VOGONS


First post, by ildonaldo

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

Hi,
I am trying to get Tomb Raider 1 (DOS) running with a Matrox m3d and Hercules Terminator S3 Virge DX (my "PC 1997", see below).
So far no success with the out-of-the-box installation (tombpcx2.exe etc.) - the PC only crashes.

How to use/install univbe correctly for this?
Step-by-step would be nice, cause it has been ages since I've used DOS and coded in Basic

TNX
ildonaldo
_____________________________________________________________________
My current PC-museum:
PC 1991: I've got a Unisys notebook with a 386DX, but it is hardly running and needs major hardware-fixing
PC 1997: IDT W2A 200 / 82430 TX / 128MB SD / S3 VirgeDX / Voodoo 1 / 2.88 FDD + 1.2 FDD / 1GB HDD / CD ODD / DOS 6.22 + WfW 3.11
PC 2001: Athlon XP 3200+ / nForce2-400 / 512MB-400 DDR1 / FX 5700 / ZIP 250 / 40GB HDD / DVD ODD / Windows 98SE
PC 2011: Phenom II X6 1065T / AMD 880G / 8GB DDR3 / GTX 670 / Cardreader / 120GB SSD + 250GB HDD / DVD ODD / Windows XP
... I know, I am gaping Windows 7 at the moment, but I am waiting till some of the more exotic HW gets cheaper ...
Current: i7-8700k / Z370 / 32GB DDR4 / GTX 1070 / Cardreader / 256GB+512GB+1TB SSD / DVD+BD ODD / Windows 10

Building my own PCs since 1991 - for my retro builds it's "no CF-disks, no Floppy emulators, no modern cases etc.", only the real and authentic stuff whenever possible.

Reply 1 of 6, by leileilol

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

Is m3dpci.exe (installed via Windows 95 drivers) loaded first?

Also if you want a realistic, representative "1997" gaming build, you wouldn't be having only Win3.1 on it... a win3.1 rig in 97 would be more of a 386/486dx2 poverty build of mostly 93-94 parts.

apsosig.png
long live PCem

Reply 2 of 6, by ildonaldo

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

I am looking for a 486DX at the moment but in the meanwhile the W2A fills the gap.
So the "Pentium" is running on pure DOS + WfW 3.11.

Got TR1 + PCX2 running with a Matrox Millenium, but it refuses to cooperate with the S3 VirgeDX.
But I prefer the S3 because it is more compatible with the TFT (e.g. Commander Keen).

I am suspecting the univbe version that comes with the game to be outdated for the S3.
I tried to replace the version in install directory with univbe 6.7 and it recognises the m3D as "Midas 5" but then the game start comes to a halt with 2cm large letters on the screen.
(back in the 90s I already had the m3d and remember similar problems, but I can't remember how I fixed it)

Building my own PCs since 1991 - for my retro builds it's "no CF-disks, no Floppy emulators, no modern cases etc.", only the real and authentic stuff whenever possible.

Reply 3 of 6, by derSammler

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t

Funny, I read that the PCX1/PCX2 cards works best with S3 Virge cards.

Why do you load Univbe at all? Try booting clean, without anything loaded (press F5 when it says "Starting MS-DOS..."). Then start the game directly by calling the .exe file and not any .bat that may load Univbe or other stuff.

If that still doesn't work, check if the Virge got an IRQ assigned. If not, set it accordingly. Also try a different PCI slot for the Virge.

Reply 4 of 6, by leileilol

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++
ildonaldo wrote:

a 486DX

You are not going to satisfy PowerVR cards with weak FPUs. They seriously need at least a Pentium 166 (a real one) and a decent PCI motherboard

apsosig.png
long live PCem

Reply 5 of 6, by ildonaldo

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

Oh no, the Matrox m3d will stay in the "Pentium".

Building my own PCs since 1991 - for my retro builds it's "no CF-disks, no Floppy emulators, no modern cases etc.", only the real and authentic stuff whenever possible.

Reply 6 of 6, by ildonaldo

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

Tried it once again with my spare P100+Matrox Millenium and there the m3d (PCX2) works.
But with the S3 VirgeDX (got two, tried both) it is still no success.

Unfortunately I can't spend more time tinkering - now I puting back the voodoo1 which works fine.
Case closed ... for the moment.

Building my own PCs since 1991 - for my retro builds it's "no CF-disks, no Floppy emulators, no modern cases etc.", only the real and authentic stuff whenever possible.