PC Advice - Putting it Together

[Holley]

ok, first off, check the driver you downloaded and see if it has a file called 'setup.exe' in it - if so run that and it should update.  If not then the best thing to do is what I said before (not the 'add new hardware' bit!!) - go to 'System' in the Control Panel, go to the 'Device manager' tab, find 'Standard VGA Display' under display adaptors, go into it's properties, click on 'Update Driver', when it gives you the list of drivers click on 'Have Disk' and point it at the driver you downloaded, if it doesn't like that then you probably have a driver for a different version of Windows or something ...

(note that if it's an achive you'll have to uncompress it first).

[aardvark]

I'll tell you one thing for sure. Windows is a real PITA!

I know!  I swear by Amigas.  I swear at Windows.

Anyway, did you try right clicking on the desktop and clicking on properties?   You can then click on sewttings and play with the colours and screen resolution there.  Maybe you've done that already?

[DethKnight]

NOt sure if this applies to your motherboard, but

maybe a jumper instead of the bios controls the vga-init

[JaXanim]

Yes, I think I'm missing something on this.

I managed to install the 3D Labs/Permedia 2 drivers as suggested earlier. However, when I try to use the 256 colour option in the Control Panel settings, I get a message saying my video adapter will not run with the Permedia driver and goes to the 16-colour screen.

The video card doesn't appear to be seen under any circumstances, so I'm wondering if there's a physical switch which needs altering? Where would I look for this?

The BIOS/CMOS setting AGP/PCI Slot doesn't affect the outcome.

Cheers,

JaX

[Holley]

okay, if you're getting the option to use 256 colours then somethings installed. There isn't a video connector on the motherboard, is there?  if so it'll need to be disabled with a jumper on the motherboard, or another setting in the bios somewhere (uhoh!) - note thats not the AGP/PCI setting ;-).

In Add/Remove programs is there something listed for the graphics chip that was on the old motherboard?  If so that'll need taking off.

BTW Do you get the option to use more than 256 colours?

After all this it's probably going to be something to do with the driver itself, as a slightly different model of graphics card or one for a different version of windows can cause this kind of behaviour.

It's also possible that the PB install of Windows might be broken so that not all of the new driver is going in right - if /that/ is the case the best thing to do is start with a fresh install of Windows (which would also give you more space ), but you'd need to collect all the drivers and put them in a safe place before trying that! (plus you'd need a proper copy of Win98 and a serial number).

This is all I can think of off the top of my head :-? Of course it's easier when you've got the computer in front of you ... this kinda rubbish isn't unusual with old PCs :-(

[JaXanim]

@Holley

No, there is no on-board video connector.

After installing the Permedia2 drivers, the control panel display interface allowed a maximum of 256 colours only. So the options became 256 or 16 or 2. When I set it at 256, the reboot gave the message that my display adapter wouldn't run with this setting and reverted to 16 colours.

The drivers I installed came from http://members.driverguide.com and contains the 3D Labs reference Permedia2 3D Accelerator driver. Written for Win95 but said to work well with Win98. It's the same driver I was recommended earlier. Perhaps this needs another look at?

The Hardware Wizard found no 'added' video adapters. All I get are references to the 'standard video adapter'.  I guess this wouln't be influenced by the monitor setting?

The control panel monitor interface doesn't have the exact Packaged Hell monitor I actually use, so I've messed around and got nowhere better with this bit.

I'll not look at a reinstall of the OS until/unless I really have to. Maybe I should look for an alternative Permedia2 driver?

Cheers,

JaX

[Holley]

Funilly enough my other half has just had this EXACT problem on her Win98 machine, which has an ATI card in it.  I've checked everything, and it looks like I'm going to have to re-install - I doubt there's anything wrong with the driver, just that Windows won't accept it.

I can run you off a copy of Windows if you like, but you'll have to find your own serial number for it - you should have one that came with the PB, that'll work with a regular copy of windows too.

Re-installing isn't too bad as your drives are ready etc, and you have your drivers, it will make it go quicker too!

If anyone else can think of a different solution to this let me know :-?

[JaXanim]

@Holley

I finally seem to be homing in on the problem. I managed to add the Permedia card manually, tho' it did say afterwards that this card is a P'n'P gizmo. Whatever, it's now asking for a specific driver, which isn't on the Windows 98 CD nor in the drivers.zip I downloaded.

The required driver is:

pmedia32.dll

I can't find it on the Drivers website. Could you see if you have it? That would seem to be the answer to my problem (I hope!).

Cheers,

JaX

[JaXanim]

Friggin' PCs!

I finally managed to get all the driver files it was  looking for and installed them OK.

Then I set the display to 256 colours and allowed it to reset. But it didn't!

Now, I get the Win98 boot picture, then a blank screen with DOS message:

Sector not found reading Drive C.
Abort, Retry, Ignore, Fail?

Pressing A causes the machine to switch off.

What do I do now?

Could my C drive be full? It was pretty near full with all the PB dross. Now I can't get Windows to boot!

What a friggin' malarky!

Any advice before I reach for the friggin' Greecian 2000?

Cheers,

JaX

[odin]

Sounds indeed like it's time for the ultimate Windows advice, format and reinstall completely :-(.

[mikeymike]

Take a close look at the card itself, take a note of every model, serial number, anything you can find.  Google them all.

[JaXanim]

@odin

OK, I have the Win98 CD, but do I need any mobo drivers as well?

I got this old mobo courtesty of Spirantho, but there was no software with it. I read somewhere that the AGP slot, etc.,  need some software. Do I need anything other than the emergency boot floppy I created right at the start of this Journey into the Unknown...?

And when I do take the Ultimate Plunge and reformat the C drive, do I need to make any special instructions?

It's only an 850Mb drive, so will the simple 'Fdisk' command do it for me?

Cheers,

JaX



Cheers,

JaX

[Holley]

ok, a PC should work ok without any motherboard drivers, they just speed things up (enabling any custom abilities in the chipset).  It's something you can worry about later, and of course your current Windows install will by trying to load the drivers from the old PB board ;-)

The following instructions are written from Win98 'Second Edition' so may not be exactly the same for a first edition ...

With Win98 you need both the disk and the serial number, it's also a good idea to have a copy of DirectX as most modern graphics drivers require it - you can get it from here.

You start by setting the Bios to boot from the CD (rather than disk, Windows 95 was the last one that /needs/ to boot from floppy).  When you boot from the CD you should get a startup menu saying 'Boot from CD' or 'Boot from Hard Drive'.  Once you choose boot from CD you get another menu asking to start Win98 setup, start with CD support, or start without CD support - choose the middle one.

in the startup text it should mention which letter is assigned to the CDRom (probably 'E'), make a mental note of that.  Type:

Code: [Select]

[size=medium]
E:               //or whatever CDRom letter
cd\win98
format C: /q         // the q is to skip verifying BTW
[/size]
this will clear the 850Mb drive.  After this you just type 'setup' and press enter, and the rest is in a GUI with instructions. (had you chosen to go straight to setup it would pick up the old install, and a full Win98 disk won't install over an existing install!).

Once Windows is done (200+Mb and about 45 mins later) you can install DirectX, try the video drivers again, install internet settings etc etc.  Your second drive should show up fine without making any changes :-) IIRC I don't think SmartSuite needs re-installing, just the Shortcuts re-making.

[JaXanim]

@Holley

Many thanks for the valuable insight to the underbelly of Windows 98!

Unfortunately, the DirectX file is around 35Mb which puts it beyond use for me. I have to download stuff to my Amiga and I can only transfer it to the PeeCee via floppies.

Just hope I can get by without it! ?
What do you reckon?

Cheers,

JaX

[Holley]

It might work (for instance new-ish ATI cards will ask for DirectX, but if you skip it it works fine). If not I'll do you a care package, lol ;-)

If you have any recent PC magazine cover CDs they might have a copy on 'em (more likely on a games magazine).

[odin]

@jaxanim:

*Does* your PC boot from CD-ROM? If yes, then you won't need a W98 Emergency Disk to reinstall. If no, well..you guessed ;-).

And do you know what brand/type/part number the mobo is? Normally there should be some sort of marking on the mobo. Unless it's a very dodgy noname mobo ofcourse ;-). Usually mobo makers will have some software- and ROM- aka BIOS-updates available.

-edit-
Er...just like mikeymike said on the previous page ;-).