1280x854 resolution install problems

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:) glad to have it solved this way, hopefully others can confirm the procedure you described pretty detailed :P Though i wonder how and why it works with the OMEGA INF as he uses Pieter's mobile INF as basis for the mobile settings parts of his INF :) Did you do any INF compare for the parts concerning your DEV_ID/SUBSYS_ID? Any settings that might be responsible?

[Guest J. Hommowun]

Alright, with some further experimentation, I was able to install a 70 driver (I used 7189, the latest WHQL as of today) on top of the succesfully installed Omega driver (that is, I did not do a driver cleaning first, just used the manual update off of the control panel) using Pieter's 31.70 .inf file. The system did not boot into four color, but for some reason used 1024x768 (even though it had been in 1280x854 before reboot), and listed this as max resolution. (Oddly, it also repositioned my desktop icons to a position I had used about two to three months ago [before changing my wallpaper]... go figure that one. :) ) Using the 'Add Custom Resolutions' as documented above, I did get the 'Cannot add custom resolution' error the first time I tried any given resolution, but on the second attempt it added it just fine. I did receive multiple error messages about not having adequate privileges to change the display settings (despite being logged in on an administrator account), but the system seemed to change them anyway. Some of the custom settings didn't want to 'stick' ( I needed to re-add 1280x854x32x60 a couple of times) after some of these errors popped up. My suspicion is that once the custom resolutions have all been added and no errors have casued them to 'slip' the set up won't give you the insufficient privileges message any more, but my initial experience leaves me a little more skeptical about the long-term compatibility of this set. (On the other hand, the Omega drivers seem not to have included the Stand By fix, which is a little annoying.) I'll keep using it for a week or so and see if any major issues arise.

Oh, and I'm not quite sure where to find the DEV_ID/SUBSYS_ID in the .infs... do they go by a different name pre-install? Thanks!

[Guest ®®®]

standby issue can be solved by changing the setting MAPOSD3toNV either to 2 or 3

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[Guest Guest]

Quite a while back I'd tried upgrading the drivers on my Advent 7018 using the modified INFs from this site, and always had the 4-bit problem. My laptop is an Advent 7018 with a 64mb Geforce4 440GO + 15.4" widescreen 1280x854 display.

Today I installed the Omega drivers and managed to get them working. Then I tried 3-4 6 series, 7 series and finally 8-series drivers from this site and nearly all of them worked right up to forceware 81.98!

The only two problems I encountered are:

1) the screen blanks out for a split second whenever I access the advanced display properties

2) the powermizer sliders are missing from the control panel in forceware 81.98

I didn't get the problem with custom settings not "sticking", and I haven't noticed any problems with standby mode. TV out is working like a champ also.

Since my machine is a rebadged Mitac 8060, this should work for other similar models too like the Gericom Hollywood, Evesham Cinebook etc.

Please make this post a sticky or add it to the FAQ :)

Dave

[Guest Guest]

Please make this post a sticky or add it to the FAQ

Whoops, that's what you get for coming via google. Didn't notice this post already was a sticky, sorry.

[Guest ®®®]

So it was (is) an INF problem?

I would suggest to compare OMEGA's INF (his mobile parts base on 'Pieter's mobile INF') with Pieter's and find the difference. Obviously this would be only usefull for your DEV_ID.

It would be really enlightening for us to have then this issue resolved!

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[Guest Guest]

The key difference from my perspective is that with the Omega drivers, you can persuade it to bring up the Geforce tab in the advanced display properties - step 3 seems to be the critical step to make this happen. If you don't get that bit right you're stuck with 16 colour 800x600. If you do it right and you can get to the Geforce tab OK, you just need to set your resolutions and refresh rates and you're in business.

The other thing that I did which possibly might have something to do with it was that I *didn't* make any attempt to clear out previous drivers before each installation. I suspect that once the resolutions and refresh rates were set initially, subsequent driver installations didn't overwrite them. That may also be important, I'm only guessing.

I wonder if following the same steps from a clean installation, but using Pieter's INF, would yield the same results?

Cheers

Dave

[Guest Guest]

I wonder if following the same steps from a clean installation, but using Pieter's INF, would yield the same results?

Well I've answered my own question. After much uninstalling of drivers and driver cleaning, I got my laptop to a completely clean slate. Then I installed the 7560 release using Pieter's INF. I managed to set my correct screen resolution and colour depth after following these steps:-

1. When windows rebooted after the installation, a bubble popped up asking if I wanted it to set optimal resolution and colour depth settings - click on this

2. Go to display properties->settings->advanced->monitor->uncheck "hide modes this monitor cannot display"

3. Click OK

4. Go back into Display Properties and you will now be able to set 1280x854 resolution and 32-bit colour depth. The Geforce tab will now also be visible in the advanced display settings at last.

Unfortunately, at this point I came unstuck. I can't persuade the Geforce control panel to let me set a correct refresh rate of 60hz. When I initially tried with the Omega drivers this was possible.

So it still seems to me that the way to go is to install the Omega drivers (forceware 6696) and set up your desired resolutions/depth/refresh rates - then, install some laptopvideo2go drivers over the top. You could uninstall the Omega drivers first, going to give that a try myself in a moment.

Cheers

Dave

[Guest Guest]

OK - final update: I had to remove the new drivers, they weren't working with GBPVR (www.gbpvr.com) when coming out of standby to make a recording from the TV card :-(

So that's me stuck at 32.20 unless there is a better solution for the Mitac 8060/Advent 7018/Gericom Hollywood/Evesham Cinebook family :)

[mgnewp]

Whoops, that's what you get for coming via google. Didn't notice this post already was a sticky, sorry.

Hi

I'm having exactly the same problems described above with the Advent. I also have a rebranded Mitac 15.2" laptop running Geforce4 MX 440 Go 64M.

I have installed 8212 drivers because I used the 8198 but all the problems described above occurred i.e. screen going black etc.

I have also done exactly as above in terms of unchecking the checkbox which limits the screen to 800x600 and enabled the resolution to 1280x854 (normal for me) but at 55Hz.

I have tried to add a custom resolution as above but it rejects (as above).

What are the OMEGA drivers and how can set the Hz back to 60Hz?

I started on this track because the drivers i had been using (originals) had started crashing when i went into "Advanced" and I still can't get an LCD external monitor to work when plugged into the back of the laptop (No signal) even when doing Fn F11 to switch display.

If anyone has any suggestions i'd be grateful.

Thanks

Mark

[Guest Guest]

Hello everyone. I also have a vprMatrix laptop (220A5, I believe), and have had similar difficulties upgrading drivers. The information about unhiding the non-displayable modes finally gave me a way to upgrade successfully. I am currently running the latest version of the Omega Drivers (www.omegadrivers.net - which is also in the links section from this site); I do not know if this workaround will work for all drivers listed on this site, however - I seem to recall trouble with step 6 prior to attempting the Omega Drivers. Here's what I did:

Step 1 - Uninstall old drivers (may not be absolutely necessary, but avoids cross-contamination, so why not do it?). In my case, I used a combination of the Windows Add/Remove Programs Control Panel Item and DriverCleaner3 (which program unfortunately does not include its source site in its info files, but I'm sure it can be googled easily enough).

Step 2 - Run the Omega Driver install file. IMPORTANT: This must be run in a normal boot (normal with 'Enable VGA' is fine). If the file is run in Safe Mode, Windows will detect the Graphics Card as a generic VGA device and the following steps will not be possible. Never fear, though... if you did accidentally install the Omega Driver in Safe Mode, you can just run the (Re)Install Omega Drivers link from your Start Menu the next time you boot in Normal Mode. After installing, you obviously need to reboot.

Step 3 - You should now have the ever-so-famliar 640x480x4 color mode logon screen. Log on, and open the Display Properties (right-click on the desktop and hit 'Properties' or go through the Control Panel). On the Settings tab, click 'Advanced,' then click the 'Monitor' tab. Uncheck the 'Hide modes that this monitor cannot display ' box as described earlier in this thread. Click 'Ok' to accept and return to the Settings tab.

Step 4 - Set your display size to 1280x854 and your Color Depth to 32 bit (these options should be available now). You should now be running in 1280x854x32 with a 54 Hz refresh rate.

Step 5 - Now that you're actually back in good size and color, click the 'Advanced' button again and you should find that a tab for 'GeForce4 420 Go 32M' has been added to the list. Click on that tab to bring up the Graphics Card specific menu.

Step 6 - Near the bottom of the menu at left, you should find an option for 'Screen Resolutions and Refresh Rates.' Click this to open that submenu. At the bottom of this page, you'll see a box for 'Custom Resolutions and Refresh Rates.' Click the 'Add' Button. In the menu that appears, change the refresh rate to 60 Hz. Repeat this step for any resolutions you wish to run in and any color depths (i.e., to run in 800x600x32 and 800x600x16, you need to perform this step twice). NOTE: I recall that trying this on 70's drivers from this site yielded a "Cannot add custom resolution' error, but it works with the Omega Drivers.

Step 7 - After adding the resolutions you wish to use above, click on the 'Monitor' tab (its up near the 'GeForce4 420 Go 32M' tab that you're still on, remember). Set the default refresh rate to 60 Hz. This should work now, since you've configured the 'custom' resolutions with the 60 Hz rate (if you've tried it before, you know you only had 54 Hz and 55 Hz available). You should now be in 1280x854x32 at 60 Hz refresh. Hooray!

Step 8 - If you've gotten this far, you can re-enable the 'Hide modes this monitor cannot display' (conveniently located on this same tab) to clean up the large number of resolutions on the 'Settings' tab that you cannot use. You will now only see and be able to use the resolutions you've set up to use the 60 Hz refresh rate.

That's it, you're done. This set up has been working fine with both DirectX 9.0c and OpenGL. With the settings tweaking to maximum performance, I've gotten significant reduction in loading times and near elimination of frame skipping in the Sims 2 (my current graphic guzzler of choice); and let's face it, with a card so low-scale compared to current models as the old 420 Go, every bit of performance gain is a plus.

Hope this helps out, and if anyone figures out how to get the custom resolution feature to function using non-Omega drivers, I'd be very interested to hear about it.

Hello, I am also using a vprMatrix ( vpr Matrix ) 220A5 (which uses the GeForce4 420 Go 32M GPU) and have been wrestling with the 4bit issue for a while now. This thread was enormously helpful, so I thought I'd post an addition/confirmation.

I reinstalled my OS (Win XP Home) from scratch. So, from a completely clean install, I downloaded Forceware 84.21 and the mobile .inf from this site. I followed the standard "have disk" installation procedure, rebooted, and was greeted with the low-res/stuck in 4bit color problem everyone seems to be having.

Then, following the above instructions (credit goes to J. Hommowun) almost exactly, I was able to add 1280x854x32 @ 60 Hz and 1280x854x16 @ 60 Hz via the nVidia menu. These resolutions now seem to be running fine at 60 Hz.

To reiterate, I AM NOW UP AND RUNNING at 1280x854x32 @ 60 Hz from a CLEAN install of the Forceware 84.21, using the mobile .inf from this site (labtopvideo2go.com), and the above instructions from J. Hommowun.

I will try to come back and update this thread if I run into any other trouble.

In the meantime, thanks for all the hard work and support! This is the first time I have been able to take advantage of my full screen area with a Forceware version higher than 53.xx.

-Gomer

[solgae1784]

Hello, I am also using a vprMatrix ( vpr Matrix ) 220A5 (which uses the GeForce4 420 Go 32M GPU) and have been wrestling with the 4bit issue for a while now. This thread was enormously helpful, so I thought I'd post an addition/confirmation.

I reinstalled my OS (Win XP Home) from scratch. So, from a completely clean install, I downloaded Forceware 84.21 and the mobile .inf from this site. I followed the standard "have disk" installation procedure, rebooted, and was greeted with the low-res/stuck in 4bit color problem everyone seems to be having.

Then, following the above instructions (credit goes to J. Hommowun) almost exactly, I was able to add 1280x854x32 @ 60 Hz and 1280x854x16 @ 60 Hz via the nVidia menu. These resolutions now seem to be running fine at 60 Hz.

To reiterate, I AM NOW UP AND RUNNING at 1280x854x32 @ 60 Hz from a CLEAN install of the Forceware 84.21, using the mobile .inf from this site (labtopvideo2go.com), and the above instructions from J. Hommowun.

I will try to come back and update this thread if I run into any other trouble.

In the meantime, thanks for all the hard work and support! This is the first time I have been able to take advantage of my full screen area with a Forceware version higher than 53.xx.

-Gomer

Thanks for the fix! Just to let you guys know, the 84.21 game performance is VERY poor for Geforce 4 go 420. I recommend 67.66 drivers for speed.

What I did was that since 67.66 won't allow you to add custom resolutions (gives a "cannot add" error), I used the latest INF file (from the latest drivers) with the 67.66 and changed the header to the one from 67.66. That is, change this part:

[Version]

Signature = "$Windows NT$"

Provider = %NVIDIA%

ClassGUID = {4D36E968-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

Class = Display

CatalogFile = NV4_DISP.CAT

DriverVer = 08/08/2006, 9.1.4.5

to:

[Version]

Signature = "$Windows NT$"

Provider = %NVIDIA%

ClassGUID = {4D36E968-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

Class = Display

CatalogFile =

DriverVer = 01/10/2005, 6.7.6.6

Then use that INF for install. During install, setup will be asking for the file that doesn't exist since the newer drivers have additional stuffs. Just press cancel tell it to continue without copying the non-existent file.

After install and reboot, follow the instructions J. Hommowun posted and you will find out that you can add custom resolutions now.

That's it! No more installing omega drivers and installing on top of them. 67.66 is truly a superb driver for Geforce 4 series and should be used unless you don't care about gaming and need the new features newer drivers offer. You could probably try this for the legendary 44.68 drivers but I have not tested this, and I don't really recommend because 67.66 is probably the earlist driver that supports dx 9.0c

Edited August 11, 2006 by solgae1784

[®®®]

setup will be asking for the file that doesn't exist since the newer drivers have additional stuffs. Just press cancel tell it to continue without copying the non-existent file.

Correct. For this peticular case (using an up2date INF v31.8x for a recent driver v91.xx) it's the recommended way to do so.