Very Computer

Hey Linuxers,

I am currently running Xv1.1 on a Diamond Speedstar 24. It's an
'ok' setup except for the cards variable clocks. It is a bit of
a hassle to set the clocks in Dos using vmode and then booting
into linux under a specific text mode so as not to change the
clock values.

This situation prompted me to contact the dealer that I bought
the card from to see if he had any other ET4000 cards available.
The first rep I spoke to said that they had an Orchid
Pro-Designer IIs card also and that they would trade straight
across but I would also have to pay a restocking fee of about
$30. I did not find this very attractive since the Speedstar
card is worth about $20 more than the Orchid anyway. So I called
a second time and spoke to a rep that I have worked with before
and told him that the fee was bunk. He said that I wouldn't have
to pay the damn fee!

Anyway, my questions are these....

On the Speedstar I've seen only the clocks 25 28 44 45 66 72 80.
But of course I can't get them all at the same time. In one vmode
I'll get 25 28 45 44 ..... and on another vmode they will be
25 28 80 72 ..... and so on. Well if there is anyone out there
using the Orchid card could you tell me what the clock values
are? Also, is the Orchid a variable clock card too? If it is
I don't believe I would make the trade.

I'm am also concerned about what losses I would make in the trade
with my Dos apps. The Diamond card can support 24 bit colors. I
don't think the Orchid can do that.

Finally, If anyone has any comments or advice on this card comparison
please feel free to give them. They would all be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in Advance,

Mike

|> Hey Linuxers,
|>
|> I am currently running Xv1.1 on a Diamond Speedstar 24. It's an
|> 'ok' setup except for the cards variable clocks. It is a bit of
|> a hassle to set the clocks in Dos using vmode and then booting
|> into linux under a specific text mode so as not to change the
|> clock values.

I had a similar problem with my serial mouse before. I can set my mouse
to Mouse System under DOS. But under Linux, during boot time, it resets
it to Microseoft, which is useless under X11. What I did was

1. Get a few PD DOS diasssemblers and diasssemble the driver, in your case
   vmode.
2. Try to understand how the driver change the mode of the device (mouse,
    video card)
3. List possible instructions. In this business, it usually sends out a few
   bytes to certain ports to control the registers in interface cards.
4. Use `debug' to test your guesses. And run your driver to see if the mode
   is changed. If you can get a manual, that will be very helpful.
5. Put initialization code in kernel or X386 server to set up the mode you
   need.

That is what I did for my mouse. Now I can use 3-button Mouse System under
X11.

Hope it helps.

--
H.J.
Gcc/libc maintainer for Linux.