August 15, 1993

RELEASE NOTES FOR VESA SUPER VGA BIOS EXTENSION VVESA.COM (VER 2.21)

READ THIS FILE COMPLETELY BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO USE THIS PRODUCT

Contents

1.0     Introduction
2.0     Command Line Keywords
3.0     VESA Modes Supported
4.0     Vesatest Utility
5.0     Windows and VVESA.COM
6.0     VESA Standards


1.0     Introduction

VVESA.COM  is a Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR) program. It  is
the implementation of the VESA Super VGA BIOS Extension  Standard
#VS911022.

VVESA  is not a driver. It is a program which enables your  video
board  to  be used with VESA compatible  software.  Consult  your
software manual or your software manufacturer's Technical Support
to see if a VESA driver is available for your software.

Install your software for VESA Super VGA.  Then run VVESA  before
running  your VESA compatible software.  If you prefer,  a  batch
file  can be written to invoke VVESA and then your software.  The
resident portion of VVESA only consumes a small amount of memory.
To run  MS Windows 3.1 with  VESA 800x600  16-color driver in the
7-bit video mode 6A, VVESA is not required.

To remove VVESA from memory, type: VVESA OFF.


2.0     Command Line Keywords

Here is a list of VVESA advanced command line keywords:

    OFF   Remove the driver from the system memory.

    PAN   Enable Linear Address
          It  allows  user  to pan or scroll  within  the  entire
          display  memory. Standard VGA will wrap around  at  the
          end of 64K in planar mode.  Linear address is  disabled
          at default.

    55rw  Force single page read & write mode
          The Write Page number is set to Read Page number when a
          display  mode is initialized.  (Note that only  display
          controller  28800-5 or higher is default to  dual  page
          mode,   i.e. the writeable and readable windows can  be
          programmed independently)

    DUALPAGE
          Turns on individual read and write windows which can be
          programmed independently for all supported 8, 15 and 24
          bit modes including: 100h, 101h, 103h, 105h, 110h, 112h
          and 113h.


    FOR MACH32 CARD USERS ONLY:

    DUALPAGE
          Does not enable separate read and write windows for
          the following 15 and 16 bit modes: 110h, 111h, 113h, 114h,
          115h, 116h and 117h.

    NOHICOLOR
          Disables  support for 32,768, 65,536 and 16.7M colour modes on
          mach32 products.  It also disables support for mode 107h (1280
          x 1024 256 colours). It will save above 4K of system memory if
          your application does not support these high color modes.

    ********
    WARNING:
    ********
          If you change the VGA Memory Size setting in the Install
          program, you must UNLOAD and then RELOAD the VESA driver.
          Failure to do so can cause unpredictable results as the
          driver may try and set modes that are no longer supported by
          the new setting, or fail to support modes that are now possible.
          To unload the driver use the command "vvesa off", to reload
          it simply use the command "vvesa."



For  example,  to enable driver to view  display  memory  at
upper 512KB, type:

                VVESA PAN      <enter>

Then run your VVESA application.


3.0     VESA Modes Supported

The following VESA modes are supported:

     MODE      RESOLUTION        MEMORY    MEMORY           PRODUCT
     NUMBER    /COLORS           REQUIRED  MODEL            REQUIRED

     100h      640x400   /256    512KB     packed pixel
     101h      640x480   /256    512KB     packed pixel
     102h      800x600   /16     256KB     4-plane planar
     103h      800x600   /256    512KB     packed pixel
     104h      1024X768  /16     512KB     4-plane planar   all except V3
     105h      1024X768  /256    1MB       packed pixel
     107h      1280X1024 /256    1MB       packed pixel     mach32
     108h      80x60/16          256KB     Text mode
     109h      132x25/16         256KB     Text mode
     10Ah      132x43/16         256KB     Text mode
     110h      640x480/32768     1MB       packed pixel     XL, XL24
                                                            mach32
     111h      640x480/65536     1MB       packed pixel     mach32
     112h      640x480/16.7 M    1MB       packed pixel     XL24, mach32
     113h      800x600/32768     1MB       packed pixel     XL24, mach32
     114h      800x600/65536     1MB       packed pixel     mach32
     115h      800x600/16.7 M    2MB       packed pixel     mach32
     116h      1024x768/32768    2MB       packed pixel     mach32
     117h      1024x768/65536    2MB       packed pixel     mach32

Note that some display adapters may not be capable of  displaying
all  the  modes listed above  depending on the  model,  amount of
video memory  and how the  display adapter is  configured.  Check
the user's manual of your display adapter for  information on how
to configure display adapter and the available modes.

Note that when using modes 107h, 110h, 111h, 112h, 113h, 114h, 115h,
116h, or 117h on the mach32 some applications may appear with dim or
incorrect colors. This happens because these modes require the colour
registers (i.e. DAC registers) to be set through video BIOS calls only.
Some applications set these registers directly, which results in
incorrect colour settings in these modes. If you encounter this problem,
contact the application publisher.


4.0     Vesatest Utility

VESATEST.EXE  is a  utility  program  to  check  which modes are
supported on  your  display adapter,  run VESATEST after loading
VVESA.  This utility  will provide a listing  of all VESA  modes
available on your card.


5.0     MicroSoft Windows and VVESA.COM

Running VVESA.COM under Microsoft Windows is not recommended and can
corrupt the display.


6.0     VESA Standards

Programmers  requiring more information about VESA standards  may
obtain copies of the specifications by writing or calling:

              VESA
              1330 South Bascom Ave., Suite D
              San Jose, CA 95128
              (408) 971-7525
