Diamond EDGEŽ 3D FAQ Last revised: April 23, 1996 1.0 - Windows 95 1.1: After the Diamond EDGEŽ 3D drivers are installed and the system is restarted , my computer locks at the Windows 95 startup screen. 1.2: After running INSTALL from a command prompt, INSTALL states that I need an upgrade to my system BIOS. 1.3: After the EDGEŽ 3D's Windows 95 drivers are installed, the Animated Cursor changes to shades of Black and White. 1.4: Applications written using Microsoft's DirectDraw like Trimark Interactive's "Hive" will not work with the EDGEŽ 3D. 1.5: On a 4MB card, why is the highest true color resolution I can get 1024x768 instead of 1280x1024 like the Viper Pro and Stealth64 Video 3000 Series? 1.6: My system is running very slowly and my hard drive light is continually lit. 1.7: Will the EDGEŽ 3D Multimedia sound drivers conflict with a sound card I previously installed into Windows 95? 1.8: No Sound from the EDGEŽ 3D. 2.0 - DOS Compatibility and Performance 2.1: How does the EDGEŽ 3D perform in DOS compared to a Stealth64 Video 3000 series card? 2.2: Does the EDGEŽ 3D support Sound Blaster emulation in DOS or Windows 95? 2.3: Why doesn't Trilobyte's new game, "11th Hour" work with the EDGEŽ 3D. 3.0 - The EDGEŽ 3D's Game Port 3.1: How do I disable the EDGEŽ 3D Digital game port in DOS? 3.2: The joystick works when I play Papyrus Nascar, but other applications in Windows 95 do not detect it. 4.0 - SEGA Games 4.1: One or both of my Sega Controllers will not function. 4.2: One or both of my Sega controllers will not function in Virtua Fighter. 4.3: When I play Virtua Fighter, the game is not centered on the screen. 4.4: Performance of the EDGEŽ 3D is sluggish when I play Virtua Fighter. 5.0 - General Questions 5.1:Why are no InControl Tools for the EDGEŽ 3D as there are for the Diamond Stealth cards in Windows 95. 5.2:Does the EDGEŽ 3D have CE certification in Europe? 5.3:The EDGEŽ 3D will not work with the 'QuickRes' applet within Windows 95. 5.4:What kind of VRAM or DRAM does the EDGEŽ 3D use, and where can I purchase the video memory upgrade? 5.5: Sega Saturn games will not work with the EDGEŽ 3D. 1.1: After the Diamond EDGEŽ 3D drivers are installed and the system is restarted, my computer locks at the Windows 95 startup screen. Because the EDGEŽ 3D is a PCI multi-function device, it needs an IRQ assigned to it by your PCI BIOS. Under the PCI configuration section of your CMOS setup, you will need to assign an IRQ to the PCI slot you have the EDGEŽ 3D plugged into and make sure it is not configured as a slave slot. Refer to your computer's documentation for further instructions regarding PCI configuration. 1.2: After running INSTALL from a command prompt, INSTALL states that I need an upgrade to my system BIOS. Because the EDGEŽ 3D is a unique and innovative device, INSTALL will first test your PCI configuration for possible conflicts. There are configurations that are known to have problems, so if the INSTALL finds that you have one of these configurations, you will be advised to upgrade your system BIOS. Contact your computer's manufacturer for help on obtaining an upgrade. 1.3: After the EDGEŽ 3D's Windows 95 drivers are installed, my Animated Cursor changes to shades of Black and White. This is a known issue with the EDGEŽ 3D driver release 1.0. Animated color cursors have been enabled with the release 2.0 drivers. You can download these now from our FTP Server. Check the Driver Update page for the current driver filenames. 1.4: Applications written using Microsoft's DirectDraw, like Trimark Interactive's "Hive" will not work with the EDGEŽ 3D. Applications that are written using DirectDraw will not work properly with the EDGEŽ 3D drivers version 1.0. The DirectDraw drivers for the EDGEŽ 3D are now available. Check the Driver Update page for the current driver filenames. 1.5: On a 4MB card, why is the highest true color resolution I can get 1024x768 instead of 1280x1024 like the Viper Pro and Stealth64 Video 3000 Series? The EDGEŽ 3D does not use the 24-bit, or packed pixel true color modes like the Viper or Stealth. Better, it uses a proprietary 30-bit color space dithering algorithm that will actually yield over 1 billion colors when using the 32-bit true color mode. 1.6: My system is running very slowly and my hard drive light is continually lit. The EDGEŽ 3D comes with both 1 and 6 MB MIDI bank file's. It is recommended that you only use the 6 MB bank file with computers that have more than 16 MBs of memory. To change the size of the MIDI bank file being used, right-click on My Computer and choose Properties. Open the System Control Panel and click on the Device Manager filetab. Click on the (+) symbol beside the Sound, Video, and Game Controller line. Then highlight the Diamond EDGEŽ 3D PCI Multimedia Device, and click on Properties. Click on Settings. You will then see the 1MB and 6MB MIDI bank selection. Click on the radio button next to the 1MB settings to change your configuration. Click Okay. Choose yes when prompted to restart your computer. 1.7: Will the EDGEŽ 3D Multimedia sound drivers conflict with my previously installed sound card under Windows 95? No. Once the EDGEŽ 3D is installed, you can click on the Control Panel, and then Multimedia to configure what you want the EDGEŽ 3D to do. Under Multimedia, you will find that there are 5 buttons on the top: Audio, Video, Midi, CD Music, and Advanced. For Audio, you can select your previously installed sound driver. In many cases, it will be Windows Sound System which will read as: Sound System Playback (608) You can also select the one used by EDGEŽ 3D, which will read as: Nvidia NV1 Wave Playback Under Midi, the EDGEŽ 3D will set itself as the default MIDI device, which will read as: MIDI for Diamond EDGEŽ 3D PCI Multimedia Device Under ADVANCED, you are given the option to enable a mixer for each Audio Device: Audio for Diamond EDGEŽ 3D PCI Multimedia Device Audio for MS Windows Sound System Compatible Bring up the system Mixer by double-clicking on the speaker on your taskbar, and click on PROPERTIES. Here you will be able to select the audio device you are adjusting. Note: With the EDGEŽ 3D, you do not need another sound device while running Windows 95. It is recommended that you have another sound card present if you want to play DOS games that require Sound Blaster compatibility or require an amplified speaker output. 1.8: No Sound from the EDGEŽ 3D. * Look under the ‘Multimedia’ icon in the CONTROL PANEL. Do you have the "NVidia NV1 Wave Playback" listed as the current sound device? If so, see below: This usually indicates that the speakers are not connected correctly, or that they are not amplified speakers. The OUT port of the EDGEŽ 3D is furthest away from the monitor connector (DB-15). * Do you have a listing for "Diamond EDGE 3D PCI Multimedia Device" in the Device Manager under "Sound, video and game controllers"? If so, see below: Make sure that "NVidia NV1 Wave Playback" is selected as the current playback device on the Audio tab of the "Multimedia" applet from the Control Panel. * Do you have an Other device section in the Device Manager? If so, follow the steps below: 1. Remove all the devices in this section and reboot. 2. Windows 95 should detect "New Hardware Found - PCI Multimedia Device." Click OK. 3. Type in the path to the EDGE 3D CD or files on the hard disk. 4. Restart Windows 95. If at some point during the installation, the system locks up, use the following procedure: 1. Reboot the system 2. Look under DEVICE MANAGER 3. Double click on the OTHER header or group. 4. Double click on PCI Multimedia Devices 5. Click in DRIVERS 6. Click on the CHANGE button 7. Click on HAVE DISK and type in the path to the EDGE 3D CD or files on the hard disk. 8. Select OK twice 9. Select Diamond EDGE 3D Multimedia Device. 10. At this point Windows may ask for the Windows CD-ROM or diskettes 11. Click on OK and select RESTART * Under the DEVICE MANAGER, do you have a listing for Diamond EDGE 3D PCI VGA Compatible Device under the ‘Display Adapter’ section? It's likely that there is an IRQ conflict. Try moving the IRQ assigned by the card in your system BIOS to a different value, or try changing the slot that the card is located in. 2.1: How does the EDGEŽ 3D perform in DOS compared to a Stealth Video 3000 series card? The EDGEŽ 3D is primarily designed to accelerate 2D and 3D graphics in Windows 95 and excels in that environment. The EDGEŽ 3D is also VESA compatible and works very well with most DOS games. [Please see the section on EDGEŽ 3D Sound Blaster support.] For best results, it is recommended that you restart in MS DOS mode rather than attempting to run a DOS application from the Windows 95 DOS Prompt. 2.2: Does the EDGEŽ 3D support Sound Blaster emulation in DOS or Windows 95? The EDGEŽ 3D card's sound effect (WAV) capabilities are only available in Windows 95, but General MIDI capability is supported in DOS mode. To enable the MIDI capabilities of the EDGEŽ 3D, you can either Restart in MS DOS Mode from Windows 95, or boot to DOS and run DOSSTART.BAT from the WINDOWS directory. If you wish to have digital sound effects in DOS based programs you must have a Sound Blaster compatible or similar sound card installed in your PC. 2.3: Why doesn't Trilobyte's new game, "11th Hour" does not work with the EDGEŽ 3D. 11th Hour is written to VESA 2.0 specifications and very few video cards, if any at all, will support VESA 2.0 . UNIVBE ver. 5.1, is supplied with the game. When loaded, UNIVBE 5.1 will enable the VESA modes required. The EDGEŽ 3D is not currently compatible with UNIVBE 5.1. Right now, Diamond is working with SciTech Software, the writers of UNIVBE, to implement EDGEŽ 3D support into future releases of UNIVBE. Please contact SciTech Software for the current version of UniVBE. 3.1: How do I disable the EDGEŽ 3D Digital game port in DOS? From the WINDOWS directory, edit DOSSTART.BAT. You will probably see the following: SET NVJOY=ON SET NVMIDI=P330 SET NVDIR=C:\EDGE3D NVWINDIR=C:\WINDOWS C:\EDGE3D\DOS\RM.EXE Change the SET NVJOY=ON to SET NVJOY=OFF. This disables the EDGEŽ 3D game port in DOS. Save the file and exit. Restart the system in MS-DOS mode for the changes to take effect. To enable the game port once again for the EDGEŽ 3D, simply reverse the procedure. 3.2: The joystick works when I play Papyrus' Nascar, but other applications in Windows 95 do not detect it. Nascar as well as other 'specialized' games ported over for specific use with the EDGEŽ 3D automatically "understand" how to use the EDGEŽ 3D's joystick functions, but other non-EDGE 3D games do not. You must enable the Microsoft joystick drivers in Windows 95 by following the instructions listed in the EDGEŽ 3D manual. 4.1: One or both of my Sega Controllers will not function. Make sure that the 10 pin ribbon cables are connected properly. The side of the ribbon cable with a red stripe should be lined up with the square solder on the back of the SEGA bracket. If you look closely you'll notice that one of the corners on the PCB is marked as pin 1. This is the side the red stripe should be on. 4.2: One or both of my Sega controllers will not function in Virtua Fighter. Ensure that under the CONFIGURATIONS menu in Virtua Fighter you've chosen 'Saturn Pad 1' or 'Saturn Pad 2'. You can use either SEGA controllers or the standard keyboard with this game. If the game is all ready started, you can open the Configuration screen by pressing F6. 4.3: When playing Virtua Fighter, the game is not centered on the screen. Virtua Fighter is designed to function at a 640x400 resolution. To accommodate this resolution, the game switches the size of your display. You will notice that the resolution changes back to your Windows 95 settings once you exit Virtua Fighter. You can play Virtua Fighter in 'Full Screen Mode' by pressing F6 or placing a cross in the FULL SCREEN box of the CONFIGURATIONS menu. To access the CONFIGURATIONS menu, click the right mouse button on the Virtua Fighter windows. 4.4: Performance of the EDGEŽ 3D is sluggish when playing Virtua Fighter. Virtua Fighter is designed to run at 30 fps (frames per second). If the game is running at less than 30fps you will see a warning message stating exactly how many frames per second are displayed. Virtua Fighter gives you a CONFIGURATIONS menu that allows you to turn on/off advanced features of the game in order to obtain better performance. To get to the CONFIGURATIONS menu press the F6 key once you are playing the game or click the right mouse button on the VFR window. For HIGHEST QUALITY graphics and sound: Press the 'MAX' button within the GRAPHICS DETAILS section and choose S.E. and B.G.M. (CD) for sound. SE stands for Sound Effects and BGM stands for Background Music. For the FASTEST PERFORMANCE configuration, press the 'MIN' button within the GRAPHICS DETAILS section and turn off all the sounds within the SOUNDS section. You may even remove the check from within the FULL SCREEN option, however, this usually makes little difference to the game play performance. 5.1: There are no InControl Tools for the EDGEŽ 3D as there are for the Diamond Stealth cards in Windows 95. InControl Tools 95 does not come with the version 1.0 CD. However, the release version 2.0 CD (and downloadable drivers) have InControl Tools 95. Check the Driver Update page for the current driver filenames. 5.2: Does the EDGEŽ 3D have CE certification in Europe? Yes, the EDGEŽ 3D has been certified to meet CE standards. 5.3: The EDGEŽ 3D will not work with the 'QuickRes' applet within Windows 95. This is a known issue with the Diamond EDGEŽ 3D. InControl Tools 95 offers the ability to change color depth and resolution, and much more. This is now available for download. Check the Driver Update page for the current driver filenames. 5.4: What kind of memory does the EDGEŽ 3D use, and where can I purchase the video memory upgrade? The EDGEŽ 3D uses standard VRAM or EDO DRAM video memory depending on which EDGEŽ 3D model you have. Determine the configuration by checking the EDGEŽ 3D package. You can order upgrade memory packs directly from Diamond Multimedia Systems Inc. in the U.S. The 2MB VRAM upgrade is a daughtercard, whereas the DRAM upgrade consists of two socketed memory chips. PART NO DESCRIPTION PRICE EDGE 3DDU-01RET 1MB DRAM for EDGE 3D 2120/2120XL $ 80.00* EDGE 3DVU-02RET 2MB VRAM for EDGE 3D 3240/3240XL $199.00* *Prices are in US dollars and subject to change To place an order, contact Diamond Multimedia Systems Inc. Customer Service on (408) 325-7100 (option #3) . 5.5: Sega Saturn games will not work with the EDGEŽ 3D. This is correct. The Sega games included with the EDGEŽ 3D are ported exclusively to run on the EDGEŽ 3D. While the game play between the Saturn and the EDGEŽ 3D appears to be identical, many changes have to be made internally to the game in order for it to work on a PC. EDGE is a registered trademark of EDGE Interactive Media, Inc. in the US, UK, France, and Germany and is a trademark elsewhere, used under license. Copyright Š 1995 Diamond Multimedia Systems,Inc. (5.20.96)