******************************************************************************** * * * VIPER PCI Installation/Utilities/Drivers Diskette v3.10 BETA * * Release Notes * * * ******************************************************************************** ** IMPORTANT VIPER PCI SOFTWARE INSTALLATION NOTES ** 1. DO NOT INSTALL THE VIPER PCI WINDOWS 3.1 DRIVERS INTO YOUR WINDOWS DIRECTORY. DUPLICATE FILES NAMES EXIST!! 2. It is best to use the VPRMODE.EXE utility to properly configure the Viper PCI for your monitor BEFORE using Windows 3.1 or AutoCAD. !!! BEFORE USING THE VIPER PCI WINDOWS 3.1 OR AUTOCAD DRIVERS, USE !!! !!! GO.EXE TO INSTALL THE VIPER PCI UTILITIES, AND USE VPRMODE.EXE !!! !!! TO PROPERLY CONFIGURE THE VIPER PCI FOR YOUR MONITOR !!! ** IMPORTANT WINDOWS 3.1 DRIVER INSTALLATION/CONFIGURATION NOTES ** 1. Start by running the GO utility from the floppy disk. If this is your initial installation of the Viper utilities or if the system finds an old version of the Viper.ini file, you will be prompted to enter a path for the new Viper utilities. The default is: C:\VIPER. 2. Once this procedure is complete, you can select the Windows 3.1 option. The GO utility will then copy all the Windows files to your hard drive. 3. When GO has finished copying the files, you will be prompted for the location of your Windows sub-directory. The GO utility will then modify the [MMCPL] section of your Control.ini file with the line: "TurboWin=\TURBOWIN.DLL". 4. Now, enter Windows using the standard VGA driver supplied by Microsoft. The Diamond Viper icon will now appear in the Control Panel and allow you to change resolutions, colors, and fonts. BETA NOTES: ----------- The v3.10 BETA Viper drivers address issues in the following applications : MS PowerPoint v4.0 MS Dinosaurs CD-ROM MS Visual C++ Encarta '94 Fractal v2.0 Visual Basic PRO v3.0 Corel v5.0 PowerPoint v4.0 DDAY CD-ROM Corel v4.0 PhotoShop v2.5.1 ACAD for Windows WinWord v6.0 Borlands Turbo Windows Debuger Polaris Advantage Cyber Tarot CharMap APBA Baseball The following is a list of applications which Diamond is currently correcting minor issues : PC Tools v2.0 Visual Basic Pro v3.0 Renderize Ami Pro v3.0 Quicken v3.0 Illustrator v4.01 Freelance NAV Press Bible Search MYST AfterDark v3.0 MicroGraphix Designer v3.1 PageMaker v5.0 MSOffice TSR AutoSketch Video for Windows UTILITY FILES ------------- VPRMODE.EXE command line and menu driven mode and monitor setting utility. Use VPRMODE.EXE to configure the Viper PCI for your particular monitor, to select a text display mode, and to run Viper PCI diagnostics. VPRMODE saves monitor timing information to the VIPER.INI file. NOTES: 1. use VPRMODE ? for command line option list. 2. the VPRMODE monitor configuration save screen may be displayed after running some of the VPRMODE commands. If this happens, select ENTER to save. The screen will not appear again. 3. KNOW YOUR MONITOR! Please refer to your monitor manual or manufacturer for correct monitor timing information before running VPRMODE, and before contacting Diamond for technical assistance. If you do not have this information, DIAMOND WILL NOT BE ABLE TO HELP YOU with VPRMODE problems. 4. "SVESA" command line option loads a special VESA BIOS TSR. The only difference between this special VESA BIOS TSR and the normal VESA BIOS TSR (loaded by "VESA" command line option) is the scan line length (the difference between the addresses of two vertically neighboring pixels) in VESA mode 101h (640x480 256 color). The normal VESA BIOS TSR sets the scan line length to 640 bytes (mode default) in VESA mode 101h, but the special VESA BIOS sets the scan line length to 1024 bytes in VESA mode 101h. Loading this special VESA BIOS fixes the screen scrambled and distorted problem for those applications (such as DataShop v1.0, Space Shuttle and Dracula Unleashed) which change the scan line length from 640 bytes to 1024 bytes by programming CRTC Row Offset register (direct I/O with CTRC ports) themselves in VESA mode 101h. This option is not supported in 1MB Viper board due to the hardware (Weitek Power 9000) limitation. 5. In OS/2 environment, the following command line options should be used to fix the screen scrambled and distorted problem for different Viper boards: 5.a "MEMC0" : forces Viper board to memory configuration type 0. Used for 1MB Viper board with PCB rev. B1 and later 5.b "MEMC1" : forces Viper board to memory configuration type 1. Used for 1MB Viper board with PCB rev. Ax 5.c "MEMC2" : forces Viper board to memory configuration type 2. Used for all 2MB Viper boards VIP.EXE utility which will display or write to a file important system configuration information which can be used as an aid in trouble-shooting. Type VIP to display to screen, and VIP to save to a file. NOTES: 1. the VPRMODE save configuration screen may be displayed after running VIP. If this happens, select Enter to save. The screen will not appear again. VDIAG.EXE diagnotic utility which will display color test patterns in each resolution supported. NOTES: 1. to test extended modes, load the VESA BIOS extentions before running VDIAG. This can be done by typing VPRMODE VESA at the command prompt. CHKPATH.EXE utility which checks the PATH environment variable for the specified string. Is used in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file with the VIPERPATH statement. VIPER.INI this file is used to store the monitor and configuration information for the Viper PCI, and is updated each time you choose to Save Configuration from the VPRMODE.EXE program. Drivers find the location of the VIPER.INI file by checking the VIPERPATH environment variable. VIPERPATH an environment variable which is used by device drivers (Windows 3.1, AutoCAD) to locate the VIPER.INI file. This variable is set by the DOS SET command, and is automatically appended to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file during Viper PCI Utility installation. !!!!! IMPORTANT !!!!! THE VIPER.INI FILE AND THE VIPERPATH STATEMENT ARE NEEDED FOR PROPER USE OF THE VIPER PCI WINDOWS AND AUTOCAD DRIVERS! DO NOT REMOVE THEM FROM YOUR SYSTEM. Windows NT Driver Installation ------------------------------ To load the drivers for Microsoft NT you must do the following. 1. To customize the .DAT file for your particular card you must run SETMET.BAT from the DOS prompt inside NT or DOS. The options are as follows: SETMEM 2 - For a Viper with 2MB of memory SETMEM 1 - For a Viper with 1MB of memory (except for rev A4-A7) SETMEM 1A - For a Viper with 1MB of memory and is rev A4-A7 (128Kx8 VRAM) You can also get this listing by running SETMEM with out any command switches 2. You must have Windows NT installed with the Standard VGA driver(640x480x16). If you are running a different graphics mode please re-configure for Standard VGA. 3. Once you have confirmed that you are running in Standard VGA, place the Viper PCI Disk 1 into the floppy drive. 4. Open the Windows NT setup icon located in your Main program group. 5. Select Options | Change System Settings... 6. Scroll down to the bottom of the Display option and select "Other Requires manufacturers Diskette." 7. You will be prompted for the location of this diskette. The location is A:\ 8. Select Close. 9. Select your preferred resolution. 10. You will be prompted for the location of a OEM Disk, this is the Disk 1 and the path is A:\ 11. Close out of the Windows NT setup, you will need to restart Windows NT for the changes to take effect. Contacting DIAMOND ------------------ Diamond can be reached through a number of ways: Diamond - USA Postal Service: Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc. Headquarters 2880 Junction Avenue San Jose, CA 95134 USA Technical Support 7101 Supra Drive SW Albany, OR 97321 USA Telephone: (541) 967-2450 Fax: (541) 967-2401 BBS: (541) 967-2444 Email: techsupt@diamondmm.com Web site: www.diamondmm.com Germany Moosstrasse 18B D-82319 Starnberg, Germany Tech Support Telephone: +49 8151 266 330 Tech Support Fax: +49 8151 266 331 Fax On Demand: +49 8151 266 332 Mailbox: +49 8151 266 333 (Modem, up to 33,6 kbps) Mailbox: +49 8151 266 356 (Modem, k56flex / 56 Kbps) Mailbox: +49 8151 266 334 (ISDN, x.75) Office, Main Number: +49 8151 266 0 web site: www.diamondmm.de United Kingdom Diamond Multimedia Systems, Ltd. 610 Wharfedale Rd. Winnersh Triangle Wokingham, Berkshire, RG41 5TY England Tech Support Telephone: +44-1189-44 4444 Tech Support Fax: +44-1189-44 4445 Mailbox: +44-1189-44 4415 (Modem, up to 33.6 Kbps) Mailbox: +44-1189-44 1312 (Modem, k56flex / 56 Kbps) Office, Main Number: +44-1189-44 4400 web site: www.diamondmm.de Japan Diamond Multimedia Systems Maruchu-Nihonbashi Bldg 4F 10-14 Nihonbashi-Tomizawacho Chuo-Ku, Tokyo 103 Japan Tech Support Telephone: +81-466-28-5092 Main Fax: +81-3-5695-8403 Office, Main Number: +81-3-5695-8401 web site: www.diamondmm.co.jp France Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc. 6 Boulevard General LeClerc - 15th Floor 92110 Clichy France Tech Support Telephone: +44-1189-44 44 33 Tech Support Fax: +44-1189-44 44 45 Mailbox: +44-1189-44 4415 (Modem, up to 33.6 Kbps) Mailbox: +44-1189-44 1312 (Modem, k56flex / 56 Kbps) Office, Main Number: +33-1-47 56 11 57 Office, Main Fax: +33-1-47 56 11 39 web site: www.diamondmm.de Singapore 51 Goldhill Plaza #16-06 Podium Block, Singapore 308900 Tel: +65-3539511 Fax: +65-3539510 Korea 27th Floor, Korea World Trade Center 159 Samsung-Dong Kangnam-Ku Seoul, Korea 135-729 Telephone: +82-2-551-2743/2747 Fax: +82-2-551-2744/2720 Hong Kong Suite 1111 , Tower II , Silvercord 30 Canton Road , T.S.T. Kowloon, Hong Kong Telephone: +852-23759023 Fax: +852-23759021 All product names listed are trademarks or copyrights of their respective owners. ======================================================================= Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc. (c) 1993-97, All Rights Reserved =======================================================================