#3720 Full Page Pivot & SVGA MultiView for PC Q&A December 14, 1994Return to Radius Technical Q&AComments tosupport@radius.com

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#3720 Full Page Pivot & SVGA MultiView for PC Q&A

Q: What revision SVGA MultiView drivers am I currently using?

A: Look on the Radius SVGA MultiView diskette which is marked "Windows Drivers Disk". Located on the back of this diskette should be a small white label with a 9 digit code on it. The last 2 numbers in this code reflect what version of drivers you have. If the last 2 numbers in this code are "05", then this code indicates that you currently have version 1.05 of the drivers. If the last 2 numbers in this code are "04", then this code indicates that you currently have version 1.04 of the drivers and should order or download version 1.05. If you cannot locate these diskettes themselves to verify this, you can also verify the version of drivers you have installed from the DOS prompt. To do this, type "DIR C:\RADVGA". This should give you a directory of various Radius files which were placed on your hard drive by our installation program. If you look at the time field of this directory, it should actually indicate what version drivers you have. If it says 1:05 AM then this time indicates that you currently have version 1.05 of the drivers. If it says 1:04 AM then this time indicates that you currently have version 1.04 of the drivers and should order or download version 1.05. If you wish to also verify what version of Windows specific drivers are currently installed in this same manner, you can type "DIR C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\RAD*.*". This should give you a directory of the Radius SVGA MultiView files installed for Windows. Again, you would want to check the time field of this directory as it indicates what revision drivers you have installed.

Q: How can I get updated SVGA MultiView drivers?

A: The Radius SVGA MultiView 1.05 drivers can be obtained either via online services or from our software upgrade line. If you wish to download this software with your computer and modem via an online service, we offer our drivers online via CompuServe, America Online, Internet's FTP services and our bulletin board service at(408) 541-6190. The file names to select for this software upgrade are "UTILDISK.ZIP" and "WINDISK.ZIP". Both of these files are compressed archives which use the PKzip compression standard on the PC. Using PKunzip or compatible decompression software will decompress these files into the complete library of files for version 1.05 of our SVGA MultiView utilities and drivers. If you do not already have PKunzip decompression software, it is available in various public domain forums on many of these online services as well as available directly from our bulletin board. If you do not have access to a modem, you may order these drivers via our software upgrade line at 1-800-544-8456. When calling the software upgrade line to order this software upgrade, please have the following part number available: 630-0351-05. This software upgrade consists of two high density 5.25" diskettes and two high density 3.5" diskettes.

Q: I am using Windows for Workgroups 3.11 and I am experiencing difficulties in networking and printing. What could be the problem?

A: The SVGA MultiView interface includes drivers for MS-DOS and drivers for Microsoft Windows. The drivers for MS-DOS are designed for use with Lotus 1-2-3 release 2.2, WordPerfect release 5.1, AutoCAD release 10 and 11 and compatible ADI based applications. The MS-DOS configuration driver to enable overall MS-DOS support is named "RADIUS.SYS" and loads at the startup of your computer through your CONFIG.SYS file. This driver is not compatible and should not be used with Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.11, and this line should be removed from your CONFIG.SYS file for proper Windows for Workgroups 3.11 functionality. Once the line which contains "RADIUS.SYS" is removed from your CONFIG.SYS file, your machine should be restarted. Windows for Workgroups 3.11 and your pivot display should operate fine after restarting.

Q: I have a Radius SVGA MultiView "ISA" interface and I want to replace it with a faster video card for a "PCI", "VESA Local Bus" or "EISA" computer. Can I still use my Radius Pivot display with a new video card?

A: The Radius PrecisionColor Pivot, model number 0356. Although originally designed for use with the SVGA MultiView interface, this display can also be used with a variety of different video cards. There is another company which creates and sells a wide selection of Windows specific video drivers which are compatible with this display for use with other non-Radius video cards on the PC. The name of this company is Portrait Display Labs, and they can be reached at 1-800-858-7744. We highly recommend Portrait Display Labs drivers if considering using the Radius PrecisionColor Pivot with other non-Radius video cards on the PC. Please contact Portrait Display Labs for more detailed information as to which specific video cards they support with this display. If using a Radius Full Page Pivot display, model number 0320, it was designed specifically for use with the Radius SVGA MultiView interface and cannot be use with other video cards. Radius only offers the SVGA MultiView interface for "ISA" and "MCA" type computers. If you are considering the purchase of a new pivot display, we highly recommend either the Radius PrecisionColor Pivot, model number 0356, or the Portrait Display Lab's Portrait 15/Plus display.

Q: Why doesn't my network operate correctly, my display show a correct image, or I get errors at startup after installing other cards into my computer?

A: The most common problem in this area is the reserved memory space which is being used by the Radius SVGA MultiView interface card as your network interface may be configured to also reserve the same space in memory. If this is the case, you will most certainly experience problems. The Radius SVGA MultiView uses a video standard for SVGA memory address space. The reserved address space for our interface is from "A000-C7FF". We highly recommend configuring your network adapter for a different memory address. If using an extended or expanded memory manager in your CONFIG.SYS file, we also recommend that you exclude this memory address space in your extended memory managers configuration. You should refer to the documentation for your specific extended memory manager for details on how to configure it properly. The SVGA MultiView interface does not use any IRQ's or DMA by default so there should not be a conflict between the SVGA Multiview interface and your network adapter in those areas.

Q: I have an application for MS-DOS which requires a special driver 800x600 or 1024x768 resolution at 256 colors. Do you offer other drivers besides what is available on your diskettes?

A: The SVGA MultiView interface includes display drivers for Lotus 1-2-3 release 2.2, WordPerfect release 5.1, AutoCAD release 10 and 11 and compatible ADI based applications as well as Microsoft Windows 3.1. If you have other applications which are not designed specifically for Microsoft Windows 3.1 for which you do not have a specific SVGA MultiView driver, the SVGA MultiView interface is also compatible with Video Seven VRAM based drivers. If your application offers you a Video Seven selection to choose from, this selection should work fine with the SVGA MultiView interface at 800x600 or at 1024x768 resolutions with up to 256 colors. This compatibility mode operates only in landscape orientation.

Q: I am using Microsoft Windows 3.1 and am experiencing difficulties within applications such as Aldus PageMaker or Microsoft Word when using a shortcut key combination of "Shift, Control, P". What should I do?

A: The SVGA drivers revision 1.05 for Microsoft Windows 3.1 include a control panel device called "Radius Display". Within this control panel is a hot-key designation to pivot the display area. If your application used this same hot-key combination for a function such as printing there may be a conflict when this hot-key combination is used. In this situation, the hot-key combination for pivoting the screen should be changed via the "Radius Display" control panel. From the main program group, select "Control Panels", then select "Radius Display". Within this control panel, simply select a different hot-key combination of the Shift, Control and character keys you wish to use for pivoting, then exit and restart Microsoft Windows.

Q: Why when using a Microsoft Windows 3.1 based application and experiencing difficulties after pivoting my display in which the screen isn't being redrawn correctly.

A: Certain applications such as Norton Desktop, Ventura Publisher, Microsoft Word, and several screen savers such as After Dark for Windows do not correctly understand pivoting operation as these applications are designed to specifically operate at the resolution in which they are launched and do not correctly look to see if the resolution has changed. As a result, upon pivoting the screen, the screen will pivot however the available screen area within the application being used has not changed and certain areas of the screen are not redrawn correctly. If you wish to use an application with this restriction, we advise that you quit that application, pivot the screen, then launch the application again in the desired orientation. These types of applications should operate fine as long as that are used in the orientation in which they are first started.