At 02:57 PM 4/24/98 -0700, you wrote:
>-----Original Message-----
>From: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
>Date: Thursday, April 23, 1998 12:28 AM
>Subject: [PCBUILD] S3 Virge DX 4 MB W95 (defects)
>
>
>>        Hi.
>>
>>        On a MMX200 overclocked to 3x83 with W95-OSR2, OS/2 and Linux,
>with video
>>based on a S3 Virge DX chip upgraded to 4 MB, with a 17" monitor, I am
>having
>>video defects (similar to random pixels) on normal windows
>opening/closing when
>>using the high video resolutions, such as:
>>        -Mouse cursor turns into a big ugly square. The cursor point is
>the
>>upper left corner.
>>        -Random spots over min/max/close windows buttons (upper right).
>>        -Random spots on the desktop (such as a wide horizontal line).
>>        -Random spots on the Start button and the taskbar.
>>        -Icons misarranged opening windows.
>>
>cut
>>
>>        Anyone familiar with above symptoms? TIA, Javier Vizcaino.
>>
>>
>
>Javier,
>
>I had the same problem with an S3 Virge DX, 4MB. I tried clean installs
>of Win95 and 98 Beta, various drivers, re-assigning Com ports, different
>monitors and other BIOS setup configurations (assign IRQ, video BIOS
>shadow and cachable). I even tried to return the card to the dealer and
>was told that there was no problem with the card and that it was
>probably my system.
>
>The problem was most apparent at 800x600 24-bit True Color. The only
>solution I found was to go to Control Panel/System/Performance/Graphics
>and move the slider down to "basic accelerator fuctions."
>
>Around the middle of last year I found two articles in the Microsoft
>Knowledge Base that might be of interest.
>
>"Troubeshooting Video Problems in Windows 95"
>ARTICLE ID: Q127139
>95 WINDOWS kbdisplay kbtshoot kbhw kbfaq
>This explains how the slider modifies the WIN.INI and SYSTEM.INI files;
>for example: Basic functions adds "SafeMode=1" to WIN.INI. MS recommends
>starting at the Full setting and working your way down until the problem
>goes away and you must restart after any changes. S3 compatible drivers
>are mentioned alot in this section.
>
>"S3 Video Driver Conflicts with COM4"
>ARTICLE ID: Q127138
>This was a recent topic of discussion in PCBUILD. If you have a modem on
>COM4 this may be a conflict. The article says older S3 cards "decode the
>x2E8 address range incorrectly with the I/O address mapping performed in
>Windows 95." MS recommends: changing the port your modem is using, use
>Windows 3.1x S3 drivers (it doesn't work), change video resolution and
>adjusting the accelerator slider.
>
>I hope this info can be of some help,
>Michael.
>
>The only problems I personally have experienced with the  S3 Virge DX 4 MB
w/ W95 was as follows:

"random spots over min/max/close windows buttons (upper right).
  random spots on the desktop (such as a wide horizontal line)"

I tried all the things mentioned above also and they did not work for me
either.  Then I realized the problem
seems to be a memory timing one and I checked all the video RAM  chips on
the card itself and sure enough
the original chips were 50ns and the added on ones (to make it 4Mb) were
only 70ns and therein lay the conflict.
I took the card back to where I had purchased it from, explained the
problem and they changed out the add-on
video RAM to matching 50ns ones.  From that point on I have never had any
more problems with the card.  My
experience anyway!
DAVID L. GABLER
1719 Lindy Lane
Conroe, Texas 77301-4019
409-756-4614 home,  409-537-5574 mobil
ICQ#  123822