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Path: sserve!newshost.anu.edu.au!munnari.oz.au!bunyip.cc.uq.oz.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!yeshua.marcam.com!news.kei.com!eff!news.umbc.edu!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!uunet!ftpbox!mothost!delphinium.cig.mot.com!zeus!aztec!essenl From: essenl@aztec.swindon.rtsg.mot.com (Lee Essen) Newsgroups: comp.os.386bsd.questions Subject: Re: UltraPro/Stealth Pro VLB cards Date: 4 Feb 1994 10:58:35 GMT Organization: Motorola Ltd., European Cellular Infrastructure Division Lines: 52 Sender: essenl@aztec (Lee Essen) Distribution: world Message-ID: <2it9or$t3f@zeus.swindon.rtsg.mot.com> References: <2ir0a1$gp5@newsserv.cs.sunysb.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: aztec.swindon.rtsg.mot.com In article <2ir0a1$gp5@newsserv.cs.sunysb.edu>, rick@cs.sunysb.edu (Rick Spanbauer) writes: |> I would like to upgrade my Gateway DX-66 to include a VLB graphics |> board. Does anyone have experience running with the VLB versions |> of the StealthPro or UltraPro under NetBSD or FreeBSD? Which is |> the faster card when running *BSD? Thanks -- Rick Spanbauer, SUNY/Stony Brook I'm running a Stealth Pro 24 VLB with NetBSD 0.9 (soon to be -current) and XFree86-02.0. There are a couple of problems mostly caused by the fact the Diamond won't disclose their programming information without a non-disclosure agreement. Basically, the clock generator on the card isn't directly supported by XFree (although I have recently heard that the newer cards may word, I haven't had a chance to check it yet), so you have to use another method of setting the clock. This can be.... a) By booting dos and running something that sets the screen into the mode you want. I.E. Windows or STLMODE.EXE, then warm-booting your machine back into NetBSD and firing up X. b) By using a clock setting program, like ds3. I've spent loads of time on this and can't get it to work with NetBSD. (I even turned it into a device driver!) c) By hacking the boot blocks (this is what I've done) to call the VESA BIOS function to set the screen to 1024x768 and then back again. Also, you will probably find that when you exit X the screen is messed up. I believe this is a font problem that would probably be ok if you used syscons (since you can reload the font), there are some linux routines around that save and restore font info, these could probably be ported. Before deciding against the card I must say that performance once you are in X is exceptionally good (I'm comparing it against my old Prodesigner II). Screen updates used to be a major bottleneck with my system (4/33) but not any more. If you want a copy of the hacked boot blocks let me know, or if you wait until after the weekend I should know whether I can get my card working without any sort of external influences! Lee. -- MIS Technical Support Email: essenl@aztec.swindon.rtsg.mot.com Motorola Ltd Phone: +44 793 545336 16 Euroway, Blagrove Swindon, Wiltshire SN5 8YW