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Number Nine 32-bit Microsoft Windows NT Display Driver
for use with
- Number Nine Imagine 128 Series 2
- Microsoft Windows NT Version 4.0
Version 4.102.30
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Copyright (c) 1997 Number Nine Visual Technology Corp.
All Rights Reserved
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CONTENTS
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INSTALLING THE WINDOWS NT DRIVER
SUPPORTED RESOLUTIONS, COLORS, AND VERTICAL REFRESH RATES
CHANGING THE VERTICAL REFRESH RATE
HARDWARE ACCELERATION FOR 3D
RESOLVING ISSUES WITH YOUR NUMBER NINE BOARD
SOFTWARE UPGRADES
USING THE NUMBER NINE BULLETIN BOARD SERVICE (BBS)
WORLD GROUP MANAGER (WGM)
INTERNET (WWW) (FTP)
COMPUSERVE
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INSTALLING THE WINDOWS NT DRIVER
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If you are not installing from the Imagine 2 CD-ROM, you should make
a backup of your diskette before installing.
Example: diskcopy a: a:
* NOTE * This driver will not install correctly from a Networked or
Local hard drive. If the driver was downloaded from one of
Number Nine's on-line services, place the files on a high-
density 3.5" floppy diskette before installing.
Steps for installing the Windows NT driver
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1. After installing the Imagine Series 2 board in the system, start
Windows NT in VGA Mode by selecting the Windows NT WorkStation
Version 4.00 [VGA mode] option from the NT Boot Menu.
2. When NT finishes loading, log in as a user who has permission to
change system settings (like administrator).
You may receive a warning message saying:
"Invalid Display Settings: The currently selected display resolution
is invalid".
Ignore the instructions in this message and Click or select OK.
3. Open the "Start" Menu by using the task bar.
4. Highlight "Settings" and open the "Control Panel" folder.
5. Select or double click on the "Display" icon. The "Display
Properties" window will pop up.
6. Select the "Settings" tab from the "Display Properties" window.
7. Select or click on the "Display Type..." button. The "Display
Type" window will pop up.
8. Select or click on the "Change..." button. The "Change Display"
window will pop up.
9. Select or click on the "Have Disk..." button. The "Install From
Disk" window will pop up.
10. If you are installing from the Imagine 2 CD-ROM, change the installation
disk setting to the \WINNT40\ subdirectory on the CD-ROM (i.e. if your
CD-ROM is drive D:, then you should type D:\WINNT40\ ). Select or click
on the "OK" button.
If you are installing from a floppy disk, place the Number Nine
Imagine 128 Series 2 Windows NT v4.0 Display Driver Diskette
in Drive A: and click or select the OK button.
11. A window will pop-up indicating the name of the display driver found.
Select or Click on the OK button. A window will then pop-up asking if
you wish to proceed to install the new drivers. Select or Click on the
"Yes" button.
12. A pop-up window will inform you that you have successfully installed
the drivers and that you must reboot in order for the changes to take
effect. Select or click on the "OK" button.
13. Close the "Display Type" window and then the "Display Properties"
window.
14. A "Systems Settings Change" window will pop-up and ask you if you
wish to restart your computer using the newly installed drivers.
Select or click on the "Yes" button to reboot.
15. Remove any floppy disk from your A: drive, and make sure that an
Imagine Series 2 graphics card is installed in your computer.
16. The next time you boot into Windows NT 4.0, you will be using your
new Imagine 2 card and display driver.
17. After the system restarts, you will receive the following message:
"Invalid Display Settings: A new graphics driver has been installed.
The default display resolution has been temporarily used by the system.
Use the Display Option in the Windows NT Control Panel to select your
preferred display resolution." Click or select OK.
18. If the Display Settings page is not visible, either open it by selecting
it through the task bar or open it as detailed in steps (2) through (4)
above.
19. Select the desired resolution (desktop area), color depth (palette),
and refresh rate (frequency). Choose "LIST ALL MODES" to see a list
of valid display modes or refer to the "Supported Resolutions" section
of this document for a list of driver supported modes.
* NOTE * BE SURE TO TEST THE SELECTED MODE BEFORE RESTARTING WINDOWS NT.
IF YOUR MONITOR DOES NOT SUPPORT YOUR CURRENT SELECTION, THE
SYSTEM WILL RETURN WITH A BLANK SCREEN AND MONITOR DAMAGE MAY
RESULT. THE TEST WILL ONLY SET THE MODE FOR 5 SECONDS AND
RETURN TO ALLOW YOU TO SELECT ANOTHER IF THE FIRST IS NOT
SUPPORTED. IF THE TEST BITMAP DISPLAYS PROPERLY, THE MONITOR
IS CAPABLE OF SUPPORTING THE SELECTED RESOLUTION AND VERTICAL
REFRESH RATE.
* NOTE * If the system fails to restart or is unable to locate the file
N9I128V2.SYS, try changing the PCI interrupt setting in the
system CMOS BIOS. An IRQ setting will be assigned to the PCI
slot that the IMAGINE 128 Series 2 card is in. In some cases,
the interrupt assigned to the PCI slot may cause the driver
to fail when loading. Each computer has a different CMOS setup
and you will need to check the owner's manual for your system
motherboard.
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SUPPORTED RESOLUTIONS, COLORS, AND VERTICAL REFRESH RATES
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Imagine 128 Series 2 8MB (VRAM)
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Display Number of Vertical
Resolutions Colors Refresh Rates
640x480 256 60,72,75,85
800x600 256 60,72,75,85
1024x768 256 60,70,75,85
1152x864 256 60,70,75,85
1280x1024 256 60,75,85
1600x1200 256 60,70,75,80,83
1920x1060 256 73
1920x1080 256 60,72
1920x1200 256 76
1600x1024 256 76
1800x1440 256 71
640x480 65,536 60,72,75,85
800x600 65,536 60,72,75,85
1024x768 65,536 60,70,75,85
1152x864 65,536 60,70,75,85
1280x1024 65,536 60,75,85
1600x1200 65,536 60,70,75,80
1920x1060 65,536 73
1920x1080 65,536 60,72
1920x1200 65,536 76
1600x1024 65,536 76
1800x1440 65,536 71
640x480 16,777,216 60,72,75,85
800x600 16,777,216 60,72,75,85
1024x768 16,777,216 60,70,75,85
1152x864 16,777,216 60,70,75,85
1280x1024 16,777,216 60,75,85
1600x1200 16,777,216 60,70,75,80
1920x1060 16,777,216 73
1920x1080 16,777,216 60,72
1600x1024 16,777,216 76
Imagine 128 Series 2 4MB (VRAM)
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Display Number of Vertical
Resolutions Colors Refresh Rates
640x480 256 60,72,75,85
800x600 256 60,72,75,85
1024x768 256 60,70,75,85
1152x864 256 60,70,75,85
1280x1024 256 60,75,85
1600x1200 256 60,70,75,80,83
1920x1060 256 73
1920x1080 256 60,72
1920x1200 256 76
1600x1024 256 76
1800x1440 256 71
640x480 65,536 60,72,75,85
800x600 65,536 60,72,75,85
1024x768 65,536 60,70,75,85
1152x864 65,536 60,70,75,85
1280x1024 65,536 60,75,85
1600x1200 65,536 60,70,75,80
1920x1060 65,536 73
1920x1080 65,536 60,72
1600x1024 65,536 76
640x480 16,777,216 60,72,75,85
800x600 16,777,216 60,72,75,85
1024x768 16,777,216 60,70,75,85
1152x864 16,777,216 60,70,75,85
Imagine 128 Series 2e (DRAM)
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Display Number of Vertical
Resolutions Colors Refresh Rates
640x480 256 60,72,75,85
800x600 256 60,72,75,85
1024x768 256 60,70,75,85
1152x864 256 60,70,75,85
1280x1024 256 60,75,85
1600x1200 256 60,70,75,80,83
1920x1080 256 60
640x480 65,536 60,72,75,85
800x600 65,536 60,72,75,85
1024x768 65,536 60,70,75,85
1152x864 65,536 60,70,75,85
1280x1024 65,536 60,75
640x480 16,777,216 60,72,75,85
800x600 16,777,216 60,72,75,85
1024x768 16,777,216 60
* NOTE * The 85hz Refresh Rate may exhibit problems on certain monitors
due to bandwidth limitations at resolutions above 800 x 600.
Monitor cabling and positioning, in relation to other devices,
can impact performance. Please consult your monitor manual
for information on maximum supported resolutions and refresh
rates.
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CHANGING THE VERTICAL REFRESH RATE
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1. Open the "Start" Menu by using the task bar.
2. Highlight "Settings" and open the "Control Panel" folder.
3. Double click or select the Display Icon. Click on the Settings tab.
4. Click on or select the Refresh Frequency pull down box and select
the refresh rate you desire.
5. *IMPORTANT* Click the Test button and click OK to test the display.
* NOTE * BE SURE TO TEST THE SELECTED MODE BEFORE RESTARTING WINDOWS NT.
IF YOUR MONITOR DOES NOT SUPPORT YOUR CURRENT SELECTION, THE
SYSTEM WILL RETURN WITH A BLANK SCREEN AND MONITOR DAMAGE MAY
RESULT. THE TEST WILL ONLY SET THE MODE FOR 5 SECONDS AND
RETURN TO ALLOW YOU TO SELECT ANOTHER IF THE FIRST IS NOT
SUPPORTED. IF THE TEST BITMAP DISPLAYS PROPERLY, THE MONITOR
IS CAPABLE OF SUPPORTING THE SELECTED RESOLUTION AND VERTICAL
REFRESH RATE.
6. If the TEST COLOR BITMAP design displayed properly, click or select YES.
7. In Display Properties, click or select APPLY to have the new rate take
effect.
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HARDWARE ACCELERATION FOR 3D
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The Imagine 128 Series 2 and 2e support accelerated 3D, both 16-bit and 32-bit
Z-Buffering, and Double Buffering for smooth redraws of 3D objects. Like all
true 3D accelerator cards, this requires large amounts of on-board memory.
3D acceleration on 4MB versions of the Imagine Series 2 is only supported at
resolutions up to 800x600 @ 65k colors, or 640x480 @ 16.8M colors.
On the 8MB version of the Imagine Series 2, 3D acceleration is supported at
resolutions up to 1152x864 @ 65k colors, and up to 800x600 @ 16.8M colors.
At higher resolutions, 3D operations are performed in software, making them
much slower.
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RESOLVING ISSUES WITH YOUR NUMBER NINE BOARD
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The Number Nine Web Site at http://www.nine.com/ contains extensive
technical information about your new Number Nine board, including FAQs
(frequently asked questions). The Technical Support pages on the Web
site can be found at http://www.nine.com/ These include our newest
drivers for download from our FTP server, FAQs (Frequently asked
questions with solutions), and Windows NT information. The FAQs will
answer most of your technical support questions.
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SOFTWARE UPGRADES
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Even though you may have just received your Number Nine software,
newer versions may be available. Free upgrades are provided to
all Number Nine customers via the Number Nine Bulletin Board
System (BBS), Internet World Wide Web (WWW) and FTP, and CompuServe
For more information on these services, see sections V through VIII
of this document.
To see if you have the latest version, compare the version number
of your software (on the label of the provided diskette or in the
text file 9NTVERS.TXT included with the driver) with the version
number of the software on the BBS, WWW/FTP, or CompuServe.
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USING THE NUMBER NINE BULLETIN BOARD SERVICE (BBS)
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(USA)
Dial: (617) 862-7502
Baud Rates: Up to 28,800 baud
Compression: HST, v.32 and v.42 supported
Modem Setup: 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity
Required: PKUNZIP 2.04g to decompress ZIP files
(EUROPEAN OFFICE)
Dial: + 49 89 614 491 66
Baud Rates: Up to 14,400 baud
Compression: HST, v.32 and v.42 supported
Modem Setup: 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity
Required: PKUNZIP 2.04g to decompress ZIP files
The BBS has a separate file area for each Number Nine product.
The latest driver updates can be found in each product's file
area, and files of general interest (shareware, etc.) can be
found in the General library. An E-mail system is available
for technical questions about Number Nine products or about
the BBS in general. A complete listing of available files can
be downloaded by invoking the "Download List of Files" command
from any file library menu.
On the US BBS, RIP graphics are supported, and a RIP compatible
terminal program is available in the General library
(RIPTM154.ZIP).
Many files are self-extracting, but some files will require the
latest version of PKUNZIP to decompress. PKUNZIP is available
in the General library (filename PKZ204G.EXE), and can also be
found on most on-line services such as CompuServe and America
On-line.
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WORLD GROUP MANAGER (WGM)
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Number Nine's BBS now supports the Worldgroup Windows-based BBS client.
Worldgroup Manager is a program which connects you to any on-line
service running Worldgroup server software. You can download the
client software from the General Library on the Number Nine BBS.
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INTERNET (WWW) (FTP)
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Number Nine now has an FTP site. All current Number Nine
drivers are available to anyone with access to the Internet.
Our FTP Address is: ftp.nine.com.
Number Nine also has a World Wide Web server at: http://www.nine.com.
Information about Number Nine products as well as our FTP site can now
be accessed at our World Wide Web site.
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COMPUSERVE
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Number Nine also has a dedicated forum on CompuServe. This can be
reached by typing GO NINE at the appropriate prompt. We are located
in the Gfx Hardware Vendor forum, under the name 'Number Nine'.
Technical Support questions can be posted in this area and are
addressed every day.
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TRADEMARKS
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The following terms are trademarks or registered trademarks of
Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries:
Microsoft
Windows NT
The following terms are trademarks or registered trademarks of other
companies as follows:
Trademark Owner
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Number Nine Number Nine Visual Technology Corp.
#9 Number Nine Visual Technology Corp.
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THIS DRIVER IS COPYRIGHTED BY NUMBER NINE VISUAL TECHNOLOGY CORP.
ALL APPROPRIATE RESTRICTIONS APPLY.
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Revised 3/10/97
bmr (End of Document)
Download Driver Pack
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.