demiurge wrote on 2024-02-03, 21:20:

I bought a Hercules Graphite VL Pro, not because it is good, but because it is odd. […]
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I bought a Hercules Graphite VL Pro, not because it is good, but because it is odd.

It claims to be able to handle 2MB but with stock 1MB. The only upgrade spots look to be two DIP-24 holders but even the DIP VRAM I can find is 256 kB only and in a ZIP package.

Was DIP VRAM ever made? I want to upgrade this thing but can I just find the right VRAM and stick it in there? Two slots doesn't seem like enough for 1 MB.

I guess I could buy the ZIP versions and solder it in the available space, but I don't know if my soldering is good enough.

Yes, that is 256kx4 VRAM in zip format. I have a VLB Mach 32, which has 16 pieces of these soldered, so 2MB.
So the additional VRAM needs to be soldered into the board. Or you need first to empty all the holes and then solder a socket.
I have no clue for what the empty sockets are.
Before ordering RAM modules and heating up your soldering iron, I would recommend to search for the documentation of the card. If there is no official docu, then search in the driver files of Win 3.1.
Also very likely there are some Hercules tools for DOS, run some diagnostics with it.
Check what additional resolution you have after upgrading to 2 MB.
And first test the card with only 1 MB. Then you can decide ....

Ooh, another IIT board...

Any chance you could dump the VGA BIOS ROM?

I have a different one (a Puretek PT-2072 with AGX 016A chip), but have hit a brick wall twice trying to get VESA working fully. Hercules has VESA drivers which look interesting, but they refuse to run on non-Hercules cards. Maybe I could just stick the Hercules BIOS onto my card, failing that I could find which string it's looking for and replace just that.

dionb wrote on 2024-02-04, 17:51:

Ooh, another IIT board...

Any chance you could dump the VGA BIOS ROM?

I have a different one (a Puretek PT-2072 with AGX 016A chip), but have hit a brick wall twice trying to get VESA working fully. Hercules has VESA drivers which look interesting, but they refuse to run on non-Hercules cards. Maybe I could just stick the Hercules BIOS onto my card, failing that I could find which string it's looking for and replace just that.

Did you upgrade your card to 2MB?

dionb wrote on 2024-02-04, 17:51:

Ooh, another IIT board...

Any chance you could dump the VGA BIOS ROM?

I have a different one (a Puretek PT-2072 with AGX 016A chip), but have hit a brick wall twice trying to get VESA working fully. Hercules has VESA drivers which look interesting, but they refuse to run on non-Hercules cards. Maybe I could just stick the Hercules BIOS onto my card, failing that I could find which string it's looking for and replace just that.

I would do so immediately if I had the equipment. Point me to what I need and I will see what I can do.

The IIT AGX016 PCI bios is on vgamuseum if you think that might help.

CoffeeOne wrote on 2024-02-04, 17:19:

Check what additional resolution you have after upgrading to 2 MB.

1024 x 768 x 256 colors - Interlaced and Non- Interlaced
1024 x 768 x 64K colors - Interlaced (with 2MB VRAM)
1280 x 1024 x 16 colors - Non-Interlaced
1280 x 1024 x 256 colors - Non-Interlaced (with 2MB VRAM)

demiurge wrote on 2024-02-04, 18:30:

1024 x 768 x 256 colors - Interlaced and Non- Interlaced 1024 x 768 x 64K colors - Interlaced (with 2MB VRAM) 1280 x 1024 x 16 c […]
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CoffeeOne wrote on 2024-02-04, 17:19:

Check what additional resolution you have after upgrading to 2 MB.

1024 x 768 x 256 colors - Interlaced and Non- Interlaced
1024 x 768 x 64K colors - Interlaced (with 2MB VRAM)
1280 x 1024 x 16 colors - Non-Interlaced
1280 x 1024 x 256 colors - Non-Interlaced (with 2MB VRAM)

1024 x 768 x 64K colors - Interlaced (with 2MB VRAM)
1280 x 1024 x 256 colors - Non-Interlaced (with 2MB VRAM)
Do you want to use one of these 2 modes?

demiurge wrote on 2024-02-04, 18:27:

dionb wrote on 2024-02-04, 17:51:

Ooh, another IIT board...

Any chance you could dump the VGA BIOS ROM?

I have a different one (a Puretek PT-2072 with AGX 016A chip), but have hit a brick wall twice trying to get VESA working fully. Hercules has VESA drivers which look interesting, but they refuse to run on non-Hercules cards. Maybe I could just stick the Hercules BIOS onto my card, failing that I could find which string it's looking for and replace just that.

I would do so immediately if I had the equipment. Point me to what I need and I will see what I can do.

The IIT AGX016 PCI bios is on vgamuseum if you think that might help.

If you are just dumping the VGA bios, then DOS's DEBUG should be sufficient. If you want something simpler to use, MBrutman made a tool for dumping PCjr cartridges, which are basically just option roms, that will also work.

https://www.brutman.com/PCjr/downloads/pcjrcart.zip

If you want to use debug, it needs a small tutorial:
Re: Diamond Speedstar 64 ISA BIOS rom needed

CoffeeOne wrote on 2024-02-04, 17:56:

[...]

Did you upgrade your card to 2MB?

I have the RAM, but haven't actually installed it as I can't even use the 1MB currently on the card.

demiurge wrote on 2024-02-04, 18:27:

[...]

I would do so immediately if I had the equipment. Point me to what I need and I will see what I can do.

The IIT AGX016 PCI bios is on vgamuseum if you think that might help.

If you have a ROM flasher like TL866, that's the easiest option- but I'm guessing you wouldn't be asking this question if you did 😉

But you can do it pretty easily with DEBUG.EXE in DOS:

r cs c000 r cx 8000 n video.rom w 0 q […]
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r cs
c000
r cx
8000
n video.rom
w 0
q

(credit)

And yes, I've seen the IIT PCI BIOS. It might just work on my card - but I already have a working generic BIOS. What I'm looking for is a Hercules-specific one that will let me run HGCVESA.

Edit: should post faster, everything I said about the ROM - including the exact same link - was already mentioned.