readme.txt Driver File Contents (p9x00_v224.zip)

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Diamond Viper Windows 95 Display Drivers                             README.TXT
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Release Notes
--------------
This is version 2.24 of the Windows 95 driver for the Viper Series. This is an
accelerated driver. This driver currently supports the following Diamond Viper
display adapters:

  Viper Pro PCI & VLB
  Viper SE  PCI & VLB
  Viper PCI & VLB


Driver Installation Procedure
-----------------------------

- A - 

If you are Installing Windows 95 for the first time.

1. If you have a PCI-bus Display Adapter the Plug&Play manager will recognize
the Weitek Chipset and during installation you may be asked to select the
drivers for your display card (If not asked then choose VGA and refer to the
next Procedure). There is usually a list of several driver installation
options, including buttons for "Default", "Standard VGA" etc.

2. Choose the "Manufacturer Supplied Drivers" option in the window and then the
Have Disk button. Insert the diskette containing the Drivers (e.g. the diskette
in A: drive) and enter the location of the driver diskette e.g. A:\ (if the
diskette is in that drive)

3. Choose the appropriate option that matches the description of the card in
your system and click on OK. 

The drivers will be installed and you will be returned to the main Settings
window where you can select your preferred resolution and color depth. After
you have selected a mode you will be asked if System can be restarted. Restart
the system and enjoy !

 
- B - 

If Windows95 is already installed with VGA (or other, or previous version)
display drivers

1. The Help File WTKCPLX.HLP has now been expanded to provide driver
information and support in installing the Driver. To run the file open the
Folder for the Driver\Directory the file is located in and double-click on the
Help File and follow the instructions detailed in "Driver Installation".

or,

1. Open the Control Panel folder and choose the Display Icon or, Using the
mouse, right-click on an empty space in the main Desktop Window and choose
Properties.

N.B. If, upon entering the Display Setting dialog, a window should appear
claiming that the detected Display Adapter configuration is in error, do not
click OK instead click on Cancel and proceed to step 2.

2. Change Display Type. Normally Windows will ask that the card be re-detected
using the "Add New Hardware" wizard. By selecting Cancel you can avoid this
unnecessary and lengthy process.

3. Click on the Settings tab and then click on the button Change Display Type.

4. You should first select the Monitor Model to match your system if this is
already done skip to the next step.

5. Click on the Change button in the Adapter Type window and then the Have
Disk button.

Insert the diskette containing the Drivers (e.g. the diskette in A: drive)
and enter the location of the driver diskette e.g. A:\ (if the diskette is in
that drive)

6. Choose the appropriate option that matches the description of the card in
your system and Click on OK. 

The drivers will be installed and you will be returned to the main Settings
window where you can select your preferred resolution and color depth. After
you have selected a mode you will be asked if System can be restarted. Please
answer No if you have a VESA Bus card, and proceed immediately to the Device
Manager window to select the resources configuration of the card.


Card Compatibility
------------------

Diamond Viper/Pro/SE PCI :

The latest driver now provides a fix for the long-standing problem of
motherboards with PCI Burst-Write mode support. The "Support Burst PCI" option
in the Control Panel Extension's Card Options window allows support for the
P9100 on newer PCI motherboards which do not have options for disabling burst
write from the BIOS. This feature is enabled by default on installation. This
feature is enabled via the SYSTEM.INI file entry :

[display]
BurstModeFix=1


Diamond Viper VLB :

The latest driver now provides Plug&Play support for setting the Base Memory
Address for the Linear Window. This is now set automatically by during
installation, however it may be changed from within the Device Manager (System
in Control Panel) window. Select the resources configuration of the card.


All Cards :

During the initial installation process (and before the system has restarted
with the new drivers) the amount of memory on the card is unknown and so the
range of available modes is deliberately reduced by the driver to avoid
mistakes. Not all the resolutions available to your card will be selectable.
During first-time installation you must select one of the available modes, and
allow the system to restart before your higher resolutions and color depths
will become available. 



Driver Usage Notes
------------------

Using the Weitek CPLX utility :
 
After system restarts with the new drivers, and the next time you open the
Display Properties window from Control Panel (or by right-clicking over an
empty spot on the Desktop and selecting Properties), you can enter the utility
by choosing the window tab titled WeitekPower. 

This is the Display Properties Control Panel Extension (CPLX) for supporting
the Display Drivers. Using this utility you can select a preferred Refresh
Rate, Monitor Sync and adjust Monitor Alignment, dynamically changing the Size
and/or the Position of the visible screen. Additionally you can change the
default settings of your card to improve performance in certain application
types, or enable the special features of your card.

Context Sensitive help is supplied through-out this utility. You can get pop-up
help on any control, or setting, by right-clicking with the mouse on that item.
Additionally Windows95 also provides a Help Tool, the ? button at the top right
of the window. Click this button and then select the control that you wish to
learn more about.

If unsure you can use "Use Adapter Defaults" which usually selects 60Hz, the
driver default refresh rate. 

If you have already installed a Monitor Type in the System Properties then you
can choose "Auto-Detect best match", which will use the Adapter Capabilities,
Monitor Capabilities and possibly DDC (supported cards only) to determine the
optimum Refresh Rate setting. 

Note, that Auto-Detect will try to use Refresh Rates up to 120Hz if it sees the
specification of the Installed Monitor can support that high, at the selected
Resolution.

You can use "Apply To All Modes" to unilaterally enforce a particular refresh
rate however this is not recommended and can easily result in choosing a
refresh rate that is either too low for the smaller resolutions or too high
possibly exceeding the Monitor's max. bandwidth.

Additionally  you can associate a particular refresh rate, sync-polarity and
monitor alignment with a mode using the option : "Apply To This Mode". Every
time you return to the resolution/color-depth it will restore the preference
you saved.

Note, that the Refresh Rate Preference and Monitor Adjustment is saved
separately for each mode (resolution and color-depth) and does not carry over to
any other modes since the modes are all stored individually by Windows, your
preferences are also stored individually together with the mode. 

Enhancements to driver release 2.24 : 

An additional control is added to allow options for the Video Power including
enable/disable and selecting the quality, performance and style of the video
playback. Some early versions of the chips require to be run at a slower speed
so there is a default Clock Speed with options for higher spec. parts. If
artifacts or disturbances to the video playback are discernible try scaling
back to a lower clock speed.

DirectDraw : The driver now provides Hardware Video Acceleration for P9100
cards with the P9130 chip (VideoPower) in 16bpp, 24bpp and 32bpp modes. The
driver will accelerate video in any application using DirectDraw e.g. Microsoft
DirectVideo, ActiveMovie and XingMPEG Player 3.0.

Resolutions/Refresh Rates : Additionally checks are made on the installed
Monitor's maximum horizontal scan rate in order to determine acceptable
resolutions/refresh-rates. It is important that you select the correct monitor
type before using "Auto-Optimal" setting from the Control Panel. Failure to do
so may result in defaulting to 60Hz. Numerous new modes are included for 
cards/monitors that can support them, Refresh Rates of 60, 66, 70, 72, 74, 75,
80, 90, 100, 120 Hz are available in many resolutions.


Known Issues 
------------

Windows95 VDD-bug : On VLB and some early PCI systems the BIOS setup needs to
have Shadow BIOS for the VGA Adapter region (C0000~C7FFF) set to Write Protect,
if available. This problem is noticeable if you open a DOS session Full-Screen
then press <ALT><ENTER> to return to Windows and again <ALT><ENTER> to return
to DOS Full-Screen. If the system then locks-up or gives a Blue Screen
fatal-error message this means that the Card's VGA BIOS has been overwritten
and you must either enable Shadow Write Protect, or altogether disable Video
ROM-BIOS Shadowing. This problem is caused by the Windows95 VDD and cannot be
corrected in future drivers.

Windows95 PnP-bug : Changing cards or moving the location of a PCI-slot Card
can result in a detection error. Windows may report an Adapter Configuration
Error and require re-detection using the Hardware Wizard. This is a problem in
Windows itself, to avoid wasting time in re-detection we recommend you press
Cancel, when asked to re-detect, and then manually reselect the Display 
Card using Change Display Type.

Winstone 96/97: You may encounter errors  running Winstone on some systems.


Contacting DIAMOND
------------------

Diamond can be reached through a number of ways:

DIAMOND - U.S.A.
Postal Service :        Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc.
                        2880 Junction Avenue
                        San Jose, CA  95134
Voice (Main):           (408) 325-7000
Voice (TechSppt):       (408) 325-7100 [M-F 5-7; Sat 8-4 Pacific]
FAX (Main):             (408) 325-7070
FAX (TechSppt):         (408) 325-7171
BBS (to 14400):         (408) 325-7080
BBS (to 28800):         (408) 325-7175
WWW:                    http://www.diamondmm.com
FTP:                    ftp://ftp.diamondmm.com
e-mail:                 techsupt@diamondmm.com                


DIAMOND - Europe
Postal Service:         SPEA Software GmbH, a Diamond Multimedia Company 
                        Moosstr.18b
                        82319 Starnberg, Germany
Voice (Main):           +49-8151-2660    (Germany)
                        +44-1189-44440   (UK)
Voice (TechSppt):       +49-8151-266 330 (Germany) 
                        +44-1189-4444 44 (UK/English)
                        +44-1189-4444 33 (UK/French)
FAX (Support):          +49-8151-266 331 (Germany)
BBS (to 28800):         +49-8151-266 333 (Germany)
                        +44-1189-4444 15 (UK)
BBS (ISDN, x.75):       +49-8151-266 334 (Germany)
CompuServe:             GO SPEA 
WWW:                    http://www.spea.com

All product names listed are trademarks or copyrights of their
respective owners.

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Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc.       (c) 1993-97, All Rights Reserved
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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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