First post, by ThisOldTech
Hey guys,
I've been testing a ton of VLB video cards and come across some odd situations. I was doing BIOS dumps and tests in Doom with a 486DX2/66.
I've tried this S3 805 on two different mobos and same result each time.
Specifically it's a JATON VL41C/V2 S3™805 1MB VLB.
Every time I fire up NSSI - program loads fine, detects all the hardware etc.. I go to Details-> Video... and BOOM.
Monitor light goes from green to orange, computer continues running but nothing happens.
I even tried memorizing how to get out of the program via keyboard -- in case the machine was still running to see if the monitor would come back on when the software was closed but nothing happens.
Another sign the machine has basically shutdown/crashed is that CTRL-ALT-DEL doesn't work and neither do the caps lock etc. Keyboard controller is obv. offline too.
I tested the card in Doom (insanely fast compared to other cards btw - graphics on high) and I tried VGATEST.exe and all the modes work...
What's going on here?
Why that one program?
Does that mean the card is defective? Would that mean it would fry in say... Windows or is NSSI loading some kind of VESA mode test?
Ironically if I use the "detect undocumented video modes" feature of NSSI, that works and displays what look like a bunch of hex codes that likely suggest features/resolutions/settings it can support.
So that doesn't crash it.
I even tried the /XG switch upon starting the program and got the same result.
Why does the 805 not want to let me hardware test it to see all it's features and capabilities?
Is it broken? What say you?
Attaching the VGA BIOS statement/load screen in case maybe it's outdated or the software version is part of the issue.
I rescue old PCs and keep them from being recycled... and preserve Dos/Win 3.11 Software on https://www.ThisOldTech.ca.
Current Machine: AST Advantage! Adventure 6066d Cyrix DX50, 32M, 500MB, Vibra16 + CD/Floppy