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Software for troubleshooting ISA VGA cards

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Uniballer

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Sorry if this has been covered before. I couldn't find anything directly related.

I have an ISA VGA card that displays weird stuff in text mode, but I can see the normal POST patterns (i.e. the weird characters are different and in the normal places where text would be). It seems that the system boots up. I assume that the video BIOS code is running OK and that there is a problem with one of the video RAM chips (e.g. a stuck bit, or 2 bits coupled, or something like that). I am actually more interested in the general topic of diagnosing video card problems than in the specifics of the card of the moment.

Is there any software out there to assist in diagnosing this sort of thing? It would be cool if it could use a serial port to display problem info...

Anyway, the card is a Headland 650-122-34 r.1. The 2 pictures on the lower left match my card exactly, right down to the date codes on the chips, but mine has 1 more QA stamp on the back.

The card was filthy when I got it, and I attacked it with compressed air, so my next step will be to clean it with a brush and isopropyl alcohol, and then inspect it for bad solder joints or something.
 
Uniballer said:
Sorry if this has been covered before. I couldn't find anything directly related.

I have an ISA VGA card that displays weird stuff in text mode, but I can see the normal POST patterns (i.e. the weird characters are different and in the normal places where text would be). It seems that the system boots up. I assume that the video BIOS code is running OK and that there is a problem with one of the video RAM chips (e.g. a stuck bit, or 2 bits coupled, or something like that). I am actually more interested in the general topic of diagnosing video card problems than in the specifics of the card of the moment.

Is there any software out there to assist in diagnosing this sort of thing? It would be cool if it could use a serial port to display problem info...

Anyway, the card is a Headland 650-122-34 r.1. The 2 pictures on the lower left match my card exactly, right down to the date codes on the chips, but mine has 1 more QA stamp on the back.

The card was filthy when I got it, and I attacked it with compressed air, so my next step will be to clean it with a brush and isopropyl alcohol, and then inspect it for bad solder joints or something.
Click to expand...

What do the characters look like while P.O.S.T.ing or before an app loads? I have a DOS utility that is for 16-bit and up. Consequently, if you run it on an 8-bit setup it works but you get 'weird characters' sporadically. May not be a good analogy, but it's possible that there is some sort of incompatibility. Any chance you could test it out in another machine?
 
There is DisplayMate, but it's not free...

Your specific problem seems more like a bad EPROM than bad RAM. Do graphics display ok?
 
After a bit more cleaning with alcohol and a dental pick near some of the RAM pins the card works well at POST on a 486 VLB system. Even with one of those strange graphical BIOSes.

It still acts weird at powerup on the 386 machine I intended it for, however. I slowed the 386DX40 down to 33 MHz and it is still funky, but I discovered that if I hit Ctrl-Alt-Delete then it looks perfectly normal afterwards. Even with the CPU at 40 MHz. And it does the same thing in a 16-bit or 8-bit ISA slot. So what the heck does that imply?

EDIT: I forgot to tell you that the 386 in question comes up perfectly with a Cirrus Logic CL-GD5402-75QC-C based card built in 1993.
Also, the video BIOS on the Headland card apparently does some color shifting (palette animation?) at cold startup...
 
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Can you take a screenshot? Is the problem only during POST or also in DOS (until you reboot)?
 
The video 7 cards I have seen normally display a copyright banner with briefly animated shifting colors.
 
Sorry for the lousy images. Left is at powerup, right is after Ctrl-Alt-Del. Same text.
IMG_4258.jpgIMG_4259.jpg

Problem persists once an O/S has booted (I tried FreeDOS and an early FreeBSD).

Someguy: Yeah, not sure if Headland bought Video 7 or what, but apparently the same card artwork was used with Video 7 chips and an additional ROM (ebay link)..
 
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Uniballer said:
Sorry if this has been covered before. I couldn't find anything directly related.

I have an ISA VGA card that displays weird stuff in text mode, but I can see the normal POST patterns (i.e. the weird characters are different and in the normal places where text would be). It seems that the system boots up. I assume that the video BIOS code is running OK and that there is a problem with one of the video RAM chips (e.g. a stuck bit, or 2 bits coupled, or something like that). I am actually more interested in the general topic of diagnosing video card problems than in the specifics of the card of the moment.

Is there any software out there to assist in diagnosing this sort of thing? It would be cool if it could use a serial port to display problem info...

Anyway, the card is a Headland 650-122-34 r.1. The 2 pictures on the lower left match my card exactly, right down to the date codes on the chips, but mine has 1 more QA stamp on the back.

The card was filthy when I got it, and I attacked it with compressed air, so my next step will be to clean it with a brush and isopropyl alcohol, and then inspect it for bad solder joints or something.
Click to expand...

If text mode is the problem (showing shifted characters) and other graphics modes are normal, then replace the crystal oscillator 28.322Mhz first ....
 
This thread is now 5 years old.

Thanks for trying to help, but how does a bad oscillator correct itself after Ctrl-Alt-Del, or plugging it in to a different motherboard?
 
Sounds like a heat related issue. Try reflowing the solder on the RAMs you cleaned earlier. If that doesn't help, try some freeze spray on that part of the PCB.
 
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