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Troubleshooting: Diamond Fire GL1 User's Guide

Common Problems and Solutions • Uninstalling the Video Drivers • Removing the Fire GL1 Hardware • Reinstalling the Video Drivers • Service, Support and Driver Updates

Common Problems and Solutions

No image appears on monitor when computer system is turned on
  • Make sure that the Fire GL1 is firmly seated and lined up properly in its AGP, and that the monitor cable is firmly and correctly connected to the card. Check the connectors of the video cable - secure it by fastening the screws
  • Make sure that your computer and monitor are plugged into electrical outlets and receiving power.
  • Is the monitor turned on and working?
  • If possible, select impedance 75 Ohm
Screen image defects appear
  • Check that your monitor supports the resolution, horizontal (kHz) and vertical (Hz) refresh rates as required by the graphics card.
  • Check for your current resolution, refresh rate, and color depth settings in the Settings and Monitor dialogs of the Display Properties dialog.
warning.gif (500 Byte) WARNING: Be sure that both video card and monitor support resolution and refresh rates you select. Incompatible resolution/refresh rate selection may result in monitor damage. Refer to your monitor's documentation for recommended resolutions and refresh rates.
Screen image is off-center, color balance is wrong, or there is no picture
  • Try adjusting the brightness, sharpness, contrast, and color balance controls of your monitor.
  • Try adjusting the centering and positioning controls of your monitor to position the picture on the screen.
  • Set the monitor’s RGB inputs (and sync switches, if this option is available) to 75 Ohms, with the sync set to external.
Operating system warns that the video card is not configured properly
  • Check the driver installation and make sure that all software is correctly loaded corresponding to your operating system and applications.
  • Set Windows NT back to 'Standard VGA' and re-install the Fire GL1 drivers.
note.gif (1135 Byte) NOTE: You must have Microsoft Windows NT Service Pack 4 installed prior to installing the Fire GL1 drivers.
Checking for Address and Interrupt Conflicts
It is necessary to ensure that the I/O and memory addresses reserved for the graphics board are not used by other hardware devices.

The integrated on-board VGA controller of your Fire GL1 uses the following addresses (hex):

I/O address:  
Standard VGA I/O: 3B0-3DF
Memory addresses:  
Video RAM A000-BFFF
Video ROM C000-C7FF
note.gif (1135 bytes) NOTE: You cannot change the addresses of your Fire GL1. In case of an address conflict, try to modify the I/O address of the add-on card that causes the conflict.
Resolving Interrupt Conflicts

To support the special graphics processor on the Fire GL1 the system BIOS should automatically assign a system interrupt to the AGP slot where the card is installed. However, there may be problems if your graphics card does not receive an interrupt or a system interrupt is used for more than one device. In case of problems:

  • Check the system configuration utility of your operating system for the interrupt assignments.
  • Some older ISA legacy (add-in cards with jumpers, non-PnP) may cause a conflict if they are not configured in the ESCD (extended system configuration data) area of the system BIOS. Please refer to your computer’s User’s Guide for information on using the ISA Configuration Utility ICU to add the required legacy card resources to the system.

Uninstalling the Video Drivers

This section describes how to properly remove your graphics card software from your system should you need to do so.

note.gif (1135 Byte) NOTE:  To uninstall or reinstall the Fire GL1 drivers, you need administrator rights or you must be logged on as a user with administrator rights under Windows NT.
note.gif (1135 bytes) NOTE:  Before uninstalling the Diamond Fire GL1 video driver, please close all open application programs and disable any anti-virus software that is running on your computer until the driver uninstallation is complete!
  1. Select Start > Settings > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs.
  2. Select Diamond Fire GL1.
  3. Click on the Remove the Product button.
  4. Click Next.
  5. When the uninstall is complete, Windows NT will automatically reboot

Removing the Fire GL1 Hardware

After you have removed the software according to the instructions, you may remove the hardware:

  1. Shut down your computer.
note.gif (1135 bytes) NOTE:  Physically remove the power cord from the system and wait 15-30 seconds for Flea Power to dissipate. Damage can occur to add-in components if power is not physically removed from the system during installation procedures
  1. Remove the computer case as outlined in your Dell™ Computer User’s Guide that shipped with your system.
  2. Ground yourself by touching the power supply box.
  3. To remove the hardware, follow the appropriate instructions in your Dell Computer User’s Guide. If no uninstallation procedures are provided, you may simply reverse the hardware installation procedures.

Reinstalling the Video Drivers

Your system’s video drivers were installed by Dell and are operative when you receive the system. You need the information in this section on re-installation of the basic driver software for Windows NT only if you are re-installing or upgrading the operating system.

note.gif (1135 Byte) NOTE:  To uninstall or reinstall the Fire GL1 drivers, you need administrator rights or you must be logged on as a user with administrator rights under Windows NT.
caution.gif (709 Byte) CAUTION:  You must have Microsoft Windows NT Service Pack 4 installed prior to installing this adapter. If you do not have Service Pack 4 installed please proceed to http://www.microsoft.com. Locate Service Pack 4 and download it to your system. Install Service Pack 4 and then continue with the following instruction procedures.
note.gif (1135 bytes) NOTE:  Before de-installing the Diamond Fire GL1 video driver, please close all open application programs and disable any anti-virus software that is running on your computer until the driver de-installation is complete!
  1. Click Start > Settings > Control Panel.
  2. Double-click the Display icon, select the Settings tab and click the Change Display Type button.
  3. Click the Change... button in the Adapter Type field and in the Change Display dialog box select Have Disk...
  4. Insert the Fire GL1 - Windows NT 4.0 Drivers diskette and click OK.
  5. Click Fire GL1 in the Change Display selection window and OK to install the drivers.
  6. Click Yes on the Third Party Driver confirmation window.
  7. Click the Test button to test the new driver and then click OK.
  8. When the installation is completed, exit the Display Properties menu and restart your system.

Service, Support and Driver Updates

Driver Updates will be made available on the Dell website www.dell.com. For updated drivers please refer only to DELL’s website.

For information on how to contact Dell Computer Corporation's technical support, refer to the Getting Help section in the documentation that shipped with your system. You can also contact Dell's technical support via the World Wide Web at www.dell.com/support/index.htm.

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