Troubleshooting Unsupported VGA Cards with Windows 3.0

ID: Q63588

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows versions 3.0, 3.0a

SUMMARY

There are many problems that may be related to the VGA card. If you don't know the brand of your VGA card or if there is no information available for the card, you can use the following procedures to troubleshoot possible video problems.

The following symptoms may indicate a problem with your VGA card:

  • Windows Setup may hang while Disk 2 attempts to change to a graphics screen.


  • Windows may not start in one or more modes.


  • The screen may be garbled or show incorrect colors in Windows or in MS-DOS applications.


  • MS-DOS applications may not run properly. This includes the machine locking and "System Integrity Violation" errors.



MORE INFORMATION

Before Troubleshooting

Make sure that Windows version 3.0 or 3.0a was installed using one of the VGA drivers provided in the Windows package. If not, run Setup, and change to the standard VGA driver.

NOTE: If the problem occurs only when using a driver supplied by the manufacturer of the VGA card, contact that manufacturer.

Troubleshooting Procedures

  1. Some cards may work better with the VGA driver for "QuadVGA, ATI VIP VGA, and 82C441 VGAs." Try changing to this driver if the standard VGA driver isn't working. If the problem continues, reinstall the standard VGA driver and continue troubleshooting.


  2. If the VGA card manufacturer has provided a driver that is Windows version 3.0 compatible, try changing to this driver. If the problem continues, reinstall the standard VGA driver and continue troubleshooting.


  3. Windows running in 386 enhanced mode may not properly detect the presence of the VGA card in memory, and it may try to use the same addresses that the cards are using. Most VGA cards make use of the address ranges A000-C7FF. A few cards may extend up to CA7F. For testing purposes, try using EMMExclude=A000-CBFF in the [386Enh] section of the SYSTEM.INI file.


  4. Determine if the VGA card auto switches. If it does, disable this feature.


  5. Check the system for situations that could have led to a corrupted installation of Windows (that is, MS-DOS version 4.01 commands, TSR [terminate-and-stay-resident] programs, and so on).


  6. Some VGA cards may require an updated BIOS to run properly with Windows. If the above procedures fail to correct the video problems, refer to the card's manufacturer.


If the VGA video driver does not work, try the VGA 3.0 driver included with Microsoft Windows operating system version 3.1. If this works correctly, contact the video card manufacturer. The Windows 3.0 video driver does not have all the functionality of the standard VGA driver, and should not be considered a final solution.

Additional query words: 3.00 3.00a tshoot

Keywords :
Version : WINDOWS:3.0,3.0a
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type :


Last Reviewed: September 30, 1999
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