Dodgy graphics after upgrade, any advice?
Hi there,
Recently I did an upgrade on a mate's computer from Win2k to XP. In the process I also changed his BIOs settings to "reset to optimal settings".
All is well except his graphics. Still pictures (photo's, wallpapers, websites etc.) all display just fine, however moving pictures like photostory 3 or video/dvd files play with this weird pink & green hue that flows through the entire clip. He has also noticed that his games now play slower (graphics are OK but they are very old school games like DOOM etc.). Is there something I can change in his BIOs to fix this or is it more likely to do with the upgrade to XP.
BTW his graphics is on board (SiS mobo) not card.
Any advice will be hugely appreciated!!!
Recently I did an upgrade on a mate's computer from Win2k to XP. In the process I also changed his BIOs settings to "reset to optimal settings".
All is well except his graphics. Still pictures (photo's, wallpapers, websites etc.) all display just fine, however moving pictures like photostory 3 or video/dvd files play with this weird pink & green hue that flows through the entire clip. He has also noticed that his games now play slower (graphics are OK but they are very old school games like DOOM etc.). Is there something I can change in his BIOs to fix this or is it more likely to do with the upgrade to XP.
BTW his graphics is on board (SiS mobo) not card.
Any advice will be hugely appreciated!!!
0
Comments
The games--- best guess is to run them in compatibility mode for 2000 if feasible(anything you don't just run from CD, rather those you can install).
Also, 2000 uses less RAM than XP does, and this will be noticed a lot with games. RAM upgrade might be indicated.
Sorry, I haven't got access to his computer at the moment so I can't say exactly what type of SiS mobo (put it this way it's old, but not so old that it can't show moving pictures).
I will get him to try running his games in compatability mode for 2000, good call.
With the driver - do you think XP might have a generic driver I can use?
And if I was to start experimenting with drivers (i.e from "drivers guide" etc.) is there any risk of losing his graphics altogether?
Sorry if these questions sound dumb, I'm only an amateur.......
P.S. He has 640mb ram.....
Yes, possible to mess up graphics badly by just blindly installing video drivers from SIS, they made thousands of chips and boards over the years. We need top ID the board first, then I can help hunt drivers--- I am familiar with the www.sis.tw site from long experience (somewhat dated, but not that dated)with SIS stuff.
Sorry it has taken me forever to get round to my mate's house but finally I have got the information. Using Astra32 I have found that his video product ID is SiS530/620 and his mobo is a "PCCHIPS M748LMRT"
Hope this makes some sort of sense, and I really appreciate any advice you have to offer.........
Cheers,
BB
On the SiS site I am finding the driver but it seems to me that the Sis530/620 is only compatible with Win2000 from the info they have on their site. Is it possible that we just cannot run XP with this graphics chip or is there always a way?
I suppose my next step is to whack in a graphics card - except all the slots are full apart from an old ISA slot......
Too bad they don't support their hardware better, though.
Good to hear from you, hope you've been well.
I've currently got the Win2k driver on his system. I'm still wondering if it may have something to do with the BIOS alteration that I used.
I have found a Cirrus Logic card that might work a little better anyway so I just have to free up one of his PCI slots. If I can get an ISA com port card I should be OK.
Cheers,
B
PS The support from SiS and PCCHIPS definitely leaves a lot to be desired.
I could probably dig you up an ISA NIC, but getting it to Australia might be a job. You could try asking around at local computer places and see if they have one lying around. If they want more than US$5 for it you are getting ripped off.
If all else fails, let me know and I'll see what the P.O. would charge to mail one out. I used to send a lot of little items that way and it usually didn't cost all that much. :ausflag:
If all else fails I'll post back here and see if you I can sort something with you to get an ISA graphics card (all my local connections have nothing ISA except NIC cards). Thanks again mate, I'll keep in touch.
Cheers,
B
I do have a ton of ISA modems, though the external USB solution is probably at least as good. Let us know how it goes.
I recently found a couple of ISA graphics/video cards on ebay but the sellers can't supply any details as to their compatability etc. so I'm not going to risk it. I think I'll go with my ext. modem option and see how this Cirrus Logic card goes, I am confident it should do the trick. (Famous last words!!)
Thanks again for your feedback prof, much appreciated.
The reason you're not getting any details is that no one buys an ISA vid card for performance reasons. If you had an old 486 machine that you planned to use as a Linux router (or similar application), it would be fine, but the only requirement you would ask of the card is that it put some sort of picture on the screen.
As for the memory question, what is allocated now? What's the maximum the motherboard will allow you to share? How much overall RAM is in the computer now? The short answer is that allocating more RAM to the video card should improve things somewhat, assuming there is enough RAM left for the system to operate smoothly.
Thanks again,
B