ArcadeVGA Question

[mkdevo]

hello all,

I've been out of the loop for a while, so I'm sorry if this is a dumb question.. basically had my project on hold for a year before I just started it back up again..

anyways, I finally put my monitor in my cabinet, and hooked up my computer to it. I have a WG D9200. I also have, what I'm guessing is an older ArcadeVGA card (it has 2 VGA inputs, as opposed to the one with 1 VGA input that I now see on the Ultimarc site).

since the D9200 has a VGA output, is there any need for me to have the ArcadeVGA card? the reason I ask is because when I hooked the monitor up to the AVGA card (I tried both ports), I get 'no signal' on the monitor, but it works fine when plugged into my onboard VGA port..

can someone enlighten me? thanks in advance!

[grueinthebox]

First thing to do is to make sure your BIOS is configured to look at the AGP graphics card as the primary video adapter, not the onboard.  If that's correct, go into Device Manager in Windows, make sure the AVGA card is seen and drivers are installed correctly, and then disable the onboard video adapter (the easies way to force Windows to use the other one).

As for the rest, I'm a relative newbie myself, but as I understand it:

The AVGA with the d9200 allows you to take full advantage of the d9200's higher resolution capabilities for a non-interlaced 640x480 picture in Windows and other apps, but still be able to run the arcade games in their proper, native resolutions without resorting to something like ArcadeOS.  You'll just want to make sure you get the d9200-specific software for the ArcadeVGA, as the standard software doesn't allow for the higher resolutions (as a normal arcade monitor can't display them).

Without the ArcadeVGA, you're either going to be running your games stretched (which defeats the purpose of having an arcade monitor, and won't look right), or relying on running ArcadeOS to work around the limitations of a standard video card.

[mkdevo]

chris,

thanks for the info. right now, i'm unable to get my AVGA to install..

i dug out my disc, and tried to install the AVGA drivers. every time i do so, i get an error:

Setup failed to run installation: (0x80040703)

i tried rebooting and installing the card manually (via Control Panel > Add Hardware), but when i choose 'Have Disk' and point it to the driver, nothing happens.

Running Windows XP Pro, SP2.

anyone have any clues?

[grueinthebox]

A quick search shows your error to be a fairly uncommon Installshield error that no one seems to know the exact cause of...   A couple of possible solutions folks had listed:

Try running the installer in compatibility mode for 98/ME.

One person claims to have gotten this error installing a Radeon 8500, and was able to solve it by doing the following:
1. Start XP in Safe Mode by holding F8 key at boot start.
2. Disable "Radeon 8500" driver in Device Manager. Do not re-start.
3. From Add/Remove programs, uninstall ATI Video Drivers. Do not re-start.
4. Open C:\Windows\System32 and delete ATI*.*. There is a Ati???.dll that
is causing problem as cannot be deleted normally.
5. Try "Setup" for 3286 drivers but will still fail.
6. At Device Manager, select Radeon 8500 and select "Update Driver".
7. Select "Install from list or specific location".
8. Select "Don't search, I will select driver to install"
9. Pick Radeon 8500/Radeon 8500LE (Not Radeon 8500).
10. Celebrate!!

I'd add that in addition to using the ATI uninstaller in add/remove programs, I'd also download and run the Cat Uninstaller program from ATI's website as part of the uninstallation process.

You might try contacting Andy at Ultimarc to download a fresh copy of the drivers...  It's possible (though unlikely) you may have gotten a bad CD.

If all else fails, you can always format and reinstall...  

[mkdevo]

chris,

thanks again. haven't had a chance to try it yet, but will do tonight.. i'll let you know how it goes.

[mkdevo]

One person claims to have gotten this error installing a Radeon 8500, and was able to solve it by doing the following:
1. Start XP in Safe Mode by holding F8 key at boot start.
2. Disable "Radeon 8500" driver in Device Manager. Do not re-start.
3. From Add/Remove programs, uninstall ATI Video Drivers. Do not re-start.
4. Open C:\Windows\System32 and delete ATI*.*. There is a Ati???.dll that
is causing problem as cannot be deleted normally.

good news! i followed 1-4 above, and the installation worked! thanks again, chris!