Problems with Generic WD90C33 SVGA video Card

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Last update: 6th November, 1995

Symptoms

Cold booting (i.e. powering on) system results in a blank screen when SVGA resolution is set higher than 640x480 and refresh frequency is set higher than 60Hz.

This doesn't occur when Warp has been shut down & rebooted with CTL-ALT-DEL but will occur even if the monitor has been powered on in advance for several minutes.

Hardware

486DX2-66 (Intel)
Award BIOS (v 4.50G; ROM ISA BIOS 2C4I8S21)
VL-35 SVGA adaptor (generic WD90C33)
CompuPartner 15" SVGA monitor (capable of supporting high resolution non-interlaced at up to 72Hz.)

Problem

I wish I knew!

Workaround

In the Warp Startup directory I have placed the following programs:

DOS full-screen session to run a special AUTOEXEC file which switches SVGA card refresh rate down to 60Hz (using Western Digital DOS config program).
SEAMWIN3 full-screen session (Seamless Windows is a shareware program which starts minimal Windows sessions and is normally used to reduce the load time of subsequent seamless windows sessions) which runs the standard AUTOEXEC.BAT file which switches SVGA card refresh rate back to 72Hz (using WD DOS config program).

After bootup, exit the full-screen SEAMWIN3, and the Warp desktop is drawn at the desired refresh rate and resolutions.

Notes

I've read meany instances of problems with WD90C33 SVGA cards while perusing the OS/2 Usenet newsgroups (although, I must admit those postings seem to have diminished recently). I originally posted this solution to my particular problem back in February.

I had a great deal of difficulty with this particular part of my hardware during installation... including the APARed symptom of being unable to run seamless windows sessions. That problem was cured simply by returning the seamless windows startup parameters back to their default values. I haven't had the courage to go back and try optimizing them as recommended in the Warp online help files.

Among the solutions posted for WD90C33 problems is to use the WD90C31 drivers. I was unable to achieve any positive result with this workaround.

I have installed the FixPak 5 update but the startup problem remains.

The above solution was arrived at after much trial and error and after discovering that the Warp desktop would boot readily into 60Hz refresh mode (Bleah!) in any resolution. From the 60Hz Warp desktop, I could start a full-screen windows session whose AUTOEXEC.BAT file contained the SVGA configuration changes necessary to switch Windows into 72Hz mode. Exiting from the Windows full-screen session dropped me back into the Warp desktop while still in 72Hz mode.

I have no logical explanation for why this symptom only occurs on cold bootup. IBM technical support suggested I call Western Digital. The Western Digital tech spoke of a problem with some Paradise cards not retaining their refresh rate settings and promised to send a new BIOS. Several weeks later another Usenet correspondent called Western Digital with the same request and was told that WD's policy was never to send out replacements. Go Figure.

Chris Richardson