VIPER V330 Troubleshooting

Windows 95

  • 1.1: What 3D API's will be supported by the VIPER V330?
    1.2: User receives a Windows Protection Error in "IFSMGR" when starting Windows 95.
    1.3: Can the Microsoft PowerToy "QuickRes" be used with the VIPER V330?

DOS

  • 2.1: Does the VIPER V330 support VESA 2.0 extensions?
    2.2: How does the VIPER V330 's DOS performance compare to other cards?

Windows 3.1

  • 3.1: User cannot find the Windows 3.1x driver for the VIPER V330.

Bundled Applications

  • 4.1: Does Diamond's popular InControl Tools software come with the VIPER V330?

Hardware

  • 5.1: What kind of graphics/video chip/processor is used on the VIPER V330?
    5.2: Are TV tuner or video capture options planned or available for the VIPER V330?
    5.3: Are the current retail and OEM VIPER V330 products expandable to 8Mb?

Operating systems

1.1: What 3D API's will be supported by the VIPER V330?
The VIPER V330 supports and accelerates Microsoft's DirectX 5, which includes Direct3D. Also, the VIPER V330 accelerates OpenGL under the Windows NT 4.0 platform.
1.2: User receives a Windows Protection Error in "IFSMGR" when starting Windows 95.
Check to see if the user has a compressed hard drive, this seems to be the common factor with this issue. Currently, it is recommended to use uncompressed hard drives.
1.3: Can the Microsoft PowerToy "QuickRes" be used with the VIPER V330?
Yes, QuickRes will allow for resolution and color depth switching on the fly with the VIPER V330. However, in testing there has been a color palette shifting phenomena observed when switching color depths. This will remain as an open limitation since QuickRes, as are all the MS PowerToys, considered unsupported applications.
2.1: Does the VIPER V330 support VESA 2.0 extensions?
Yes, the VIPER V330 supports VESA 2.0 from within the flash EPROM on the VIPER card. You should check Diamond's website for any updates to the EPROM.
2.2: How does the VIPER V330's DOS performance compare to other cards?
The DOS performance of the VIPER V330 is extremely good. It can outperform an S3 Vision 968 based board in PCBench 9.0 scores. The S3 Vision 968 is a fairly common chipset that ranks as one of the faster DOS performers on the market.
3.1: User cannot find the Windows 3.1x driver for the VIPER V330.
At the time of this writing, drivers for Windows 3.1x were not available nor planned for the VIPER V330. You can check the Diamond web site to see if there are any updates.
4.1: Does Diamond's popular InControl Tools software come with the VIPER V330?
Yes, Diamond's InControl Tools 95 productivity software for Windows 95 comes with the VIPER V330 card. The InControl Tools software will be automatically installed when you perform a FULL installation of the Windows 95 drivers.
5.1: What kind of graphics/video chip/processor is used on the VIPER V330?
The VIPER V330 uses the RIVA 128 controller from nVIDIA.
5.2: Are TV tuner or video capture options planned or available for the VIPER V330?
Yes, the DTV 2000 from Diamond works with the VIPER V330. This PCI based card has a TV tuner and will capture video from a camcorder or VHS as well. If you would like more information or would like to purchase this product, please contact Diamond's customer service department.
5.3: Are the current retail and OEM VIPER V330's expandable to 8Mb?
The VIPER V330 is a 4Mb card, and is not expandable to 8Mb.
6.1: Do you have Linux drivers for the VIPER V330?
No, Diamond does not develop support for Linux and similar UNIX type operating environments. We do provide the programming information necessary for the developers of these operating systems to incorporate driver support. Since the nVIDIA RIVA 128 chipset is fairly new, it may be sometime before this support is developed. It would be best to check with the authors of the individual environments to see when their next release will support nVIDIA RIVA 128 based boards. Often times, you can check the web site of the company that makes xWindows at http://www.xfree86.org.