Voodoo 3500 Low Resolution with VGA Switcher \ VOGONS

Voodoo 3500 Low Resolution with VGA Switcher

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First post, by fsmith2003

Posted on 2022-10-05, 01:22

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I have a Voodoo 3500 hooked up to a 2 port VGA switch. A Geforce256 build is also connected to the switch.

The problem I am trying to solve is an odd one. This configuration worked initially. I had both computers set at 1024x768 32-bit on the desktop. The next day I booted just the Voodoo PC and the resolution was now set at 16-bit 640x480 and I was unable to change it to anything else. I thought maybe there was a driver issue or something. I uninstalled then reinstalled to Voodoo driver and IT WORKED AGAIN!

...Unfortunately though, after the next reboot the exact same thing happened and it was back to 640x480. The weird part is, the Geforce has no issues whatsoever and maintains the 1024x768 resolution through every reboot.

The VGA switch is an Extron brand that is defiantly capable of handling higher resolutions and refresh rates.

What could be the issue with the Voodoo 3500 that keeps it from maintaining the set resolution? IS there an obvious setting that I am just overlooking here?

Reply 1 of 12, by maestro

Posted on 2022-10-05, 02:44

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How do you know the VGA switch is the problem? I've never heard of this happening. There's a bunch of tests, like does it happen when the computers trade positions? Based on what's here I'd hazard to guess it's on the software side. Maybe clean out old drivers in safe mode or try a clean install of windows on a spare hard drive?

Reply 2 of 12, by Tiido

Posted on 2022-10-05, 04:26

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This sounds like a DDC/EDID problem. There may be automatic monitor detection feature that has to be disabled or something such.

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Reply 3 of 12, by Meatball

Posted on 2022-10-05, 04:36

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Could be a plug and play issue. Try updating/forcing the "monitor driver" in device manager. Pick something like the "Gateway 2000" VX900, which provides a ton of resolution/refresh rate options (alternatively if you have an actual monitor driver try that instead), but be careful about the resolutions you choose since some unsupported options will become available. Another option is manually adding resolutions/refresh rate options using PowerStrip.

Reply 4 of 12, by fsmith2003

Posted on 2022-10-05, 14:25

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maestro wrote on 2022-10-05, 02:44:

How do you know the VGA switch is the problem? I've never heard of this happening. There's a bunch of tests, like does it happen when the computers trade positions? Based on what's here I'd hazard to guess it's on the software side. Maybe clean out old drivers in safe mode or try a clean install of windows on a spare hard drive?

It has something to do with the switch yes. Everything works as normal when directly attached to the monitor.

Could be a plug and play issue. Try updating/forcing the "monitor driver" in device manager. Pick something like the "Gateway 2000" VX900, which provides a ton of resolution/refresh rate options (alternatively if you have an actual monitor driver try that instead), but be careful about the resolutions you choose since some unsupported options will become available. Another option is manually adding resolutions/refresh rate options using PowerStrip.

I was wondering if this had something to do with it. It just says Default Monitor under the device manager so I was curious. I will see if PowerStrip helps or adding/changnig to a new driver.

Reply 5 of 12, by Meatball

Posted on 2022-10-05, 14:38

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fsmith2003 wrote on 2022-10-05, 14:25:

Could be a plug and play issue. Try updating/forcing the "monitor driver" in device manager. Pick something like the "Gateway 2000" VX900, which provides a ton of resolution/refresh rate options (alternatively if you have an actual monitor driver try that instead) but be careful about the resolutions you choose since some unsupported options will become available. Another option is manually adding resolutions/refresh rate options using PowerStrip.

I was wondering if this had something to do with it. It just says Default Monitor under the device manager, so I was curious. I will see if PowerStrip helps or adding/changing to a new driver.

I had the same issue with a Voodoo4 4500 AGP; default monitor was showing up no matter how many times I reinstalled the driver or selected "Plug and Play monitor." Forcing the Default monitor to the Gateway 2000 VX900 (which I happen to own, and Windows had the driver built-in) solved the issue as a workaround (As an aside - reinstalling different versions of Win9x as well as flashing the BIOS of the card to different versions, and different monitors did not solve the issue). However, the real problem was the Voodoo 4500 did not like the Asus P2L97 (440LX) board. When I moved it to an AOPEN AX6BC (440BX), monitor problems solved without driver shenanigans.

Reply 6 of 12, by Carrera

Posted on 2022-10-05, 15:33

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I helped beta test the drivers for the last of the commercially available 3Dfx cards and I can confirm that motherboard compatibility was sometimes an issue.
At the time I was using an EPox board and was an AMD fan. They had to send me two new sets of drivers before the card worked on my board.
So I could totally see this being an issue...

Reply 7 of 12, by fsmith2003

Posted on 2022-10-05, 16:02

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Carrera wrote on 2022-10-05, 15:33:

I helped beta test the drivers for the last of the commercially available 3Dfx cards and I can confirm that motherboard compatibility was sometimes an issue.
At the time I was using an EPox board and was an AMD fan. They had to send me two new sets of drivers before the card worked on my board.
So I could totally see this being an issue...

I am using an original Athlon Slot A MB for this Voodoo 3500. I wonder if this is the issue then as my Nvidia card works just fine. Do you think a different set of 3Dfx drivers might solve the issue or is it the drivers for the monitor itself that the Voodoo is not working with correctly?

Reply 8 of 12, by Carrera

Posted on 2022-10-06, 09:09

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Did you mention whether the card is AGP or PCI?
If it is AGP it likely just doesn't like sharing-....

Reply 9 of 12, by fsmith2003

Posted on 2022-10-06, 21:16

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Carrera wrote on 2022-10-06, 09:09:

Did you mention whether the card is AGP or PCI?
If it is AGP it likely just doesn't like sharing-....

It is AGP yes.

Reply 10 of 12, by maestro

Posted on 2022-10-06, 23:40

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fsmith2003 wrote on 2022-10-06, 21:16:

Carrera wrote on 2022-10-06, 09:09:

Did you mention whether the card is AGP or PCI?
If it is AGP it likely just doesn't like sharing-....

It is AGP yes.

How's testing those drivers going? Any updates? Maybe we can help move you forward.

Reply 11 of 12, by fsmith2003

Posted on 2022-10-07, 00:15

fsmith2003 Offline

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maestro wrote on 2022-10-06, 23:40:

fsmith2003 wrote on 2022-10-06, 21:16:

Carrera wrote on 2022-10-06, 09:09:

Did you mention whether the card is AGP or PCI?
If it is AGP it likely just doesn't like sharing-....

It is AGP yes.

How's testing those drivers going? Any updates? Maybe we can help move you forward.

Just got around to it. Manually changed the Monitor driver to a Viewsonic G800, which is what I have. All seems to work so far!! I have ordered another Extron switch with more ports to accommodate the 3 computers I typically have out for use. Hopefully this fix sticks for that one as well. Thank you all for the suggestions!!

Reply 12 of 12, by maestro

Posted on 2022-10-07, 01:42

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fsmith2003 wrote on 2022-10-07, 00:15:

maestro wrote on 2022-10-06, 23:40:

fsmith2003 wrote on 2022-10-06, 21:16:

It is AGP yes.

How's testing those drivers going? Any updates? Maybe we can help move you forward.

Just got around to it. Manually changed the Monitor driver to a Viewsonic G800, which is what I have. All seems to work so far!! I have ordered another Extron switch with more ports to accommodate the 3 computers I typically have out for use. Hopefully this fix sticks for that one as well. Thank you all for the suggestions!!

Perfect, that's great news! You can never have enough ports. I have 4 and piggybacked a 2-port into one of the 4 ports, so it's like a 5-port now. Bit wonky but it works. 😜

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