readment.txt Driver File Contents (nt4_474.exe)

[English]
README.TXT              MATROX GRAPHICS INC.              2000.10.12

                 Matrox PowerDesk for Windows NT 4.0
                            Rev. 4.74.021


Contents
========

- Release description
- Installation
- Using Matrox PowerDesk
- Hardware-accelerated 3D
- Notes, problems and limitations
- Matrox TV output


Release description
===================

This is the Matrox Windows NT Display Driver. It supports Microsoft
Windows NT for x86 CPU's, version 4.0 (Build 1381 -- or later).

This product includes:

- Display Driver
- Matrox PowerDesk for Windows NT 4.0


Installation
============

To install Matrox PowerDesk, start the "setup" program included 
with it, then follow the on-screen instructions.

The setup program will only install software if a Matrox graphics 
card model supported by the setup program is installed in your 
computer.

If you're installing this software on many systems, there are setup 
options to partially automate the procedure. For more information, 
see the "setup_un.doc" file included with this software.


Using Matrox PowerDesk
======================

Changing resolution, selecting a monitor, and using the Matrox 
PowerDesk is covered in the "online.doc" file.  You can view this 
file with WordPad.


Hardware-accelerated 3D
=======================

For 3D hardware acceleration, the Matrox Windows NT 4.0 display 
driver supports the OpenGL interface with 2 driver types -- MCD 
(Mini Client Driver) and ICD (Installable Client Driver). The 
Matrox Millennium, Millennium II, Mystique, Mystique 220, and G100-
based graphics cards have MCD support. The Matrox G200-based, G400-
based and later graphics cards have ICD support. (An ICD has more 
potential for optimization than an MCD.)

3D hardware acceleration has the following restrictions:

- Currently no acceleration is available when multiple cards are
  in use.

- The MCD/ICD does not support 8 bpp (256 colors) and 24 bpp 
  (16777216 colors) modes. 16 bpp (64 K colors) and 32 bpp (True 
  Color) modes are the ones that can be hardware-accelerated.

- Limitations to the available resolutions are to be expected. All 
  3D modes require extra memory to handle double buffering and/or 
  Z-buffering, and this memory is no longer available for display. 


Notes, problems and limitations
===============================

- Computers with more than one PCI bus

  It is possible that a switch to a full-screen Command Prompt, or 
  any change of mode, will result in a blue-screen crash if a card 
  is installed on a PCI bus other than bus 0. The problem is under 
  investigation.  Moving the card to a different PCI slot is a 
  possible workaround.

  There are systems where Windows NT reports conflicts between 
  adapters installed beyond the PCI bridge.  In this case, the Matrox 
  miniport driver cannot access its own card. If your system appears 
  unable to find the card, try moving it to a different PCI slot.

  Installing Microsoft Service Pack 3 (or later) for Windows NT 4.0 
  should fix many of these problems.

- DirectDraw with virtual desktops

  Some DirectDraw programs don't work properly with virtual 
  desktops. We recommend you run DirectDraw programs with a normal 
  desktop.

- 3D-Maze screen saver

  Display problems may appear while using the "3D-Maze" screen 
  saver. These may happen after Microsoft Service Pack 2 for 
  Windows NT 4.0 is installed. These display problems are 
  apparently fixed by Service Pack 3 (or later).

- Running Winstone 97

  The CenterPOPUP feature should be disabled (which is the default 
  setting) when running the Winstone 97 benchmark. Some tests may 
  report a time-out error if CenterPOPUP is used.

- Limitation with multiple graphics cards

  Windows NT 4.0 supports a maximum of about 280 different display 
  modes (combinations of resolution, color palette and refresh rate 
  settings). You may encounter this limit if you have more than one 
  Matrox graphics card installed in your computer.

  If the Matrox "VESA settings" option button is selected when there 
  are multiple Matrox cards in your computer, you're even more 
  likely to encounter the Windows NT 4.0 limit in the number of 
  display modes. This is because the "VESA settings" option supports 
  several different refresh rates for each display resolution and 
  color palette setting.

  If you have more than one Matrox graphics card in your computer, 
  we recommend you not use the "VESA settings" option. Note that 
  changing your refresh rate through the Microsoft "Display 
  Properties" dialog box activates the "VESA settings" option.

- 3D Studio MAX 1.2

  If you have problems running 3D Studio MAX 1.2 using the Matrox 
  HEIDI driver, try disabling the "Use bus mastering" check box 
  under "General settings". To access this check box, click 
  "Start" > "Programs" > "Matrox PowerDesk" > "Matrox Display 
  Properties" > "Performance".

- 3D Studio MAX 2.0

  Switching between HEIDI software emulation and OpenGL 
  acceleration while 3D Studio MAX 2.0 is running, may cause the 
  viewports to flicker while playing animations. This problem 
  may also happen if display settings (resolution or color palette) 
  are changed while 3D Studio MAX is running. If you experience 
  these problems, try closing 3D Studio MAX, changing your display 
  settings (resolution or color palette), and then restarting 3D 
  Studio MAX.

- 15-bit color palette support

  A 15-bit color palette is no longer supported.

- OpenGL support

  Note the following limitations related to the OpenGL (3D) driver 
  included with your Matrox display driver:

    - If you have a newer Matrox product or your Matrox software 
      was provided by the manufacturer of your computer, full 
      OpenGL support may be disabled with your Matrox display 
      driver. For a Matrox display driver with full OpenGL support 
      enabled, see the Matrox Web site (www.matrox.com/mga). (If 
      your Matrox product was provided by the manufacturer of your 
      computer, check the Web site of that manufacturer for a 
      display driver. A display driver provided by the manufacturer 
      of your computer is more likely to be tested with your 
      computer model.)

    - In multi-display mode under Windows NT 4.0, OpenGL 
      acceleration is only available if DualHead graphics 
      hardware is the only graphics hardware you're using. (Multi-
      display OpenGL acceleration isn't supported with Matrox MMS
      products or with more than one graphics card in your 
      computer.)

    - Using 3D Studio MAX 2.0, you may experience problems with the 
      viewports being improperly redrawn. If this happens, simply 
      click in a viewport to properly update their display. This 
      problem isn't present with version 2.5 (or later) of 3D 
      Studio MAX.

- System memory requirements

  Because of a limitation in Windows NT 4.0, you may experience 
  problems if your computer doesn't have more system memory than 
  the total amount of graphics memory used in your computer. To 
  determine the amount of graphics memory used in your computer, 
  add the total amount of graphics memory on each installed Matrox 
  graphics product in your computer.

  Depending on your total amount of graphics memory, here are some 
  recommended amounts of system memory for Windows NT 4.0:

      Graphics memory  |   System memory
          (total)      |   (recommended)
    -------------------+------------------
           32 MB       |   64 MB or more
           64 MB       |  128 MB or more
          128 MB       |  192 MB or more
          160 MB       |  256 MB or more

- Full-screen DOS support with multiple graphics chip

  If you have more than 10 graphics chips in your system (for 
  example, 3 Matrox MMS-Quad cards), your system may stop 
  responding when running a DOS program in full-screen mode. If 
  your DOS program supports it, run it in a DOS window.


Matrox TV output
================

Certain models of Matrox graphics cards support TV output. With TV 
output support, you can view or record your computer display with a 
TV or video recorder connected to your graphics card.

Recommendation
--------------
- While playing games using TV output, we recommend you use a 
  640 x 480 display resolution. This is because the resolution 
  capabilities of TVs are lower than most computer monitors. If you 
  use a higher display resolution (800 x 600 or 1024 x 768), the 
  display on your TV may not look as sharp as the display of your 
  computer monitor -- that is, some of the extra detail may be 
  harder to see on your TV.

- For Matrox G100/G200 graphics cards with TV ouput support:
  Matrox default advanced TV output settings are good for viewing 
  most computer graphics (for example, computer games or your 
  Windows desktop) on most TVs. Based on broadcast standards, there 
  are advanced TV output settings that are better suited for 
  viewing full-screen video (for example, from a video file). These 
  settings are:

  NTSC
     Brightness : 180
     Contrast   : 234
     Saturation : 137
     Hue        : 0

  PAL
     Brightness : 167
     Contrast   : 255
     Saturation : 138
     Hue        : 0

  Note: For ideal settings, you may also need to adjust the 
  settings on your TV. The default brightness, contrast, saturation 
  and hue settings on most consumer video devices are higher than 
  broadcast standards. These settings are usually OK for viewing 
  video but may not look OK with computer graphics. (This is why 
  Matrox default TV output settings are lower than what's ideal for 
  video.) For more information on how to adjust settings on your 
  TV, see your TV manual.

More information
----------------
For more information on display settings, see your Matrox manual 
and online documentation. For information on how to change the 
display resolution of a game you're using, see its documentation.

Note: The Matrox zoom and virtual desktop features aren't supported 
in TV output mode. Also, TV output mode isn't supported if you have 
more than one Matrox graphics card in your computer.

Note: For TV output with full-screen DOS display modes under 
Windows NT 4.0, only text display modes (02h, 03h) are supported.
Download Driver Pack

How To Update Drivers Manually

After your driver has been downloaded, follow these simple steps to install it.

  • Expand the archive file (if the download file is in zip or rar format).

  • If the expanded file has an .exe extension, double click it and follow the installation instructions.

  • Otherwise, open Device Manager by right-clicking the Start menu and selecting Device Manager.

  • Find the device and model you want to update in the device list.

  • Double-click on it to open the Properties dialog box.

  • From the Properties dialog box, select the Driver tab.

  • Click the Update Driver button, then follow the instructions.

Very important: You must reboot your system to ensure that any driver updates have taken effect.

For more help, visit our Driver Support section for step-by-step videos on how to install drivers for every file type.

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