Welcome aboard, Good Ol' TarviS!

First, how does POST screen looks like, up until just before Windows starts? If it's displayed well and the colors are right, then the card is certainly not dead--dying, perhaps, but not dead 😁 . That screenshot looks like a mismatched setting (maybe resolution/refresh rate).

To test that, please install the standard VGA driver that comes with Windows. If it goes well, then you can safely assume that it's driver problem, not the card.

Try to get a free or trial (older) version of driver cleaner.
Use driver cleaner to erase all graphic drivers from your windows installation (readme should say how). Go to the matrox website and get the newest drivers for your operating system & install them.

I doubt that the card is broken, but if so choose the nvida based card, as the ati might cause problems in dos.

please install the standard VGA driver

Forgot to add, the easiest to do that is to run windows in safe mode--i see you did that already.
If that works, then you can do the cleaning as suggested above before trying to install any new driver.

Nothing fancy with the variant, just "single head" as you said. Probably OEM. If it is indeed OEM, maybe you can also get the driver from the vendor (HP, IBM, Compaq?)--do you know where the card is pulled from?

P.S.

Wait, your motherboard has PCI-express, AGP and integrated graphic? This is trickier than i thought. It's trickier because you're trying to install Windows 98SE on a motherboard that might not have the best support for the OS. For starter, Win98SE doesn't (officially) support PCI Express, and there are reports that SATA may also cause weird problems with Win98.

Are you sure it has the needed support for Windows 9x (drivers, etc.)?

archsan wrote:

Wait, your motherboard has PCI-express, AGP and integrated graphic? This is trickier than i thought. It's trickier because you're trying to install Windows 98SE on a motherboard that might not have the best support for the OS. For starter, Win98SE doesn't (officially) support PCI Express, and there are reports that SATA may also cause weird problems with Win98.

Are you sure it has the needed support for Windows 9x (drivers, etc.)?

It's got PCI-E and the driver CDs work on 98.

However, the card I'm using is AGP, and I'm not using the SATA at all, just IDE.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like I can disable the onboard card in BIOS, just set the main slot. I'll have to investigate A31G's effects on Win98.

Thanks for the input.

EDIT: Also no, I'm not sure when we had the card before - old PC parts are put into a black cupboard in the garage.

Newer EDIT: Huh. I looked on the website and PCCHIPS offers a special AGP driver for older systems. Oddly enough, it wasn't on the CD that came with it.

I'll try it out and see what happens.

Yeah, nothing I do seems to work.

I'll try another video card to see if the problem is indeed the motherboard or not.

Regardless, I'm sad that the Matrox doesn't work. Oh well.

Aha! I fixed it!

I installed the (hidden) AGP driver that was on the MOBO CD and it works great now.

Thanks for your input/concerns about the motherboard guys!

EDIT: Or not. Sometimes Quake or Mechwarrior 2 crashes and hangs the system (either at launching of game or at exit) and then when I reboot, after getting to the Windows desktop, the desktop is black and I get the Windows loading hourglass and it hangs there forever.

Is my card overheating or something? I figured since it shipped with just a heatsink that it doesn't need a fan.
Perhaps I cold put on some new paste...(it HAS been years!)

Heh i'm supposed to be on a weekend but can't help checking this thread again!

FYI, This kid (judging from the language used 🤣 ) had the same type of motherboard as you and he was running into graphic/video problem, and he was using XP. Maybe it also had something to do with his card being a PCIe native (but bridged to AGP).

Can you try a gfx cards based on one of the chips listed here with your mobo?
Have you tried the onboard SiS IGP?

[...]

Edit note: To keep it concise for you, i reserved my previous suggestions for my update regarding the AGPro slot on my next post.

This goes for any graphic card you are going to use

Overheating graphic cards usually show a visible sign of corruption or crash in the middle of a game--i.e., while doing rendering, instead of when launching or at exit. A better cooling will always help and you won't lose much paste anyway, but we also need a more thorough testing.

To be really sure about your card, i suggest as above: running continuous, moderately to heavily-demanding Direct3D or OpenGL rendering (e.g. demo or 3DMark) for hours. That's kind of a standard procedure for any gfx card/system you're going to use. The system must pass without any issue.

Don't forget that older AGP cards may be incompatible with newer boards, and vice versa (newer AGP cards with older motherboards). If this is your case, don't worry, as you can have any of the listed supported gfx card for quite cheap. If you need suggestion for a gfx card, please let us know.

And please share with us your result with your system. Your system can still be a nice retro Win9x box, so keep it up!

..
UPdATE: i got interested in your motherboard and downloaded the manual. On the page 18 it says

The AGPro slot is used to install AGP graphics card that emulates the AGP function.

This indicates that the "AGPro" might be different (and thus behave differently) to a standard AGP 8X slot on other motherboard. I suggest you keep with the compatibility list.

Suggestion - remove all your mobo's RAM, and try one RAM stick you know works.

This indicates that the "AGPro" might be different (and thus behave differently) to a standard AGP 8X slot on other motherboard. I suggest you keep with the compatibility list.

Yep, that's not a real AGP slot, and it's notorious for not working at all with a great many cards, and not working properly with anything. And Matrox AGP cards seem to be some of the pickier ones about compatibility.

Maybe try another video card, but keep in mind that even if you can get one to work, it's probably not going to be trouble-free. I might suggest grabbing a new motherboard off eBay or wherever, like one with a Via chipset and real AGP.

Well guys, it doesn't matter now. Somehow, a part broke off the Matrox and now it just spits an OUT OF RANGE and related error on the monitor. Worst part is, it doesn't look like something I can just solder back on either.

Oh well, time to try out the other cards now. I'll have to try out the SiS Onboard and the one on the PCCHIPS as well.

Chances are the ATi (Rage Pro Turbo) might hold up well, it's been known to hold up with AGP better.

My other choices is the SiS530 onboard the other MOBO (Make and manufacturer unknown, can't even figure out the front panel pins...), the SiS Mirage onboard the PCChips, or a Diamond Viper v550.

EDIT: Or not. It's onboard only now, neither of the other cards will go into the AGP slot.

The crystal oscillator is certainly needed on a graphics card 😀

Hurray, Windows refuses to load properly when it's using the MOBO VGA. It hangs on the loading screen.

Went into safe mode and removed Matrox drivers, same deal.

I'm going to have to see if I can fix the card anyway.

EDIT: What was I thinking! Of course I can solder it...

Good Ol' TarviS wrote:

Hurray, Windows refuses to load properly when it's using the MOBO VGA. It hangs on the loading screen. […]
Show full quote

Hurray, Windows refuses to load properly when it's using the MOBO VGA. It hangs on the loading screen.

Went into safe mode and removed Matrox drivers, same deal.

I'm going to have to see if I can fix the card anyway.

EDIT: What was I thinking! Of course I can solder it...

So you're not using the AGP card ATM, and you've removed its drivers, but the mobo is still not getting to the desktop? If you haven't got any other RAM to use, try testing 1 of your existing sticks using memtest -

http://www.memtest86.com/download.html

I successfully fixed the Matrox, but you are right, it's probably a good idea to test the RAM anyway.

I will put in an Ubuntu disk and run it, and will post back with the results.

EDIT: MemTest86+ shows no errors, and 1 pass. Darn. I was hoping that would was the problem so I could fix it by now.

I guess I'll just have to go look for an older MOBO with proper AGP support.

Old Thrashbarg wrote:

Yep, that's not a real AGP slot, and it's notorious for not working at all with a great many cards, and not working properly with anything.

Note taken.

Old Thrashbarg wrote:

I might suggest grabbing a new motherboard off eBay or wherever, like one with a Via chipset and real AGP.

Seconded.

Good Ol' TarviS wrote:

...neither of the other cards will go into the AGP slot.

Your slot will only accept 1.5V AGP (4X/8X) card, it won't fit an old 3.3V AGP card.

Good Ol' TarviS wrote:

Hurray, Windows refuses to load properly when it's using the MOBO VGA. It hangs on the loading screen.

Have you tried switching between PCIe/AGP on the BIOS?
Have you tried Windows XP or Vista (easier if you had a spare HDD)?

My suggestion (as i don't think you'll be satisfied with on-board IGP even if it worked perfectly):

Get one of the listed Geforces or Radeons if you can. Try it for a while on this mobo, then you can decide whether the mobo is worth keeping or not.

For a Win9x retro machine, i recommend the GF FX series (5600, 5700, 5900, but not 5800) or Radeon 9500 Pro/9700 series if you must go ATI. The GF FX has better hardware support for Glide wrapper like Zeckensack's.

Minding the compatibility list, your safest bet would be an FX 5600 or 5900, or a Radeon 9500. All of them can be plugged into any AGP slot in any mobo. A member of this board is using an FX 5600 on an older motherboard so backward compatibility is confirmed. And try to get used for less than $25. Used mobo might be a little more than that but still cheap enough.

Detailed mobo recommendation is reserved until you're ready to spare your A31G mobo 😀

Remember that Radeon 9500 is basically identical to 9700 so they will be just as compatible but the 9700s are a lot faster.

However, the 9550 is a very different card.

Well, I found an ATi Rage 128 ULTRA in a junk box that fits the MOBO I have. I will try it out to see if it is indeed the video card cuasing this mess.

For sure, the Rage 128 is better than the Pro Turbo.