Topic: Universal VESA/VBE Video Display Driver
Dunno if someone already reported it, but the following project (and not just it, to be honest) sounds really interesting:
VBEMP x86 Project Universal VESA/VBE Video Display Driver (for Windows 9x x86 Architecture)
Key features :
* The main IDEA of the project was taken from standard XP/2003 VGA.SYS display driver with generic VESA BIOS Extensions (VBE) 1.02/2.00/3.00+ support.
* VBEMP.DRV is a standard Windows 9xâ„¢ Video Display Driver.
* It supports ALL of MS Windows 9xâ„¢ Family (Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98SE, Windows Me)
* For proper operation my driver expects that your video card's BIOS is 100%-compatible with VESA Video BIOS extensions specification. Nowdays there are many video cards that doesn't fully supports INT10 interface, which is provided by VESA/VBE standard (See VBE FAQ below for details).
* Supports VBE 2.00+ compliant PCI/AGP/PCI-E video cards with linear frame buffer.
* 256color(8bit), 16bit, 24bit, 32bit true color modes support.
* 320x200, 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024 if this resolution is supported by your video card's BIOS. ** But I have also made a "Manual" version of the driver. It requires making of a mode list for your particular card using INFOVBE.EXE tool. You must run it from MS-DOS (Real Mode).
Planned features :
* VESA 3.0 support (switching refresh rates)
* Power Management (APM)
* Write Combining (USWC)
* VESA 3.0 support (switching refresh rates)
* Feature to install the driver without reboot
* VBE 1.02 Support (Banked FB > 64Kb)
* DirectDraw Support
* Hardware/Software Direct3D Support
* Hardware Video Overlay Support
* More than one device for output (display, video out device)
* 2-bit (mono) and 4-bit (16 colors) support for testing purposes only
* Old adapters support like EGA, CGA, Hercules etc. for testing purposes only
...it would be great to have something similar but open source and in SNAP feel.
Or it could be assumed as a "Graphic Driverpack for 9x" (...a possible initial milestone for 9x driverpacks...) !!!
BTW, Feedback needed !!!
Last but not least, i believe that both DP and that projects (as many many other) needs a more common feedback system, such as an online driver (and/or HW) compatibility database...
Last edited by forart.it (2008-01-08 20:20:06)
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