As you discovered, just picking drivers at random doesn't work. Your best bet is to try to deduce exactly which video controller chip you have, then install the right driver for it. The easiest way to do this is to turn off the computer, then turn it back on. The first thing you should see on your screen, even before the BIOS version information shows up, is a message displayed by the video BIOS. This should tell you the video adapter or chip manufacturer, including the exact chip model.
Armed with that knowledge, you can try to track down a Windows 3.1 driver for that specific video adapter (usually available from the adapter manufacturer) or a generic driver for the chip (sometimes available from Microsoft or the chip manufacturer). If this information doesn't appear on the screen -- or flashes by too quickly -- you can also open the computer and inspect the system board. Most video controller chips are labelled. If you can't determine the chip manufacturer, try installing Microsoft's generic SVGA (640 x 480 x 256) driver, available online at Microsoft's FTP server (ftp.microsoft.com/softlib/mslfiles/svga.exe).
- Scott Spanbauer