Mail Archives: djgpp/1999/03/03/18:34:31
Thanks for the interest Shawn,
Here is what VESAINFO responded with:
Permedia2 chipset
Total Memory : 8 (512k)
VESA 2.0 support
available modes :
mode 0x100: 640x400 8bpp
mode 0x101: 640x480 8bpp
Sorry for calling the FreeBE/AF by the wrong name... I was writing from
memory (works most of the time).
I guess I should consider writing the Permedia2 support since it is needed.
However, note that I don't know C/C++ yet. I am familiar with MASM and I
think that I do have access to the XFree86 information... or can get it.
Let me know how to proceed and that can be my first project :)
Thanks,
Gary
-----Original Message-----
From: Gary Powell <gdpowell AT unity DOT ncsu DOT edu>
To: 'gljp AT cwix DOT com' <gljp AT cwix DOT com>
Date: Wednesday, March 03, 1999 10:30 AM
Subject: FW: Video adapter question...
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Shawn Hargreaves [SMTP:ShawnH AT Probe DOT co DOT uk]
>Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 1999 7:17 AM
>To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com
>Subject: Re: Video adapter question...
>
>Gary Powell writes:
>> I am running the latest Permedia2 drivers for windows. However, my
>> DOS sessions report only 2 VESA modes available. I have the Scitech
>> Display Doctor (trial only 17 days left) running which increases the
>> VESA modes to 59! I have been very impressed with the driver but not
>> quite impressed enough to shell out the $40.
>
>Only two modes in the manufacturer supplied VESA driver? That is absolutely
>insane! I have to say that if I had bought this card, that would be serious
>grounds for taking it back and demanding a refund: the VESA BIOS is an
>industry standard, and I don't think it is acceptable for people to sell
>hardware with such a poor implementation of it.
>
>Out of interest, which two modes are supported? (the Allegro vesainfo
>utility will list them).
>
>> Anyway, I am rather saddened by the VESA situation I am left in.
>> I looked at the FreeVB/AF, but my chipset is not supported. Is the
>> FreeVB/AF an on going project? Will the latest (or almost latest)
>> video boards/chips be supported?
>
>FreeBE/AF is a sporadic project, in that it doesn't have anyone working
>on it fulltime, but depends on people to contribute individual drivers
>as and when they feel so inclined. This is really the only way that it
>can work, because you can't write a driver unless you own the card in
>question, and you'd have to be really weird individual to want to spend
>your life buying new graphics cards purely in order to make drivers for
>them :-) At the moment we have five accelerated drivers, which are the
>result of five different developers putting some effort into making things
>work on their particular hardware. Obviously not everyone will have the
>time or skills to do this, but it would be fantastic if you did feel
>like working on some Permedia support, and bumping the number of drivers
>up to six...
>
>A major problem with supporting new hardware is that the manufacturers
>often refuse to release specs for it, but this doesn't seem to be
>a problem with the Permedia. I can't find any technical references on
>the manufacturer website, but there is a driver for it in the latest
>version of XFree86 (www.xfree86.org), so you could get the necessary
>information from that.
>
>> I have tried to briefly look at the ML/GL source code from Scitech,
>> but I am having troubles with the include with Rhide and/or djgpp.env
>> as well as not being certain with where to begin with it.
>
>MGL won't help with your problem: it's a library for using VESA drivers
>in the same way that Allegro is, and doesn't contain any hardware level
>SVGA drivers. So you would still need a capable VESA driver to set the
>modes.
>
>
> Shawn Hargreaves.
>
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