What the hell is the GART file and what does it do?

[Helevitia]

I keep hearing about it, my video card required me to install it, it's in the via drives but I have no clue what it is.

Dave

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's all about?

[SCompRacer]

Do you mean Viagart.cat? Basically it's an inf file with a cat extension.

Three ways to do it.

First, which I never tried, is using WinZip. Go to AGP folder of 4 in 1 drivers, make a .zip file using Viagart.inf & Viagart.vxd. Rename as Viagart.cat and put back into the AGP folder.

Second is to DL it. I got mine from one of these two places
http://hyper-cooled.gnw.de/epox_via_treiber.htm

ASUS also has it on their ftp site

ftp://ftp.asuscom.de/pub/ASUSCOM/TREIBER/CHIPSATZ/VIA/viagart.zip

Third is some say don't worry about it.




[This message has been edited by SCompRacer (edited 07 February 2001).]

[dZeus]

I think the GART driver is the driver for the AGP port, and if not, it's between the system driver and the videocard driver. It handles all the use of AGP tecturing and stuff.

[Gurm]

Originally, GART stood for (IIRC):

Graphics Addressing Relocation Table

Because all it contained was a list of addresses to remap certain calls.

However, it has evolved into a full-blown system-level "driver" of sorts for the AGP port, which of course requires substantially more manipulation of data than just remapping of addresses.

- Gurm

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Listen up, you primitive screwheads! See this? This is my BOOMSTICK! Etc. etc.

[Technoid]

And all the wonderfull AGP grafix card drivers out there replaces the installed GART driver with the latest INTEL one!
that's why VIA chipset mobo owners should REinstall Via4in1 after they install the drivers for theyr grafix card's!

[Rags]

ERRRRP! Wrong answer! Maybe with a few select cards years ago, but that's not the case or the norm.

Rags

[Gurm]

Most notably almost all incarnations of the Rage128...

- Gurm

P.S. Remember when the Rage128 drivers shipped in "Intel" and "VIA" flavors?

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Listen up, you primitive screwheads! See this? This is my BOOMSTICK! Etc. etc.

[Wombat]

Gurm:
Nope, but I remember when Matrox's drivers did.

[Rags]

I do too, and those drivers should have only installed a gart when the installed one was either missing or inappropriate.

Rags

[Helevitia]

Thanks for the info folks, helps clears things up a bit.

Dave