If it can run Win98, then the Win98 driver for Voodoo2 should just work. I assume it runs the typical Win98, not a special version of Win98 created just for its architecture. The Japanese market used to stuffs with lots of its own standards. The OS driver model typically provides the abstraction to deal with architecture differences from the hardware. Early Compaq PCs weren't 100% IBM PC compatible, too.

It is a special version of Windows 98. It has some strange differences like the hard drive being A: and the floppy drive being another letter.

Software like games generally are cross compatible between the two because things like DirectX provide the translation layer, but drivers aren't. PC-98 memory addressing is different to IBM memory addressing.

You can still try the Win98 driver for Voodoo2, if it does not do any harm and you have backup ready in case of the need to restore the OS. Since Voodoo2 is just a non-VGA standard PCI device, it doesn't need IRQ and DMA and the rest of the PCI is typically architecture agnostic. If the Voodoo2 driver's INF allows the driver to be installed, then it is likely to work as usual.

Yeah, I did try regular PC drivers but they didn't work. They installed like normal but then the computer would just freeze whenever it tried to access the card. Everything was also really slow even when not doing anything to do with the card (just clicking around on the desktop). Even just trying to open the 3dfx display properties would cause it to lock up. This is just a guess but it's probably trying to read or write from incorrect memory locations.

http://jivesnet.homeip.net/voodoo/voodoo98.html

I found this site which basically says that Voodoo 3 and onwards don't work on a PC-98 with Windows 98 due to no drivers existing. So this suggests that there are drivers for Voodoo 2 and earlier...

The last of Celeron 433MHz PC-9801 was based on Intel 440FX chipsets, too. I guess this is what you have. So the Voodoo2 driver INF didn't complain and proceed with driver installation? Which flavors of Voodoo2 do you have?

I-O Data made Voodoo2 based cards compatible with the PC-98 machines:
https://www.iodata.jp/products/graphics/gavd2.htm
https://www.iodata.jp/lib/software/g/156.htm
https://web.archive.org/web/20000311130859fw_ … phics/gavd2.htm

lolo799 wrote on 2021-01-16, 08:42:

I-O Data made Voodoo2 based cards compatible with the PC-98 machines: https://www.iodata.jp/products/graphics/gavd2.htm https:// […]
Show full quote

I-O Data made Voodoo2 based cards compatible with the PC-98 machines:
https://www.iodata.jp/products/graphics/gavd2.htm
https://www.iodata.jp/lib/software/g/156.htm
https://web.archive.org/web/20000311130859fw_ … phics/gavd2.htm

Thanks, that sounds promising but unfortunately the drivers on their download site are only for NT4. Even when you click 95 or 98, it still gives you a driver which specifically says "for NT4 only, not for 95/98" when you try to install it. I'll do some more searching and maybe I can find a mirror of the correct drivers.

https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en& … =search&pto=aue

It basically says banshee works, and you would think any vsa-100 card would work but becasue those use sdram instead of sgram, they don't work right, but you can hack it so that it remove sgram check.
https://yahoo.aleado.com/lot?auctionID=t629421573
NT4.0 for driver disk F22 ADF contains PC-98 for graphics board Voodoo Banshee

https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en& … =search&pto=aue

https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en& … =search&pto=aue

I managed to track down the correct Win95/98 drivers from iodata.jp using archive.org. They still don't work right though. The installation goes smoothly but then it hangs when trying to access the card.

Out of interest I tried some other PCI video cards (not 3DFX cards, but things like S3, NVidia, etc). None of them would work in the PC-98. It would act as though there was no video card at all and just give a constant beep.

I'm pretty confident that the computer is fine because it works with the PCI video card that came in the machine from new.

I'm starting to wonder if there are differences between PC-98 and IBM PC video cards. Maybe they need a different BIOS to work in the PC-98. Although that doesn't explain why the Voodoo 2 wouldn't work when it doesn't even have a BIOS.

Only Banshees work i am told.

　★ GA-VDB16 (IO Data)
　★ WGP-FX16N (Melco)
　★ WGP-FX8N (Melco)

Here is a list of cards that work
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en& … =search&pto=aue

What about Voodoo Rush? By sheer coincidence I have an IO Data Voodoo Rush here (GA-RUSH6/PCI). According to the manufacturer this model supports PC-98. I get the same constant beep and no video output with it though (the card is confirmed working in another computer). It's got a socketed BIOS so maybe it needs to be reflashed with a PC-98 compatible BIOS? A quick search didn't really turn anything up though. I did find a BIOS for it but there was no indication that it was for any particular architecture, so maybe my guess is wrong.

idk just trying to help you. If you can find a Banshee that uses SGram and flash it to the IO-Data banshee bios it is possible, but thats not guaranteed. It obviously need to be a similar card. Same ram chips and layout etc

https://www.iodata.jp/lib/product/g/219.htm

Picture

Voodoo 2
[IO DATA]
　★ GA-VDII 12 / PCI
　★ GA-VDII 8 / PCI