funky video issues. have arvade vga if it matters

[delta88]

well, Ive set this up a million times but this time its all wonkey.I have win xp with the arvade vga runnin. so I open up mame 32 and play a game.. burgertime plays finecolor wise. but open world class bowling or the simpsons.. the colors all look like they are inverted.. neon like in color.. and as far as all the games go. ther is this little black vertical line about 2 inches long in the middle of the screen only while playing mame games.. its thin.. but only in mame. did i over look something totally easy?
thx d88

[StephenH]

If you are indeed getting Inverted colors, the colors should correspond as follows:

Red -> Cyan
Green -> Magenta
Blue -> Yellow
Cyan -> Red
Magenta   -> Green
Cyan -> Red
White -> Black
Black -> White


If you are getting only a limited color range, as low bit color games (8-16 colors or less) are getting correct colors, while higher bit depth games are getting incorrect colors, check the video wire path, and make sure there is not a 7404 or other DIGITAL inverter chip between the video card and the monitor.   If there is one, you may need to replace it with an ANALOG inverter (the type that uses an op-amp chip).


One good test might be to open the application "Paint" (Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> Paint) and choose "Edit Colors" from the colors menu, and click on "Define custom colors", and play around with the color controls.   Try raising the Red, Green, and Blue controls and see if your monitor responds correctly.  

If one color does not show up, it could be that gun of the picture tube has a problem, or there is a problem with that guns driver circuit inside the monitor.

If the colors take a lot of percentages to repsond, it could be that there is a digital inverter (see above).   If the "Color" is a dithered pattern, and is different from the "Solid" in a number of cases, this could indicate a problem with the video driver, or that your computer is only set to 16 or 256 colors in the Display control panel.

Additionally, select a color and try drawing on  various parts of the screen, and if the color appears wrong in a portion of the screen, it could indicate a degaussing problem.