Very Computer

When activating the C&T 65550 display driver from DU6, OpenWindows
gets all screwed-up; it seems like most screen elements are still
there but displayed in black, eg:
- desktop background (normally blue) and window background (normally
  white or gray) are displayed black
- buttons and window corner handles are displayed correctly

This all ends up in quite a messed-up display (very hard to navigate).
The driver only supports one bit plane depth (8 bit = 256 colors) but
as I have 2MB video RAM it should be OK.
How can I debug this, or configure it to do the right thing?

Environment is:
- Solaris 2.5_x86, DU6
- Everex StepNote 5, 40MB RAM
- C&T 65550, 2MB
Results from my tests with different drivers and OSs:
        Std VGA         C&T 640x480 C&T 800x600
Win95   ok              ok              ok (24 bit)
Sol2.5  ok              strange         strange

--
Mike

: When activating the C&T 65550 display driver from DU6, OpenWindows
: gets all screwed-up; it seems like most screen elements are still
: there but displayed in black, eg:
: - desktop background (normally blue) and window background (normally
:   white or gray) are displayed black
: - buttons and window corner handles are displayed correctly

: This all ends up in quite a messed-up display (very hard to navigate).
: The driver only supports one bit plane depth (8 bit = 256 colors) but
: as I have 2MB video RAM it should be OK.
: How can I debug this, or configure it to do the right thing?

make it watch a spike lee movie perhaps? ;0

i have just gone through days of hell dealing with a C&T 65550 set, 2MB of
RAM on the card....

SUN has a note regarding this, perhaps it is only a footnote on the HCL.
many video cards use the C&T chipset, and most of them work fine, but some
don't.  it would be nice if they weren't quite so cryptic.

i am running a brand x laptop, so perhaps my problem lies there.  but it
really seems tied up in the display.

i chose the C&T 65550 (800x600 SVGA Panel),
screen res of 800x600 and virtual screen res of 800x600
8 bit color depth.
i chose the LCD NOTEBOOK 31.5 (or is it 33.5) SVGA display.  i now get
clean boots when i turn it on in the morning, and the CDE display displays
just as it should.  if i bring the system down and turn it on again, i
tned to have to wait 8-10 minutes for the display to "right itself".  this
happens by a message flashing on my boot sequence saying, starting dt
login....then i get a grey screen.  the disk spins for a while.  then i
get the starting dt message agian...then i get a gray screen, this process
repeats until the display shows as expected.

i tinkered around with various displays, the genereic 640x480 and others.
my system gained stability after i did a kdmconfig -cf as opposed to a
kdmconfig -c (after running kdmconfig -u).

good luck with it.  i am trying to hound my vendor regarding just who the
maker of the card with the C&T 65550 for my notebook is, so i will perhoas
get a card made by C&T themselves, if they do that.

steve doliov

Quote:> i have just gone through days of hell dealing with a C&T 65550 set, 2MB of
> RAM on the card....

> SUN has a note regarding this, perhaps it is only a footnote on the HCL.
> many video cards use the C&T chipset, and most of them work fine, but some
> don't.  it would be nice if they weren't quite so cryptic.

I didn't see the note - do you mean a specific note on 65550, or just a general
"no promises" clause? Can you point it out?

Quote:> i am running a brand x laptop, so perhaps my problem lies there.  but it
> really seems tied up in the display.

Quote:> i chose the C&T 65550 (800x600 SVGA Panel),
> screen res of 800x600 and virtual screen res of 800x600
> 8 bit color depth.
> i chose the LCD NOTEBOOK 31.5 (or is it 33.5) SVGA display.

Quote:> clean boots when i turn it on in the morning, and the CDE display displays
> just as it should.  if i bring the system down and turn it on again, i
> tned to have to wait 8-10 minutes for the display to "right itself"...

My problem doesn't seem to be dependent on reboots or similar events. It
fails every time...

Quote:> my system gained stability after i did a kdmconfig -cf as opposed to a
> kdmconfig -c (after running kdmconfig -u).

Quote:> good luck with it.  i am trying to hound my vendor regarding just who the
> maker of the card with the C&T 65550 for my notebook is, so i will perhoas
> get a card made by C&T themselves, if they do that.

Cheers
--
Mike

<snip>

Quote:> i have just gone through days of hell dealing with a C&T 65550 set, 2MB of
> RAM on the card....

> SUN has a note regarding this, perhaps it is only a footnote on the HCL.
> many video cards use the C&T chipset, and most of them work fine, but some
> don't.  it would be nice if they weren't quite so cryptic.

It's really annoying that there are "hidden limitations" to the drivers.

When I bought my notebook I thought I checked everything; got the graphic
chip type from the manufacturer and checked with the Video Update
Compatibility List. I also tested a startup of Solaris installation to see
that the OS worked (this also tested VGA capabilities).
I regret now that I didn't bring along the Video DU to the shop and tried
that as well before buying... (how many tests should you have to make before
knowing if a machine is compatible with the Sun drivers! :-( )

I have seen other notebooks that use the NeoMagic 2070/90 or Cirrus Logic 7548
chips. Anybody knows if these drivers also have quirks, or is it safer to get
one of those notebooks?

--
Mike

It seems to work, though every now and then, the fonts get messed
up and you have to refresh the screen.

As someone who is sitting on about $750 of useless PCMCIA stuff
because of driver problems, I would strongly recommend two things:

 - don't by a machine that can't use a floppy and CD simultaneously
 - stick with the HCL and/or name-brand machines (Toshibas, etc.)

If your driver isn't supported, put in a request for support
via Sun's web page...

-Joe Picone