Hibou wrote on 2023-03-17, 15:25:

Hi everyone! First post here.

I'm learning to use PCem and I'm dabbing with a Windows 98 SE installation. I'm trying to install a graphic card but most will ask for the "supervga.drv" driver which is supposed to be on the installation cd but is not. I can't locate the damned file anywhere! Could someone help me with this? I'm trying to get a resolution of 1024x768 in 16 bit or better, so I'm not over ambitious.

Thanks!

1024x768 in 16 bit or better is VERY ambitious

You need to install drivers of emulated vga card

theelf wrote on 2023-03-17, 15:31:

Hibou wrote on 2023-03-17, 15:25:

Hi everyone! First post here.

I'm learning to use PCem and I'm dabbing with a Windows 98 SE installation. I'm trying to install a graphic card but most will ask for the "supervga.drv" driver which is supposed to be on the installation cd but is not. I can't locate the damned file anywhere! Could someone help me with this? I'm trying to get a resolution of 1024x768 in 16 bit or better, so I'm not over ambitious.

Thanks!

1024x768 in 16 bit or better is VERY ambitious

You need to install drivers of emulated vga card

That part goes well, but the system asks me for the supervga.drv file and it doesn't seem to even exist! I try 4 install disk images and some archival sites for vintage drivers to no avail. It looks like my installation is broken somehow?

Hibou wrote on 2023-03-17, 15:39:

theelf wrote on 2023-03-17, 15:31:

Hibou wrote on 2023-03-17, 15:25:

Hi everyone! First post here.

I'm learning to use PCem and I'm dabbing with a Windows 98 SE installation. I'm trying to install a graphic card but most will ask for the "supervga.drv" driver which is supposed to be on the installation cd but is not. I can't locate the damned file anywhere! Could someone help me with this? I'm trying to get a resolution of 1024x768 in 16 bit or better, so I'm not over ambitious.

Thanks!

1024x768 in 16 bit or better is VERY ambitious

You need to install drivers of emulated vga card

That part goes well, but the system asks me for the supervga.drv file and it doesn't seem to even exist! I try 4 install disk images and some archival sites for vintage drivers to no avail. It looks like my installation is broken somehow?

The file is part of windows install, I cant help you more because i dont know what emulated card you use

here is the file, as attachment

At least mention which card you're using. Cards like Mach64 VT2, S3 Trio64, Virge/DX, etc. work out of the box with 98 SE. 1024 x 768 at 16-bit is trivial for these cards.

If it's still asking for the driver file for those, then either something went wrong with the windows installation, or the disk or image you are using has issues.

I second this. PCI graphics cards usually have 1 MB or more of video memory. And a RAMDAC capable of direct-colour mode. They can display 1024x768 pixels beyond 256c.

ISA VGA cards, by contrast, have 256 KB or 512KB/1MB and sometimes come with a RAMDAC
that is using palette mode only (256c simultaneously, out of a palette of.. 4096c?).

They can display 800x600 and 1024x768 pels easily, though ! But not necessarily using progressive scan, a high refresh rate and with more than 256c.

PS: The IBM 8514/A from 1987 could do 1024x768 pels in 256c at 46 Hz refresh (interlaced)! Flickery, but hi-res, at least. Aiming at the lower CAD/DTP sector, so to say.

Edit: 1024x768 was the resolution we used at school to create the school's website.
But we didn't expect 16-Bit colour depth, rather used web safe colours.
The pictures on the site were JPEGs already, though, so maybe using 16-Bit colours.
GIFs of the early internet days had a 256c limit (Windows could display 236c merely, the rest was reserved).

Edit: Or to put things into perspective:
1024x768 in 16-Bit was a normal Windows 98SE resolution in the 2000s.
Problem was, that many Windows 98SE owners kept using their 90s hardware still (98 still ran on 486 PCs).
In the late 90s, 256 colour resolutions were still being common - even though not end of the line, either.
Users with an AGP graphics card had no problem using both high resolutions/colour-depths, they were rather handicapped by their CRT monitors.

On the other "extreme", 1024x768 or 1280x1024 or -gasp- 1600x1200 in 16-Bit/24-Bit were used way down in 1992 - on Windows 3.1x.
By DTP people and professional photographers (Kodak Photo CD..) and other artists.

supervga.drv is located on the Win98 cd, in BASE5.CAB, and windows driver setup should already identify this when it installs.

also it won't bring 16-bit color, more like 16 colors given it's designed for older pre-VESA 512kb video cards and "super VGA" used to refer to 800x600x4. You also won't get any DirectX acceleration with this driver. AFAIK Windows 98 will never ask to automatically install the SuperVGA driver.