowing for crisp hdmi quality with dvi to hdmi.

I used PowerStrip 3.80.625 which was acquired through.. a place

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Reply 18 of 21, by schnoots148

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Dolenc wrote on 2023-09-22, 06:48:

Network card can be responsible for long reboots on win98, try disabling it in win or bios and see what happens

The problem is i dont even have the network drivers installed, and theres no option in the bios to disable it.. Do i install the drivers and then disable it? I've set a static ip already but still no go