VOGONS


First post, by mechcentric

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I am using this card on a 486 machine running PC DOS 6.22. Originally, this card displayed a VGA BIOS splash screen at startup. I tried to add Super VGA VESA BIOS Extension via a tool for Mach 64, mistakenly, as the 1 MB DRAM I added made the splash screen say Mach 64. After this, there was no longer the splash screen, and mt32utl could not find the card. After that, I managed to successfully add vvesa.com as a TSR program and display SVGA content. I have tried programming a new EPROM IC with the BIOS (from VGA Museum Mach 32 page). Now, there is still no splash screen and the autoexec hangs at the VBE TSR, and I cannot get to the command prompt. Is there a way to restore the splash screen and the use of my system? Thank you!

mechcentric

AMD 386sx-40/33/25/20, 4MB SDR, CT2230
Intel 486dx2-66, ATI Mach32/64 VLB 1+1MB, 16MB SDR , CT2290
Pentium MMX 166, ATI Rage II + DVD, Voodoo1, YMF718-s
Pentium III 850, Voodoo3 3500, 2x256MB SDR, Aureal Vortex 2 (MX300), 10/100 LAN
Dell P991

Reply 1 of 6, by blurks

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Let me get your steps in order:

  1. You added 1 MB DRAM to your ATI Graphics Wonder VLB (Mach32)
  2. You added Mach64 VESA BIOS Extensions (persistent mod to Video BIOS or just a TSR?)
  3. You successfully executed vvesa.com TSR
  4. You overwrote the Video BIOS with a Mach32 one from VGA Museum which doesn't work correctly on your card

I can't really provide you with THE solution but I suspect you have just picked the wrong BIOS. I think, there are differences between Graphics Wonder and Graphics Ultra Pro variants (DRAM vs VRAM for example) and different DAC's onboard. You still have the backup of your original BIOS, don't you?

It is my understanding that the BIOS provided by VGA Museum is from a Graphics Ultra Pro. It says "LOCAL BUS ATI ULTRA PRO, BIOS P/N 113-19500-100" which indicates it came from a Graphics Ultra Pro and not from a Graphics Wonder.

Reply 2 of 6, by mechcentric

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Step 2 is persistent to BIOS. Unfortunately I don't have a backup of the original BIOS. I'm not sure if it's possible to get the VBI file for my card; I haven't been able to find a copy online. Perhaps someone here on vogons has such a file?

mechcentric

AMD 386sx-40/33/25/20, 4MB SDR, CT2230
Intel 486dx2-66, ATI Mach32/64 VLB 1+1MB, 16MB SDR , CT2290
Pentium MMX 166, ATI Rage II + DVD, Voodoo1, YMF718-s
Pentium III 850, Voodoo3 3500, 2x256MB SDR, Aureal Vortex 2 (MX300), 10/100 LAN
Dell P991

Reply 4 of 6, by mechcentric

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By VGA Wonder you mean Graphics Wonder? Just want to be doubly sure. Thank you so much! You're a life saver! 😀

mechcentric

AMD 386sx-40/33/25/20, 4MB SDR, CT2230
Intel 486dx2-66, ATI Mach32/64 VLB 1+1MB, 16MB SDR , CT2290
Pentium MMX 166, ATI Rage II + DVD, Voodoo1, YMF718-s
Pentium III 850, Voodoo3 3500, 2x256MB SDR, Aureal Vortex 2 (MX300), 10/100 LAN
Dell P991

Reply 5 of 6, by bakemono

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VGA WONDER is what it says inside the BIOS, so I'm not sure. Here is a pic of the card

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Reply 6 of 6, by mechcentric

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EDIT: turns out that card is an Ultra XLR like i thought (apparently they came with 1 MB of RAM as well). Seemingly impossible to find the dump I need.

http://www.vgamuseum.info/index.php/cpu/item/83-ati-mach32

Based on this, the part number appears to be for a Graphics Ultra XLR VLB. That being said, I believe only the Graphics Wonder (ISA & VLB) came with 1 MB RAM. I will have an erasable EPROM chip soon, so I can give it a try and erase if it doesn't work. Thank you again!

mechcentric

AMD 386sx-40/33/25/20, 4MB SDR, CT2230
Intel 486dx2-66, ATI Mach32/64 VLB 1+1MB, 16MB SDR , CT2290
Pentium MMX 166, ATI Rage II + DVD, Voodoo1, YMF718-s
Pentium III 850, Voodoo3 3500, 2x256MB SDR, Aureal Vortex 2 (MX300), 10/100 LAN
Dell P991