Matrox Millenium (Compaq model) in a 7500/100

[Ganz-hun]

Hi there.

I have an old 7500/100 laying arund in my basement with a blown video circuitry. Can I get this matrox card to work on it?

Matrox 576-04 A - A millenium card

bought you by: LTTstore.com Compaq. Cpq spare number: 223337-001, Copyright 1995 Compaq.

I found the drivers on Matrox's site. If I install it on a floppy, will it work for me?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Byrd]

Hi Ganz-hun,

The card won't work out of the box sadly - does it come with a Mac-like DB15 video connector (sadly it's not for Mac video output)?

A Mac edition of the Matrox Millenium did exist, but I believe it had a bigger flash ROM than the PC version and needed some work:

https://www.matrox.com/en/video/apps/drivers/graphics/previous/mac

A bigger issue is the 7500/100 onboard video failure; if it's gone I can't see another video card getting it up and running - perhaps troubleshoot this issue first.

JB

 

[Ganz-hun]

It only has a 26pin 3 line....something, alongside the VGA port. If I install the drivers on another machine, will it work after it has loaded the drivers?

 

[Byrd]

No, as you need to alter the ROM on the card itself before it will ever be detected in a Mac.  They weren't common cards in Macs, so search online for more info - a quick search suggests the Mac Matrox PCI cards had a larger ROM compared to PC and this needed to be soldered on before flashing over the Mac ROM.

 

[Franklinstein]

Two things:
 

1. You'll need another Mac with a working video system to flash the card.

2. Sometimes the PC version shipped with a flash chip that was too small to hold the Mac BIOS, so if you tried to flash it to Mac it would brick the card. It has been several years since I tried to do this (and I used the Millennium II models) so I don't remember the exact process or if there were ways to get around an undersize Flash chip without replacing it.