VOGONS


First post, by konc

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Hi all,

I've been searching for quite some time now the floppy which came with the ATI Small Wonder graphics card. It's more of a utilities disk (1 5.25" DD floppy) containing a very handy tool: it allows you to change the mode (Hercules/CGA -otherwise configurable through dip switches) through software until next reboot.

Does anyone have it? Either just the contents or a proper disk image.

(I suppose it's not a problem to share this, right? I mean it's like a drivers disk, not commercial software).

Thanks!

Reply 2 of 11, by konc

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Excellent, thanks a lot. Of course the contents are more than enough.

On a Hyundai PC clone which also came with this card it was a separate disk, visually different, labeled "graphics utilities" or something similar. It wasn't even in the same envelope with the rest "system disks" containing MS-DOS.
On another clone, the exact same contents where on a floppy having ATI's name on its label.
That's why I'm assuming there was some "official" disk, although it seems now that it has been distributed in many different ways.

Reply 4 of 11, by konc

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That's it, MS.COM! Just tried it and it works. You can have the card configured for Hercules from the dip switches enjoying clear text, run ms.com, select #4 and run a CGA game without loading SIMCGA.

Everything is in Dutch though and by the very simplistic appearance it looks like an older version of what I had, but it does the job. Thanks again!

Reply 5 of 11, by Scali

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konc wrote:

That's it, MS.COM! Just tried it and it works. You can have the card configured for Hercules from the dip switches enjoying clear text, run ms.com, select #4 and run a CGA game without loading SIMCGA.

Yea, I believe you can even pass it command line parameters. So you could make a batch file that does something like this:
@ECHO OFF
C:\VIDEO\MS.COM C80
RUNGAME
C:\VIDEO\MS.COM MG1

At least, that's what I seem to recall.

http://scalibq.wordpress.com/just-keeping-it- … ro-programming/

Reply 6 of 11, by konc

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If I only knew this as a kid... No HDD, single drive. Imagine 😀 I'm going to try this for sure and get my revenge.

Reply 7 of 11, by konc

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...aaand the ATI disk I had memories of, just as I was starting to believe I'm getting too old and loosing it, revealed itself. It was lying under our eyes all this time.
This is the full/ATI branded Graphics Solution disk from 1987, as found at minuszerodegrees.net (a site of amazing content I must say).
http://www.minuszerodegrees.net/manuals/ATI%2 … sion%201.00.zip

The attachment ms_001.png is no longer available

It's the disk which came with my first PC clone mentioned earlier having an ATI logo on the label. It's not showing on the dosbox screenshot I just took, but it actually has a menu bar 😀 It's a slightly later version of what Scali kindly shared.

Reply 9 of 11, by dr.zeissler

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wow that's cool. That means dip-switches stay hercules, monitor stays hercules,
but software emulates and displays CGA...that's cool! no ghosting, no scanlines,
wow that's REALLY cool. ...but useless for my euro pc with HGC/CGA Paradise-Chip 🙁

Retro-Gamer 😀 ...on different machines

Reply 10 of 11, by Scali

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dr.zeissler wrote:

wow that's cool. That means dip-switches stay hercules, monitor stays hercules,
but software emulates and displays CGA...that's cool! no ghosting, no scanlines,
wow that's REALLY cool. ...but useless for my euro pc with HGC/CGA Paradise-Chip 🙁

I believe the Paradise can do the same thing.

http://scalibq.wordpress.com/just-keeping-it- … ro-programming/

Reply 11 of 11, by dr.zeissler

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Thx scali, that would be a killer-feature 😀. So I only need the tools for that paradise chip.
It's a Paradise PVC4 38307c, the same chip is used in a commodore PC-10-III and labeled "AGA" Graphics.
Perhaps I can get the Paradise Tools from that machine...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/94839221@N05/26 … 57665135854734/

Retro-Gamer 😀 ...on different machines