Moniter only gets 16 colors and I can't change to 256 colors.

If you read my last post in hardware you would notice that I was trying to update my drivers for my video card (3D Blaster Banshee PCI/AGP). I accindently messed the card up somehow. I fixed the problem by re-installing it. There is one problem left... My screen only gets 16 colors. When I start my computer a screen appears on the desktop telling me that "there is a problem with the display settings. The adapter type is incorrect, or the current settings do not work with your hardware." I would then click ok and a window with my color settings would then appear. It says 16 colors under where it says colors. I would then select 256 colors.I would then get a message telling me that I need to restart my computer to change to the new settings-- I would then click OK to restart-After that, the screen would turn completely black except for the words-- "Windows is restarting." then the screen would turn completely black with no words on it--it was completely blank with no sign of changing. What should I do?? The screen I'm looking at right now has 16 colors and I can barely read what I type. Anyone know any Ideas or solutions?? OS=Windows 98

Sorry the message is so long but I tried to explain my situation as best as I could. If anyone has any questions about this post please post your question and I will post back.

 

Not sure why you started a new thread, but go back and read my last post on your other thread that relates to this same problem.

Rockster2U aka RocksterOnRoad

 

I tried to download the file but the computer told me that the file was not a valid Win 32 application. I don't think that I have to reinstall my video card anyway because the computer device manager says that everything including the videocard is working properly. The only problem is that everytime I try to change my moniter settings from 16 colors to 256 colors the computer asks me to restart my computer but when I do so the screen turns and stays black. I found a way to change the color settings without restarting but the computer warns me that doing so could mess up the computer. Should I try to do so anyway?

 

When you can not change colors it mostly comes down to two things. (1) you do not have the right drivers. (2) You have the screen size to high for the video card you have and you need to lower it.

 

John,
You have a driver problem. If you follow the directions I gave you, I believe you will no longer have a driver problem. I gave you links to the exact driver, instructions on how to download it and install it and pre install instructions on cleaning your registry with a link to a program that would do this for you. If you follow these religiously, you can stop asking questions and start enjoying 16M colors.

Rockster2U aka RocksterOnRoad

 

Ok. last question, I don't want to kill my computer. What is the best way to go about uninstalling all of my video drivers?

Also-the download you gave me is ment to completely replace my drivers? Meaning that I don't need my voodoo disk at all for the setup?

Sorry if i'm making you fustrated-i'm no computer expert, as you can tell.

 

Not to worry, thats what this board is for. No question is a dumb question and I didn't mean to sound short. First, download the video drivers (save to a new folder, named Video Drivers). To make a new folder - In Windows Explorer, highlight C: then click on File, then new, then folder. Rename this (right click new folder) Video Drivers. Next, download RegCleaner from the link - save this to a folder. Now, shut down all programs except explorer and systray and install RegCleaner. Reboot. If you can, go to Add/Remove software in the Control panel and see if your video drivers are listed. If so, uninstall. If not -skip. Then run Regcleaner and select all references to your Video drivers (check marks) then remove. Reboot. Shut down all running applications except explorer and systray. Now go to the new Video Drivers folder using Windows Explorer and double click the downloaded video driver file. They will either self install or self extract. If they install, you will know it. Reboot. If they extract, you will see several new files. Select setup.exe and double click it. That will install your drivers. Reboot. You should now be in business. Don't worry about how your screen looks until after the last reboot. Then go to properties and set 16M colors and 800x600 for resolution. These should be decent settings for your machine.

Rockster2U aka RocksterOnRoad

 

If you have a Voodoo vudeo card, this is a Pain in the A** problem to fix. I know and had two and they are both now gone.
Steps needed

1. Boot into safe mode and remove the display adapter from the device manager.
2. Shut the machine down ( power off ).
3. Restart and let Winodws install the video card as a Standard PCI/AGP VGA setup using Windows default drivers.
4. Restart Windows at least twice.
5. Navigate to the C:\Winodws\inf and C:\Windows\inf\other and DELETE ALL references to the Voodoo drivers.
6. Do a Start/Run and type regedit and a FIND for Voodoo and DELETE ALL references to same.( RegClean will not remove them all )
7. Check to make sure that you have the CORRECT dirvers for your OS and your Model of card
8. Run the downloaded file and HOPE for the best

In fact this is about the only way to install any new Video card or driver for same. ( at least that is what I have found )

Also on both of my older machines I could not use the lastest drivers. I had to stay at least two gererations back in order to maintain Video stability and reliability.

BillyBob

 

Should I delete all those files? And how do I find out if I have the correct drivers for my video card?

 

I just downloaded regcleaner-can I use it to unistall 3D Blaster Banshee??

 

One more thing to add. I downloaded that file from voodoofiles.com and double clicked on it and I got an error. The error says that the file in not a valid Win32 application.

 

I may have assumed too much. This, after checking the link I gave you on your other thread - I assumed you have Winzip or some other utility that can handle zipped files.

 

Just dwled that file from Voodoo. It is a .zip file, with a self extracting .exe file inside it!!???

I use power archiver for all my zipping needs, but I think they charge for it these days, so I suggest winzip to do the job.

You can find it here.

Dig

 

Ok... here is what I did with that file so far. I downloaded it-double clicked it-extracted it to a new folder I made (voodoo files). If I click on it there-it unzips the file. What do I do after unziping the file? I unzipped the file to my voodoo files folder and a bunch of readme icons and one other icon came up. The other file says glide2x.ovl and when I click on it it asks what I want to use to open the file. What should I use? Also how do I use regclean to delete all the files that have to do with voodoo? I can see the files in regclean, but after I click "uninstall" the file stays there. And if I delete it it comes back after I reboot.

 

Go back to Billy Bob point 1 and remove the display adapter while in safe mode. Reboot. Now set up standard VGA adapter. Then run RegCleaner and check all references to your Voodoo card on the first page that comes up. Then remove them. Reboot. Delete all the files you put in your new folder, Voodoo whatever. Thats right, delete them. Go back to your original downloaded file and right click on it, then select copy. Go to your Voodoo whatever folder which is now empty, right click on it and select Paste. This will put your original zipped download in that folder so you know where it is. Now unzip the download to that same folder, Voodoo whatever. Reboot. Shutdown all running apps except explorer and systray. Go back to your Voodoo whatever folder. Find the setup.exe file and double click it. Reboot. You're done and I don't have to post any more -phew.

I'm also assuming that you have set files and folders so you can see all file extensions - and all files and folders.

 

This reply is written from my own experience with Voodoo cards.

When cleaning up a VooDoo install, all references to the Voodoo ( or 3dfx ) MUST be removed from the Windows\inf and.or Windows\inf\ other before cleaning the registry. Otherwise they will get put right back in.

And the references in the Inf or inf\other need to be removed when in the safe mode. And really the safe mode is best for doing the regedit.

Rockster2U

ReCleaner will not get all of the Reg entries. It must be a manually typed regedit and find for all Voodoo and/or 3dfx entries.

John J.

As a suggestion from my own experience and from one BB member to another.

Make life easier on your self and get a new Video card. But make sure ALL of Voddoo is gone before installing. As I said before Voodoo drivers are a time consuming pain to get rid of.

I had two of them And they were nothing but trouble. And it takes time, determination and brute force to get rid of them.

I have a $50 ATI Rage 128 32meg AGP video card in this new machine and NO Problems whatsoever.

BillyBob

 

A new video card sounds like a great idea for what ive been through trying to fix this computer. I'm attending a computer show next week--so i'll look for it there. Is there anything I should know about that particular video card? Do I have to do anything to my computer in preperation for the video card, or can I just pop it in and install it and that will solve my problem? Will it have any effects on my games that I already have? Thanks for the info.

 

I think BillyBob makes a good point and it sounds like you are going to follow that advice.

As to RegCleaner - its a great program for those with limited knowledge who might do some major damage in regedit and its **** good for quick but very thorough cleaning too. I put it in a hidden folder along with a few other goodies on every installation I do. I've had great success with it and it hasn't failed me yet with Voodoo cards that had to be replaced. I'm not sure if we are all referencing the same program.

Regardless, here's a link to it for the curious:
http://www.jv16.org/

 

Rockster2U

I think we are referring to the same program but maybe different versions. I have not used it for some time so the newer one may do a better job.

The version I used never found all of the items that I wanted to get rid of. ( including the Voodoo )

But the one thing we should remember is that the same program may not work the same on all systems.

BillyBob

 

That video card you mentioned--where did you buy it, also I found it on the web and I need a AGP 2X/4X universal slot. How do I know if I have that? And if I get the card can I install it and have it work right away, or do I have to do anything in preperation? Thanks