HELP! Insalled MAX, get black screen no video

[dmd]

I was attempting to upgrading from the Millennium II (agp) to G400MAX.

1. Uninstalled the Power Desk
2. It forced a reboot. Everything was fine.
3. I went thru Registry and exported matrox listings, like my friend told me to do.
4. Went thru Registry again and started deleting them, like I was told to do, but stopped after two. Just didn't feel right.
5. Shut down
6. Installed MAX. No video at all. Black screen. Nt loads up but no screen "Invalid Sync"
7. Put back Mill2. Same. Nt loads but Black screen. "invalid sync"
8. Found the old PCI Cirrus that came with the AlphaNT (it looks real BAD. Like I'm in Safe mode.)and that's why I'm able to get here now to ask you all WHAT HAPPENED?

I have an Abit Bx6 r.1. WinNT and 95. But NT is the default.
I have merged all the registry entries I exported but I don't see how that's gonna help. And it didn't.

I've never had trouble installing hardware before so have no experience what so ever in troubleshooting.

Thanks, Diane

[Rags]

Try setting your AGP aperture in your bios to 256MB and set the primary video to be AGP.

Rags

[arbymo]

dmd
the registry keys u deleted/restored have nothing to do with getting a blank screen at boot up.

your problems is somewhere else.
try your matrox cards on other systems.
also try to load bios default and see if that helps, and also as Rags said , try changing your AGP aperture size and see if AGP has a setting to be enabled/disabled in bios.

[harkpabst_meliantrop]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Originally posted by dmd:

1. Uninstalled the Power Desk
2. It forced a reboot. Everything was fine.
</font>

If your screen did not look as if you were in safe mode (640x480, 16 colors) at this point, the driver wasn't really uninstalled, probably only the PowerDesk software!

Matrox has an uninstalling utility avalilable as a seperate download.
I'm not sure if the Millenium II drivers are already supported, but it's surely worth a try.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">
3. I went thru Registry and exported matrox listings, like my friend told me to do.
</font>

At least the current uninstaller would have deleted the registy settings (at least most of them) as well. So this might be one more hint, that the driver wasn't really uninstalled.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">
4. Went thru Registry again and started deleting them, like I was told to do, but stopped after two. Just didn't feel right.
5. Shut down
6. Installed MAX. No video at all. Black screen. Nt loads up but no screen "Invalid Sync"
7. Put back Mill2. Same. Nt loads but Black screen. "invalid sync"
</font>

That's an interesting point and it proves, that most probably your problem is not related to AGP aperture size or the "initialize display first" setting (in fact, this should only tell your OS what is the primary display adapter if you have both, a PCI and an AGP card installed at the same time).

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">
8. Found the old PCI Cirrus that came with the AlphaNT (it looks real BAD. Like I'm in Safe mode.)and that's why I'm able to get here now to ask you all WHAT HAPPENED?
</font>

This is default when no appropriate display driver is installed. Note however that NT (other than Win9x) allows you to switch to 800x600 resolution even in this mode. Makes handling much easier!

I would suggest trying the following:

1) Using the PCI card, switch the display driver setting to standard VGA driver explicitely (all important!!) and reboot.

2) Try the Matrox uninstaller on what might still be left of the Mill II drivers and reboot.

3) Check all OEM&lt;number&gt;.INF files in C:\WINNT\INF. Open them in Notepad and read the first few lines to find the one that is related to Matrox. Delete this (and only this) OEM&lt;number&gt;.INF file and the corresponding .PNF file. You might also search for any files starting with "mga64" on drive C: and delete them (this should be absolutely save, but if you don't feel comfortable, move them to the trash box only)

4) Consider reinstalling NT service pack 5 or 6a. Shouldn't be necessary (if your Millennium II AGP worked O.K. before, you must have had at least SP3 already installed), but it can't do any bad.

5) Put in the Millennium II again and check if it works (running in ugly 16 colors mode, don't attempt to reinstall the drivers now!!).

6) If it still doesn't, ask someone who knows (instead of me). If it does, power down the machine and replace it with the G400.

7) In this step you either gave up already or should now be able to install the new drivers without a glitch. ;-)
[/B][/QUOTE]

Good luck!


[This message has been edited by harkpabst_meliantrop (edited 14 May 2001).]

[This message has been edited by harkpabst_meliantrop (edited 14 May 2001).]

[dmd]

OK. I went into the BIOS and changed AGP aperture from 64 to 256. The Primary video was already set to AGP.

I also enabled PCI/VGA Palette Snoop because I read this;
"This option is only very rarely needed. It should be left at "Disabled" unless a video device specifically requires the setting enabled upon *installation*."

I removed my PCI serial card, finally, sense I switched to @home cable, moved the PCI Cirrus Logic card into that slot, put the Mill2 back into the AGP slot. Attached the monitor cable to the Mill2 and turned it on.
The desktop is like I never left! In ControlPanel/DisplayProperties/Settings/Display Type the Adapter type (Mill2 AGP) and it's drivers information and adapter info are again, as tho I never left. As tho I never uninstalled the Matrox PowerDesk.

What do you say to that? And what should I do now? I seem to recall a term, "Hot Swapping" )

Is it imperative that I uninstall the Mill2 drivers before installing the MAX (if it works) and it's drivers?

Should I just shut it down as is and try the MAX again? The only other system I have access to is 800 miles away. I will tho send it to em if I can't get this to go. The fan works )

[Wombat]

What ever you do, turn off palette snooping. You don't want it.

[harkpabst_meliantrop]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Originally posted by dmd:

Is it imperative that I uninstall the Mill2 drivers before installing the MAX (if it works) and it's drivers?
</font>

<H1>YES!</H1>

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">
Should I just shut it down as is and try the MAX again?
</font>

<H1>NO!</H1>

This is all covered in the official Matrox FAQ. Assuming, that the latest PD version for the Mill II still is not a PD5 version (too lazy to look it up), the uninstaller will not work and you have to follow the manual deinstallation method:

http://www.matrox.com/mga/support/fa.../install.cfm#1

--E<:|

[cjolley]

I hope this question will not be tacken the wrong way.
It has happended to me befor.
Did you inadvertantly plug your monitor into the second head?
chuck

[dmd]

#1 plug no workee!!

I said to heck with it, after going thru the manual uninstall and it still didn't work, and put the monitor on the second plug.
IT WORKED!

So I guess now it's off to register, then to Tech Support Dept./Forum to get a RMA.

Question: Is there any difference between the #1 and #2 plug? I mean, WHY is it that you are told to plug your primary monitor into the #1 plug?

No offense taken cjolley. In fact, thanks for making me think about the plugs.

[This message has been edited by dmd (edited 16 May 2001).]

[harkpabst_meliantrop]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Originally posted by dmd:

Question: Is there any difference between the #1 and #2 plug? I mean, WHY is it that you are told to plug your primary monitor into the #1 plug?
</font>

Oops, message heaviliy edited, I would say (but where has the cool part about the air head gone ).

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong (I only have a single head card), but at least on the G400 the RAMDAC of the second plug was far less powerfull (max resolution and refresh rate) as it was an external chip.

With G450 boards, the RAMDAC is now integrated into the chip but still (I believe) different from the primary one.

--E<:|

[cjolley]

This should realy be answered by someone who uses DualHead more than I do.
But....
I don't think the second head outputs anything untill the drivers load.
Even then, I think you have to tell the drivers to turn on DualHead.
So, If you get video output on bootup from one of the plugs after a fresh install. That plug is plug #1.
The labeling on the plugs is not very distinct.
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
chuck

[www.josh.org.uk]

Yep you're right, I only get something from the 2nd port if it's enabled.

They have small boxes that look like monitors and the number 1 and 2 in them, quite small, but can be read fairly easily.

Josh
http://fp.joshwa.f9.co.uk

[dmd]

WELLLLL Ya all recall me confessing to being an air-head, right? Right!

OK. Well it seems the older I get the worse I'm getting. And ya know how when people get older their eyes
take a dive. I have to hold things farther and farther away sos I can see them. Well my computer is situated such
that I can't see behind it hardly at all. But when prompted again (after cjolley) to recheck the plug situation I got
out my big old MAG-LITE, spun the sucker around and over as far as I could without screwing anything up
being it was running, and low and behold I had had the flipping monitor plugged into the #2 in the beginning (of
this post). Dah, I hear ya

I'm going to delete this whole topic if they'll let me. Boy what a waste of everyone's time and space.
I want to thank you all tho for giving of your time. I was panicked and obviously blind. Your prompting did the
trick. THANKS
I got me a magnifying glass now sitting right next to the MAG-LITE on top of the box . )

[DukeP]

Take it easy, DMD. I think a lot of us have maid the same mistake <cough>.
Look at it this way, its worth it. A free panick ride down the "ohh my good Id finally did torch the wretched thingy".

And all to no harm at all..

=)

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