On 21 Oct 98 at 13:44, Mark Rode wrote:

> I have a no name generic PCI Video Card based on a S3Virge chip.
> This particular card or motherboard ...I'm not sure which but I
> suspect the video card .....requires that a monitor be plugged in
> and turned on in order for the PC to post. If the monitor is not
> signaling the motherboard....a Tyan Tomcat III ....will emit a
> error beep and stops the post.
>
> This PC is sharing a monitor by way of a switch box and it is
> often inconvenient to switch  the monitor solely for the purpose of
> posting. Does anyone know for sure if it is the card or the board
> that requires the monitor to be on ........and if there is a work
> around.

  There are, I think, two pins in the 15-pin VGA connector whose job
is to report "monitor capabilities" to the video card.  I suspect
that most video cards ignore these signals, but I did have one flaky
monitor on a machine whose video card would, about 1 time in 3,
decide that the monitor was a *monochrome* VGA, and so fail to load
drivers specifying a colour mode.

  A *good* switch box will route these signals from the shared
monitor to each machine; similarly with enough keyboard and mouse
signals to allow detection and recognition of the device even while
switched away to another machine.  I have a 4-port LinkSys unit which
cost me about $200 that does this; I would suspect that a switch box
that runs less than $150 or so may have skimped in this area --
which, as others have already suggested, may lead to additional
problems.

David G

                                  -----
                PCBUILD mailing list -  http://nospin.com
         Bob Wright:[log in to unmask] - Drew Dunn:[log in to unmask]