Arcade monitor setup problems

[tomlease]

Hi -

I'm setting up an arcade monitor for the first time. I'm new to this but I've read everything I can get my hands on - so please keep "Read the FAQ" comment to a minimum. That said...

I have a 19" Pentranic CGA Kit w/8liner chassis (both new), an ArcadeVGA card from Ultimarc, & a hacked VGA cable running on WinXP SP2.

After removing all old video drivers & installing the ArcadeVGA card I started up the computer & monitor. Lots of vertical rolling, but I adjusted it to a workable condition. The problem I am having is installing the ATI drivers once I get to the desktop - the desktop is far too blurry to read or navigate. Has anyone had this problem before, is it an interlacing issue or what?

I think that once the drivers are installed I will be able to set the refresh rates & resolution to ones that will be clear and legible, but for now... I'm stuck.

I know it can't be that hard to setup - what is my problem here?

P.S. I tried doing it through remote desktop on XP - but you are unable to adjust the display properties for whatever reason.

Any help is really appreciated...

Tom

[Circo]

Windows is not going to be very sharp on a cga monitor at all.  I would try booting straight into your front end.  I started with a standard Arcade monitor and switched to a multisync just for that reason. 

[tomlease]

...Well, sort-of.  The problem is that I need to install the ArcadeVGA drivers and control panel right now. I am still in the initial setup process here - it's not like I am trying to check my email or something. After all this is done I will boot to my front-end - but I need to get this thing set up properly first.

[Kangum]

Do you have an extra pc monitor around or maybe im missing what your saying. Is there any way you can install the vga drivers using a pc monitor to read and navigate and then once its set up just disconnect and plug in the arcade monitor.

[tomlease]

I've got a PC monitor - but the problem is that I cannot connect the ArcadeVGA card to it, because it outputs at 15kHz, I just get an "out of range" error on my PC monitor.

So basically I need to install the drivers while the Pentronic arcade monitor is plugged in - there doesn't seem to be another way. I'm just wondering if anyone has any insight as to whether there are anyy settings I can apply that will clear up the initial resolution so that I can navigate the setup to the point where I can setup the resolutions and refresh rates manually.

I'm thinking that if I can't read the display for now I might be able to remote desktop it with a program that allows tinkering with resolutions (unlike the standard XP remote dektop).

Is it possible that this problem is related to monitor or AVGA function problems? I would think that I should be able to read the displays in order to setup the drivers in a windows environment... otherwise other people would have this problem as well...

[Kangum]

There are a ton of people on this board that use this card. Even if someone doesnt know the answer to whats wrong maybe they can chime in and at least post thier experience with the install to see if your situation is unique.

[Fuzzguitar]

Did you end up sorting this out?

I hooked up my AVGA and arcade monitor for the first time today and I experienced pretty much exactly what you went through.

Luckily I could get the drivers on no problem as the CD that came with the AVGA (mine came from Ozstick) would autorun upon booting the pc - thankfully that menu screen is big, bold & easy to navigate!

You could try setting your windows to auto run in case it's currently not.

What I had an absolute nightmare with was the fact that after the drivers were installed I set the display to 640x288 BEFORE I ran the auto res utility.... meaning I couldn't read half the menus in windows.

I was forever guessing where to click, couldn't move windows around enough to see all the info at once, text was hard to read, it was hell.

Even my attempts to get the ATI drivers to autopan the desktop (ultimarc's site made it sound like that should work) were useless - the option wasn't even there.

Maybe someone more knowledgable should add a numbered order to do all these steps into the monitor FAQ?

I sorta got there eventually in the res tool (but may re do it soon) so now most games aren't rolling vertically in game and I am ready to move on.

BTW I just got done reading the retroblast monitor setup article;

http://www.retroblast.com/articles/monitor.html

and his method of adjusting each resolution with the Nokia tool seems great but I think it's only for multires/trisync monitors right?

My monitor is an original arcade 25" from the early nineties in an Australian LAI cab, pretty sure that's only standard res...If so I am guessing I'd need to pay attention to the "Mame Prep" section of that write up and in particular the settings for vertical games (since my monitor is horizontal).

It would be fantastic if someone here can verify my hunches or correct them.

I may be stating/asking silly things as I've crammed all my research in just today after not having a chance to work on my emulation hobbies for a year basically.

PS. Forgot to say Galaga is the only game I noticed still acting up, rolling from top to bottom (I had a ten min play test of heaps of random games) Is there something special I need to do to get it working right?

Can't have a cab without that classic!