g400 AGP horizontal pixel movement

On Thu, 18 Sep 2003 14:39:49 GMT
Joe Farruggio wrote:

I just purchased a Matrox G400 AGP video card to replace an older
Matrox card that went bad. The new card gives me horizontal pixel
movements so the screen seems to shimmer when operating the windows 98
operating system.. I tried reinstalling the matrox driver, installing
the latest driver (ver 6.82.016), updating the bios (ver 2.1b35) and
increasing the horizontal refresh rate to 104.1KH. Nothing seems to
help. The reason i believe its the software is that i also have OS/2
as an operating system using the SciTech SNAP video driver and the
effect does not show up here. Any help in tracking down the problem
will be greatly appreciated

Does it occur at all resolutions or just one? If it occurs at just one
then it's probably moire, which may be adjustable in the monitor.

--
--
--John
Reply to jclarke at ae tee tee global dot net
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

I just purchased a Matrox G400 AGP video card to replace an older Matrox
card that went bad. The new card gives me horizontal pixel movements so
the screen seems to shimmer when operating the windows 98 operating
system.. I tried reinstalling the matrox driver, installing the latest
driver (ver 6.82.016), updating the bios (ver 2.1b35) and increasing the
horizontal refresh rate to 104.1KH. Nothing seems to help. The reason i
believe its the software is that i also have OS/2 as an operating system
using the SciTech SNAP video driver and the effect does not show up
here. Any help in tracking down the problem will be greatly appreciated

"Joe Farruggio" wrote in message ...
I just purchased a Matrox G400 AGP video card to replace an older Matrox
card that went bad. The new card gives me horizontal pixel movements so
the screen seems to shimmer when operating the windows 98 operating
system.. I tried reinstalling the matrox driver, installing the latest
driver (ver 6.82.016), updating the bios (ver 2.1b35) and increasing the
horizontal refresh rate to 104.1KH. Nothing seems to help. The reason i
believe its the software is that i also have OS/2 as an operating system
using the SciTech SNAP video driver and the effect does not show up
here. Any help in tracking down the problem will be greatly appreciated

Try DECREASING the refresh rate to 75Hz and see if it makes
any difference.

Rick

Joe Farruggio wrote:
The pixel movement seems to happen at all refresh rates but is worse
at the lower rates.

Rick wrote:

"Joe Farruggio" wrote in message ...


I just purchased a Matrox G400 AGP video card to replace an older Matrox
card that went bad. The new card gives me horizontal pixel movements so
the screen seems to shimmer when operating the windows 98 operating
system.. I tried reinstalling the matrox driver, installing the latest
driver (ver 6.82.016), updating the bios (ver 2.1b35) and increasing the
horizontal refresh rate to 104.1KH. Nothing seems to help. The reason i
believe its the software is that i also have OS/2 as an operating system
using the SciTech SNAP video driver and the effect does not show up
here. Any help in tracking down the problem will be greatly appreciated



Try DECREASING the refresh rate to 75Hz and see if it makes
any difference.

Rick

Ok, next step is to try another monitor cable. I know you said
the problem isn't happening in OS/2 but try it anyway.

"Joe Farruggio" wrote in message ...
Joe Farruggio wrote:
The pixel movement seems to happen at all refresh rates but is worse
at the lower rates.

Rick wrote:

"Joe Farruggio" wrote in message ...


I just purchased a Matrox G400 AGP video card to replace an older Matrox
card that went bad. The new card gives me horizontal pixel movements so
the screen seems to shimmer when operating the windows 98 operating
system.. I tried reinstalling the matrox driver, installing the latest
driver (ver 6.82.016), updating the bios (ver 2.1b35) and increasing the
horizontal refresh rate to 104.1KH. Nothing seems to help. The reason i
believe its the software is that i also have OS/2 as an operating system
using the SciTech SNAP video driver and the effect does not show up
here. Any help in tracking down the problem will be greatly appreciated



Try DECREASING the refresh rate to 75Hz and see if it makes
any difference.

Rick

Sounds like it might not necessarily be a driver issue, but:
Try the Matrox utility that removes all drivers and do a fresh installation
of your new drivers. Also try drivers that are not quite so recent (always
fresh install and video drivers should always be last drivers loaded)

On the other hand it could be a faulty chip or memory. I had a Matrox where
this happened (only once)

Another suggestion is to contact the Matrox forum as their techs monitor to
offer assistance.


Alan


"Joe Farruggio" wrote in message
...
I just purchased a Matrox G400 AGP video card to replace an older Matrox
card that went bad. The new card gives me horizontal pixel movements so
the screen seems to shimmer when operating the windows 98 operating
system.. I tried reinstalling the matrox driver, installing the latest
driver (ver 6.82.016), updating the bios (ver 2.1b35) and increasing the
horizontal refresh rate to 104.1KH. Nothing seems to help. The reason i
believe its the software is that i also have OS/2 as an operating system
using the SciTech SNAP video driver and the effect does not show up
here. Any help in tracking down the problem will be greatly appreciated

"Joe Farruggio" wrote in message
...
Joe Farruggio wrote:
The pixel movement seems to happen at all refresh rates but is worse
at the lower rates.

This seems to indicate electrical noise. Some checkpoints:

- Try using a filtered outlet. Most surge protectors do NOT filter the
electricity, but is really just a simple circuit breaker and a light.
However a filtering surge protector or UPS can be had for cheap.

- Make sure that the monitor and the computer are on the same circuit, and
not on the same circuit as any electrical motors or pumps. This is more
important in areas with floating ground, but may be a factor anyhow.

- Ensure that the video card is well grounded, and that the screws for
fastening both the video card and the video cable are well secured. Don't
add washers to lessen noise, and fasten the screws well.

- Examine the fans in your system. Stop them for a couple of seconds with a
gloved finger and see whether that makes a difference on the noise. Make
sure you don't have a slot fan next to the video card (those things are evil
anyhow, as they suck where they should really blow).

- Clean up the case, especially near fans. Exterminate any dust bunnies in
the power supply with extreme prejudice.

- Move wireless mouse- and keyboard-receivers away from the base and rear of
the monitor. Same with USB hubs and PC speaker control boxes. Using sticky
tape on the underside of the desk is often a good idea to get some more
clearance.

- Try turning the case 45 degrees. If that helps, there might be EMF
interference. (A very cheap shield can be made from a sandwich of two
pieces of cardboard and a sheet of metal foil. Punch holes for ventilation
if needed.)

Anyhow, if the interference grows the closer you get to 60Hz (but possibly
disappears at exactly 60Hz), the problem is almost certainly with mains
power and shielding/grounding.

Regards,
--
*Art

Joe Farruggio wrote:
Did a fresh installation as per the procedure given by the Matrox forum
and it did not change anything. The problem with it being a faulty chip
is that the card works just fine when i boot to the OS/2 operating
system. It is when i boot to Win98 that i get the problem.

Alan wrote:

Sounds like it might not necessarily be a driver issue, but:
Try the Matrox utility that removes all drivers and do a fresh installation
of your new drivers. Also try drivers that are not quite so recent (always
fresh install and video drivers should always be last drivers loaded)

On the other hand it could be a faulty chip or memory. I had a Matrox where
this happened (only once)

Another suggestion is to contact the Matrox forum as their techs monitor to
offer assistance.


Alan


"Joe Farruggio" wrote in message
.. .


I just purchased a Matrox G400 AGP video card to replace an older Matrox
card that went bad. The new card gives me horizontal pixel movements so
the screen seems to shimmer when operating the windows 98 operating
system.. I tried reinstalling the matrox driver, installing the latest
driver (ver 6.82.016), updating the bios (ver 2.1b35) and increasing the
horizontal refresh rate to 104.1KH. Nothing seems to help. The reason i
believe its the software is that i also have OS/2 as an operating system
using the SciTech SNAP video driver and the effect does not show up
here. Any help in tracking down the problem will be greatly appreciated

Are you running OS/2 and Win98 at the same screen resolution
and refresh rate? Have you tried a different monitor cable?

Rick

"Joe Farruggio" wrote in message ...
Joe Farruggio wrote:
Did a fresh installation as per the procedure given by the Matrox forum
and it did not change anything. The problem with it being a faulty chip
is that the card works just fine when i boot to the OS/2 operating
system. It is when i boot to Win98 that i get the problem.

Alan wrote:

Sounds like it might not necessarily be a driver issue, but:
Try the Matrox utility that removes all drivers and do a fresh installation
of your new drivers. Also try drivers that are not quite so recent (always
fresh install and video drivers should always be last drivers loaded)

On the other hand it could be a faulty chip or memory. I had a Matrox where
this happened (only once)

Another suggestion is to contact the Matrox forum as their techs monitor to
offer assistance.


Alan


"Joe Farruggio" wrote in message
.. .


I just purchased a Matrox G400 AGP video card to replace an older Matrox
card that went bad. The new card gives me horizontal pixel movements so
the screen seems to shimmer when operating the windows 98 operating
system.. I tried reinstalling the matrox driver, installing the latest
driver (ver 6.82.016), updating the bios (ver 2.1b35) and increasing the
horizontal refresh rate to 104.1KH. Nothing seems to help. The reason i
believe its the software is that i also have OS/2 as an operating system
using the SciTech SNAP video driver and the effect does not show up
here. Any help in tracking down the problem will be greatly appreciated

Rick:
1. Since this is working on OS2, and with the error on Win98, try the next
older driver or two. There must be a setting that the OS2 driver achieves
no errors.

2. You could use the default Standard Windows VGA driver, does it still show
an error? At least this will focus on the driver being the cause.
Otherwise I suggest the Matrox forum for an official handling of your
problem.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help,

Alan



"Rick" wrote in message
...
Are you running OS/2 and Win98 at the same screen resolution
and refresh rate? Have you tried a different monitor cable?

Rick

"Joe Farruggio" wrote in message
...
Joe Farruggio wrote:
Did a fresh installation as per the procedure given by the Matrox forum
and it did not change anything. The problem with it being a faulty chip
is that the card works just fine when i boot to the OS/2 operating
system. It is when i boot to Win98 that i get the problem.

Alan wrote:

Sounds like it might not necessarily be a driver issue, but:
Try the Matrox utility that removes all drivers and do a fresh
installation
of your new drivers. Also try drivers that are not quite so recent
(always
fresh install and video drivers should always be last drivers loaded)

On the other hand it could be a faulty chip or memory. I had a Matrox
where
this happened (only once)

Another suggestion is to contact the Matrox forum as their techs
monitor to
offer assistance.


Alan


"Joe Farruggio" wrote in message
.. .


I just purchased a Matrox G400 AGP video card to replace an older
Matrox
card that went bad. The new card gives me horizontal pixel movements
so
the screen seems to shimmer when operating the windows 98 operating
system.. I tried reinstalling the matrox driver, installing the latest
driver (ver 6.82.016), updating the bios (ver 2.1b35) and increasing
the
horizontal refresh rate to 104.1KH. Nothing seems to help. The reason
i
believe its the software is that i also have OS/2 as an operating
system
using the SciTech SNAP video driver and the effect does not show up
here. Any help in tracking down the problem will be greatly
appreciated