Monochrome mode on VGA cards

[FishFinger]

When using mono text mode (mode 7) on an MDA, Hercules, or an EGA card set up for mono then text is displayed at two intensity levels, and the full range of attributes is supported - bright, inverse, underline.

I've tried this on a few VGA cards, and none of them seem to handle this mode correctly. None of them support the bright intensity level, and some don't do inverse or underline either, so you just get plain text no matter what attributes are set.

Is there a driver that needs to be loaded for better mono mode emulation, or is it something VGA cards just don't do?

 

[per]

When using mono text mode (mode 7) on an MDA, Hercules, or an EGA card set up for mono then text is displayed at two intensity levels, and the full range of attributes is supported - bright, inverse, underline.

I've tried this on a few VGA cards, and none of them seem to handle this mode correctly. None of them support the bright intensity level, and some don't do inverse or underline either, so you just get plain text no matter what attributes are set.

Is there a driver that needs to be loaded for better mono mode emulation, or is it something VGA cards just don't do?

Certain cards are capable of doing mode 07, but as you say, most of them requirers low-level reconfiguration for it to work (this is done by some software utility). A few of these cards, especially the later ATI VGA Wonders, also provides extended resolution versions of it too (132x44 characters), which can be selected without the need of reconfiguration. The only downside with these high-res modes is that you need a relatively large monitor in order to comfortably read the onscreen text.