Rage 128 questions

[croissantking]

Couple of quick questions, I have a Rage 128 PCI card in my beige G3 with Rev. C ROM and when I use the onboard video it still thinks a monitor is connected to the Rage 128. Is this because the card is faulty?

Also, I can’t get a picture from the Rage 128 on my AppleColor Hi-Res RGB display, even if I set it to 640x480 at 67Hz. Are these two completely incompatible?

 

[Phipli]

Couple of quick questions, I have a Rage 128 PCI card in my beige G3 with Rev. C ROM and when I use the onboard video it still thinks a monitor is connected to the Rage 128. Is this because the card is faulty?

Also, I can’t get a picture from the Rage 128 on my AppleColor Hi-Res RGB display, even if I set it to 640x480 at 67Hz. Are these two completely incompatible?

Hum, I've used a Rage 128 in a beige G3 with the later 640x480 apple trinitron I swear, I wouldn't have thought that was any different.

What drivers are you using?

 

[croissantking]

Just the standard ATI ones that come with Mac OS 9.2.2.

 

[Phipli]

Just the standard ATI ones that come with Mac OS 9.2.2.

See if you have more luck with this one :

https://gona.mactar.hu/ATI_Mac/ATI_Radeon_Retail_Installer/RADMAC10.hqx

Remove the current one and store it in a folder first.

 

[croissantking]

Yup will try this; thanks kindly.

 

[croissantking]

Just to update on this, the drivers did not help. I don’t think the ATI card even detects the monitor - it’s likely just not compatible.

 

[croissantking]

My Rage 128 has some other weird issues (always thinks a monitor is connected, even when one isn’t; causes lockups in Mac OS 10.2.8) so maybe it’s just my particular card. I will try to get hold of another, or ideally, a Radeon.

 

[Phipli]

My Rage 128 has some other weird issues (always thinks a monitor is connected, even when one isn’t; causes lockups in Mac OS 10.2.8) so maybe it’s just my particular card. I will try to get hold of another, or ideally, a Radeon.

Why not have a careful look at the board. It's probably a short or a cut trace. People store them in drawers and it damages them.

 

[croissantking]

Why not have a careful look at the board. It's probably a short or a cut trace. People store them in drawers and it damages them.

Good idea.

 

[croissantking]

Just to follow up, because it’s nice to tie up old forum posts, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with my Rage card. I’ve pulled out another similar card from a Yikes! G4 and it does the same thing - thinks a monitor is connected when one isn’t, on my Beige.

It’s a bit annoying when I want to use the built-in video and the mouse goes off-screen onto a phantom display. I’m now in the process of flashing a Radeon 7000 PCI so let’s see if it exhibits a similar behaviour.

 

[LaPorta]

Just a question: when did the cards start becoming monitor aware? Older Macs just assume there’s a monitor if there’s a card.

 

[croissantking]

Is that right? The internal video on the Beige doesn't activate if there's no monitor plugged in. I guess PCI cards are handled differently, then.

 

[LaPorta]

I can’t speak to it, I only know that on NuBus machines, it is treated as if a monitor is there if a card is there. Not sure when this was implemented, just curious.

 

[Phipli]

Just a question: when did the cards start becoming monitor aware? Older Macs just assume there’s a monitor if there’s a card.

Not on a Beige Mac, or most cards. That was a thing that some early (80s mostly) cards did. Apple cards were always aware if a monitor was there or not and I don't think I've ever seen a Mac PCI video card that reported a monitor when one wasn't connected.

 

[croissantking]

The mystery thickens. Maybe something else to do with my setup then including my cursed Rev C ROM?

 

[Phipli]

The mystery thickens. Maybe something else to do with my setup then including my cursed Rev C ROM?

I'll try to remember to double check next time I have my G3 + rage 128 set up.

 

[croissantking]

I guess it's drivers. After installing much newer ATI drivers from around 2004 or 2005, the issue (with a phantom monitor) has gone away.

See if you have more luck with this one :

https://gona.mactar.hu/ATI_Mac/ATI_Radeon_Retail_Installer/RADMAC10.hqx

Remove the current one and store it in a folder first.

Just to confirm I did try the one you suggested previously with no luck.