README MATROX GRAPHICS INC. January 16, 1997
Millennium/Mystique MGA PowerDesk for Windows 95
Revision 3.22.059
Table of Contents
-----------------
- Description of This Release
- Floppy Contents
- Installation
- Registry Settings
- Notes, Problems, and Limitations
- MGA Diagnostic program
- IRQSET.EXE program
Note to users of localized versions: This file may contain some last
minute information not translated into your language. We apologize for
the inconvenience.
Description of This Release
---------------------------
This is the MGA PowerDesk software version 3.22, for Windows 95.
This product includes a Windows 95 display driver AND the Matrox
PowerDesk for Windows 95, which allows: virtual desktop, hardware
pan and zoom, DirectDraw/Direct3D driver and more...
Floppy contents
---------------
Basic Driver files (installed in \Windows\System):
MGAPDX64.INF Installation support file
MGAPDX64.DRV MGA Win95 Driver
MGAPDX64.VXD MGA miniVDD
MGALLX64.DLL MGA initialization dll
MGAXDD.DRV MGA DirectDraw 32-bit driver
MGAXDD32.DLL MGA 32-bit DirectDraw/Direct3D component
MGAXDD.VXD MGA VxD DirectDraw component
PowerDesk files installed in \Windows\System:
MGASHEET.DLL MGA Display Property Sheet (replaces regular sheet)
M_SHEET.DLL Text strings for MGASHEET.DLL
MGASHEET.HLP Help file for Property Sheet
MGAMON.DLL MGA Monitor Selection Property Sheet
M_MON.DLL Text strings for MGAMON.DLL
MGAMON.HLP Help file for MGA Monitor Selection
MGACTRL.EXE MGA Control Center (for PowerDesk)
MGACTRL.DLL MGA Keyboard hooker (for PowerDesk hotkeys)
M_CTRL.DLL Text strings for MGACTRL.EXE
MGAPREV.BMP MGA Pixel Depth Preview Bitmaps
MGABKGND.BMP MGA Background bitmap for property sheets
SXCIX64.DLL Matrox 3D library
PowerDesk files installed in \Program Files\Matrox MGA PowerDesk:
README This file
ONLINE.DOC Documentation
\Mon
MGA.MON MGA Monitor File
MGA.BIN Compressed MGA.MON monitor File
\DNav
MGADNAV.EXE MGA Win95 Desktop Navigator program
M_DNAV.DLL Text strings for MGADNAV.EXE
\QDesk
MGAQDESK.EXE MGA Win95 QuickDesk program
M_QDESK.DLL Text strings for MGAQDESK.EXE
\Color
HGCCTL95.EXE MGA Color resident program
HGCCPL.DLL MGA Color Property Sheet page
HGCCPL.HLP Help file for MGA Color Property Sheet
Installation
------------
The installation is covered in the "online.doc" file.
You can view this file with WordPad.
The installation process can be customized by modifying the "mga.ini"
file on the diskette. Examples of customization options include:
default installation path, default driver performance switches,
default schemes, etc. The file is self-documented. This type of
customization should be carried out by advanced users only.
Registry Settings
-----------------
PowerDesk settings are kept in the Windows 95 registry, under the keys:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MATROX\POWERDESK
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MATROX\DESKNAV
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MATROX\COLOR CONTROL
Notes, Problems, and Limitations
--------------------------------
- DirectDraw, Direct3D and DirectVideo support
The DirectDraw driver we provide is compatible with DirectX 2 and includes
Direct3D support. For our DirectDraw/Direct3D driver to be called, and benefit
from hardware accelerations, Microsoft DirectX 2 MUST be installed, even
for applications originally made for DirectX 1.
For your convenience we have placed a copy of the Microsoft DirectX 2
redistributable code on our Web site. If you are getting this driver from a
Matrox CD-ROM, you will also find a copy of DirectX 2 on the CD.
If you have a Millennium card, the DirectX 2 setup will detect it and print
the following messages:
"Setup has detected display drivers that have not been tested with
DirectX. To get the best game performance, Setup can replace your existing
drivers."
"Replace existing display drivers with DirectX drivers?"
Answer "No" to the question. Otherwise, DirectX 2 would install its
Millennium display driver which is not as optimized and does not
support PowerDesk.
Note that the Microsoft DirectX 2 code does not include DirectVideo-enabled
codecs. Hence for faster playback of Indeo and Cinepak AVI files, you should
install the Microsoft DirectVideo redistributable files. This package is
available on our Web site and on our latest CD-ROM.
- Bus Mastering support under Matrox Mystique
The Matrox Mystique supports bus mastering, which can accelerate 3D frame
rate and video playback in Windows 95. A switch is available in the MGA
Advanced Settings sheet to enable/disable bus mastering.
Please take note of the following regarding bus mastering in this version:
- bus mastering support is not yet implemented for video playback, hence
performance will be the same whether the switch is on or off.
- bus mastering support is however implemented in Direct3D and upcoming
Mystique bundled games.
- some early PCI systems do not properly assign an interrupt to graphics
boards such as the Mystique. Bus mastering requires an interrupt, so
failure to get an interrupt will result in 3D applications not using
this performance feature.
- PowerDesk MGA Settings property sheet page vs the Microsoft Settings page
When selecting a vertical or horizontal desktop with the MGA Settings
page, the Microsoft Settings page is not updated with the new desktop.
Closing and reopening the Display Properties will refresh the Settings
page.
When selecting a new monitor in the MGA Monitor page, the Microsoft
Settings page is not updated with the resolutions that match the monitor.
Closing and reopening the Display Properties will refresh the available
resolutions in the Settings page.
Using the Microsoft Settings page to change from a horizontal or vertical
desktop to a non-virtual desktop mode, may result in a different desktop than
the expected one. Rebooting the system will fix the problem.
- Media XL drivers compatibility
This version of MGA PowerDesk is not compatible with the Media XL drivers
1.03 and earlier. If you want to use the MediaXL drivers and utilities,
you will need to install at least version 1.10 of the Media XL drivers.
The latest drivers are available on our Web site.
- Adobe Type Manager limitation
When Adobe Type Manager is installed, you cannot run the driver if
the "Advanced Graphics Acceleration Settings" is set to none. Note
that ATM is installed as part of Adobe Acrobat Reader. This is an
Adobe problem documented in the Windows 95 "display.txt" file.
- Monitors in interlaced mode
Some old monitors such as the IBM 8514 and the NEC 3D do not support
non-interlaced mode in all resolutions. The MGA driver does not
properly handle interlaced mode under the Windows 95 monitor
mechanism, so if you own one of these monitors, please use the MGA
Monitor Program.
- DirectDraw and Automatic Power Management
As stated in "Microsoft DirectX release Notes" dated September 30,
1995, A DirectDraw game might be unable to restore properly if it
is suspended by Automatic Power Management utilities.
- VESA modes:
Your MGA Video BIOS supports DOS VESA SuperVGA applications and
games in the following modes:
Graphics Modes
Mode Resolution Colors
100h 640x400 256
101h 640x480 256
110h 640x480 32K
111h 640x480 64K
112h 640x480 16.8M
102h 800x600 16
103h 800x600 256
113h 800x600 32K
114h 800x600 64K
115h 800x600 16.8M
105h 1024x768 256
116h 1024x768 32K
117h 1024x768 64K
118h 1024x768 16.8M(*)
107h 1280x1024 256
119h 1280X1024 32K(*)
11Ah 1280X1024 64K(*)
(*) requires 4Mb memory
Text Modes
Mode Columns Rows
108h 80 60
109h 132 25
10Bh 132 50
10Ch 132 60
- More Information
More information is available in the WordPad file "online.doc". This
file is included on your Matrox floppy disk, and installed in your
\Program Files\Matrox MGA PowerDesk\ folder.
MGA Diagnostic program
----------------------
Close all other programs before running MGA Diagnostic.
The MGA Diagnostic program tests the bus mastering feature of your system and
if another program is using bus mastering at the same time (a 3D game for example),
a system error may occur.
IRQSET.EXE program
------------------
If you have a 3D program for Windows 95 that doesn't start or stops
running, you may be having a problem with bus mastering. The Matrox card
needs an Interrupt Request (IRQ) number for bus mastering to work properly
and some computers do not automatically give the Matrox card an IRQ. You
can manually assign your Matrox card an IRQ through the IRQSET.EXE program
we provide.
First, check for an IRQ number:
(1) Right-click on the "My Computer" icon on the Windows 95 desktop.
(2) Click on the "Properties" menu item.
(3) Click on the "Device Manager" tab.
(4) Click on the "Properties" button.
(5) Check if the MGA driver appears in the IRQ list.
If it does, there is no need to manually assign an IRQ and you
can stop here.
IF NOT, note which IRQ number between 10 and 12 is not used and
continue with the instructions below.
To manually assign an IRQ:
(1) Open your "autoexec.bat" file with the Windows 95 Notepad program.
Your autoexec.bat file is in the root directory of your boot drive.
(2) Add a line to your autoexec.bat with the path to "IRQSET",
followed by the IRQ you want to use (the unused number you noted
above). For example, to assign your Matrox card IRQ 10, insert the
following line in your autoexec.bat (INCLUDING the quotation marks):
"C:\Program Files\Matrox MGA PowerDesk\IRQSET" A
(The path you use MIGHT be different if you have a customized
installation of MGA PowerDesk on your computer.)
The above example is for IRQ 10. To use a different IRQ, replace
"A" with ONE of the following letters (capitalized):
B (for IRQ 11)
C (for IRQ 12)
(3) Save the changes to the autoexec.bat and exit Notepad.
(4) Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
For more information on bus mastering, see "Troubleshooting" in the
Installation Guide.
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.