---------------------------------- SciTech SNAP Graphics QNX6 Installation ---------------------------------- CONTENTS..................................................... INTRODUCTION About the QNX SciTech SNAP Edition About SciTech SNAP Graphics Benefits of SciTech SNAP Graphics Installation Procedures Supported Graphics Chips ADVANCED OPTIONS GAMon Monitor Selection Program GAReport Hardware Report Program GACtrl Configuration Program GAOption Options Selection Program GAPerf Performance Profiler GAMode Dial-A-Mode Utility SUPPORT Known Issues REGISTERING Purchasing the Product Registering the Product INTRODUCTION................................................. About the QNX SciTech SNAP Edition ---------------------------------- This archive contains the end user QNX installation of SciTech SNAP Graphics. This package contains all of the necessary QNX based utilities and device drivers that work with SciTech SNAP based applications. This includes applications developed using the SciTech MGL graphics library, or applications written to work directly with the SciTech SNAP device drivers. There is also a driver provided for use with the Photon GUI environment. Note that this package does not contain any developer materials. If you wish to develop application that utilise the SciTech SNAP Graphics device drivers, please download the SciTech SNAP SDK from our web site. You will need this package along with the SciTech MGL package to unlock the full potential of your graphics hardware for SciTech MGL applications. About SciTech SNAP Graphics ---------------------------- SciTech SNAP Graphics for QNX is a package that provides high performance graphics accelerator access across a wide range of modern graphics hardware and operating systems. The core technology is our SciTech SNAP Graphics Architecture, which is a cross platform device driver technology enabling the use of the same device drivers in all versions of SciTech SNAP Graphics. Sharing the drivers between platforms improves the quality and performance of device drivers for all supported operating systems. Benefits of SciTech SNAP Graphics ---------------------------------- * Plug & Play. SciTech SNAP Graphics will automatically detect your graphics card and make your SciTech Nucleus graphics applications work properly. You don't have to try and figure out what kind of graphics chip you have and then try to track down the driver specific to your hardware. If you ever change your graphics card, SciTech SNAP Graphics will automatically detect the change and reconfigure itself for your new hardware. * Compatibility. SciTech SNAP Graphics will make your graphics card compatible with the latest SciTech standard device drivers. If your graphics card has bugs, SciTech SNAP Graphics will work around them automatically so you can run your favorite graphics applications without errors. * Performance. SciTech SNAP Graphics provides very high performance access to modern graphics accelerator features via the SciTech Nucleus, Graphics Architecture device driver interface. * Display Centering. SciTech SNAP Graphics includes the GACtrl program which allows you to set up the centering and sizing the display image on your monitor. GACtrl allows you to adjust the centering and sizing for all graphics modes supported by SciTech SNAP Graphics. It's great for getting those graphics modes to look just right on your monitor. * Refresh Rate Control. The GACtrl program also allows you to control the refresh rate on most supported graphics cards, so you can set your display for the highest possible flicker-free image in each graphics mode. Although if you have a Plug and Play monitor, SciTech SNAP Graphics will automatically determine the best refresh rate for you. * VESA GTF Support. SciTech SNAP Graphics can use the VESA GTF (Generalized Timing Formula) standard to automatically calculate exact refresh rates and display sizing. This makes centering graphics modes much easier. It also makes is very easy to create custom display modes and refresh rates in your applications. Installation Procedures ----------------------- To install SciTech SNAP Graphics, download the installer program, and mark it executable (i.e. "chmod +x filename"). If running from the current directory, you may need to run it as './filename'). You should run the installation from console mode, without the Photon GUI running. Note that you must be logged in as the root user in order to run the installation program. It will list the target directories where files will be placed, and allow you to abort the installation before proceeding if desired. Some of the target directories are as follows: /opt/scitech - SNAP Graphics drivers and utility programs /etc/config/scitech - SNAP Graphics configuration files Every node on the network will need a separate config directory, but all the binary files are shared across all nodes. The config files such as monitor.dbx go into the /etc/config/scitech//config directory (one copy per host). If you wish to run an unattended install (no prompts for confirmation), you can use the '-u' command-line parameter for the install program. If you wish to automatically skip the Photon driver installation, you can use the '-noPh' command-line parameter. Supported Graphics Chips ------------------------ This is a complete list of the various graphics chipsets that have been certified to work correctly with this version of SciTech SNAP Graphics. These can be used with any applications that use SciTech MGL or SciTech SNAP technology directly. . 3dfx Voodoo Banshee, Voodoo3, Voodoo4, Voodoo5 . 3DLabs Permedia, Permedia 2, Permedia 2V, Permedia 3 . Alliance ProMotion 6422, ProMotion AT24, ProMotion AT3D . AMD Geode GX2 . ARK 2000PV, 2000MT, 2000MI (Quadro64), 2000MI+ (Quadro64) . ATI Mach64 GX, Mach64 CX, Mach64 CT, Mach64 VT, 3D Rage, Mach64 VTB . ATI 3D Rage II, 3D Rage II+, Mach64 VT4, 3D Rage IIC, 3D Rage Pro . ATI 3D Rage LT Pro, Rage Mobility, Rage XL, Rage 128, Rage 128 Pro . ATI Rage 128 Ultra, Rage Mobility 128, Rage Mobility 128-D4x, ES1000 . ATI Radeon 7000, Radeon 7200, Radeon 7500, Radeon 8500, Radeon 8500DV . ATI Mobility Radeon, Mobility Radeon 7000 IGP, Mobility Radeon 7500 . ATI Mobility Radeon 9000, Mobility Radeon 9000 IGP, Radeon 9000 Series . ATI Radeon 9100 Pro IGP, Radeon 9100, Mobility Radeon 9200 . ATI Radeon 9200 Series, Radeon 9500, Radeon 9500 Pro, Radeon 9550 . ATI Mobility Radeon 9550, Mobility Radeon 9600, Radeon 9600 Series . ATI Radeon 9600 XT, Radeon 9700 Pro, Mobility Radeon 9800, Radeon 9800 . ATI Radeon 9800 Pro, Radeon 9800 XT, Mobility Radeon X300, Radeon X550 . ATI Mobility Radeon X600, Radeon X300 Series, Radeon X600 Series . ATI Mobility Radeon X800, Radeon IGP 320M / 340M, Radeon XPress 200 . ATI Mobility Radeon XPress 200, FireMV 2200, Radeon X700 Series . ATI Radeon X800 Series, Radeon X850 Series . Chips & Technologies 65548, 65550, 65554, 65555, 69000 . Cirrus Logic CL-GD7543 LCD, CL-GD5434, CL-GD5440, CL-GD5436 . Cirrus Logic CL-GD5446, CL-GD7555 LCD, Laguna 5462, Laguna 5464 . Cirrus Logic Laguna 5465 . Cyrix MediaGX . IBM VGA Compatible . InteGraphics CyberPro 2000, CyberPro 2010 . Intel i740, i740 PCI, i810, i810/DC100, i810e, i815, i845G, i865G . Intel i852/i855 GM/GME, i915G/GV, i915GM/GMS, i945G, i945GM . Matrox MGA Millennium, MGA Millennium II, MGA Mystique . Matrox MGA Mystique 220, MGA-G100, MGA-G200, MGA-G400, MGA-G450 . Matrox MGA-G550, Parhelia, MGA-P750, MGA-P650 . NeoMagic MagicGraph 128, MagicGraph 128ZV, MagicGraph 128XD . NeoMagic MagicGraph 256AV, MagicMedia 256AV+, MagicMedia 256ZX . NeoMagic MagicMedia 256XL+ . Number Nine Imagine 128, Imagine 128 II, Imagine 128 II VRAM . Number Nine Imagine 128 II DRAM, Ticket 2 Ride WRAM . Number Nine Ticket 2 Ride SGRAM, Ticket 2 Ride IV . NVIDIA RIVA-128, RIVA-128ZX, RIVA-TNT, RIVA-TNT2, RIVA-TNT2 M64 . NVIDIA RIVA-TNT2 Vanta, RIVA-TNT2 Ultra, GeForce 256, GeForce DDR . NVIDIA Quadro, GeForce2 Integrated GPU, GeForce2 Ti, GeForce2 GTS . NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 100/200, GeForce2 MX/MX 400, GeForce2 Ultra . NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 420, GeForce3, Quadro2, GeForce4 MX 440 . NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 8X, GeForce4 MX 460, GeForce4 MX 4000 . NVIDIA GeForce4 Integrated GPU, GeForce4 Ti 4200, GeForce4 Ti 4200 8X . NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4400, GeForce4 Ti 4600, GeForce4 Ti 4800 . NVIDIA Quadro4 NVS, Quadro4 XGL, GeForce FX 5200, GeForce FX 5500 . NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 Series, GeForce FX 5700 Series, Quadro FX . NVIDIA GeForce PCX 5300, GeForce PCX 5750, GeForce 6200 Series . NVIDIA GeForce 6600 Series . OAK Spitfire 64107, Spitfire 64111, Eon 64017, Eon 64217, Warp 5 . Philips 9710 . Rendition Verite V1000, Verite V2200 . S3 Vision 864, Vision 964, Vision 868, Vision 968, Trio32, Trio64 . S3 Trio64V+, Trio64UV+, Trio64V2/DX, Virge, Virge/DX/GX, Virge/VX . S3 Virge/GX2, Virge/MX, Trio3D, Trio3D/2X, Savage3D, Savage4 . S3 ProSavage (VIA PM133), ProSavage (VIA KM133), ProSavage (VIA PN133) . S3 ProSavageDDR (VIA PM266), ProSavageDDR (VIA KM266), Savage/MX/IX . S3 SuperSavage/IXC, Savage2000 . Sigma Designs RealMagic 64 GX . Silicon Motion LynxEM, Lynx3DM . SiS 6202, 6205, 6215, 5597/5598, 6326, 300, 305, 630, 315, 730 . SiS 5595/530, 5595/620 . Trident TGUI9440, TGUI9440-R2, TGUI9680, ProVidia 9682 . Trident Cyber9385 LCD, ProVidia 9685, 3DImage 975, Cyber9397 LCD . Trident 3DImage 985, Blade 3D, Blade 3D (VIA VT8501) . Trident Blade 3D (VIA VT8601) . Tseng Labs ET4000/W32p, ET6000, ET6100 . VIA CLE266, P4M800/VN800/CN800 . Weitek P9000, P9100 . VESA VBE 1.2, VBE 2.0, VBE 3.0 ADVANCED OPTIONS.............................................. All of the utilities described in this section utilize the SciTech SNAP drivers directly. GAMon monitor selection program ------------------------------- If you have a plug and play (DDC) monitor, SciTech SNAP Graphics will automatically detect its capabilities. If your monitor is not detected, you can configure it using the command-line GAMON utility. GAMon is a simple program to allow you to select a monitor that is attached to your graphics card. Selecting a monitor will filter the available display modes and refresh rates depending on the capabilities of your attached monitor. To display the current monitor configuration, use the following command: gamon show To select a monitor you must know the manufacturer and model name for your monitor. To list all available manufacturers, use the following command: gamon mfr This will produce a rather long list, so you can narrow the list by entering the start of the manufacturer name as below, and list all monitors that manufacturer makes: gamon model nec which will list all 'NEC Technologies' monitors. Once you have found your monitor, you can select it by entering the partial manufacturer name and a partial model name like so: gamon select nec xp21 which will select the 'NEC Technologies' 'NEC XP21' monitor. If you need to make a selection with spaces in the name, use the quoting characters: gamon select "NEC Technologies" "NEC XP21" If your monitor is not listed, you can add it to the database. The majority of monitor manufacturers include INF files for Windows 9x with their monitors, and/or provide them on their web sites. You can import these files using: gamon import where is the name of the INF file. GAReport Hardware Report Program -------------------------------- This is a simple program which will load the SciTech SNAP display driver for your hardware, and report the graphics hardware configuration. GACtrl configuration program ---------------------------- This program allows you to perform compatibility testing on the SNAP device drivers, including testing the graphics modes, DPMS Power Management, and DDC communications. One of the other useful things that this program can do is allow you to adjust the centering and refresh rate control for all available display modes. Use the 'Centering and Refresh' menu item to change the refresh rate and centering values for individual display modes, or the 'Global Refresh Rate' menu item to set all display modes to a preferred refresh rate. GAOption options selection program ---------------------------------- This is a simple command line program to allow you to override some of the options for the SciTech SNAP drivers. To see the current list of options and settings, use the following command: gaoption show This will show all the options for the current device. Some of the more useful options are explained below: gaoption accel [none | basic | most | full] This option controls what hardware acceleration features are used by the drivers. By default full hardware accleration is enabled. If you have problems with the mouse cursor, try 'most', which will disable hardware acceleration of the mouse cursor. The 'basic' setting will allow for basic acceleration features and is useful if you have problems with line drawing or text. The 'none' option turns off all hardware acceleration in the driver. gaoption vbe [on | off] gaoption vga [on | off] These options control whether the VBE/Core or VGA fallback drivers are used by default, or whether the native hardware accelerated drivers are used. By default these options are off, but you may want to enable one of them if the native driver has problems on your system. gaoption prefer32 [on | off] gaoption prefer16 [on | off] The prefer32 option controls whether you would prefer 32-bit display modes over 24-bit display modes. The default is to choose 32-bit modes in preference to 24-bit modes if the mode exists at both color depths, and both color depths are fully accelerated. Otherwise the highest performance mode is always chosen. Similarly, the prefer16 option controls whether you would prefer 16-bit display modes over 15-bit display modes. gaoption noncert [on | off] This option controls whether non-certified SNAP drivers will be used. If this is turned off when there is no certified driver for your card, the VBE fallback driver will automatically be used. gaoption nowcomb [on | off] This option controls whether the SNAP drivers will attempt to enable write combining on your system for faster system memory to video memory transfers. By default write combining will always be used where possible, but if this is causing problems you may wish to try using this option to disable write combining support. The most likely scenario would be for a new processor that has not yet been fully QA tested. gaoption noddc [on | off] This option controls whether SNAP will attempt to read DDC information from your monitor. By default, this option is off (DDC detection is used), but if you think this is causing problems you may wish to try turning this on. gaoption agpfwrite [on | off] This option controls whether the SNAP drivers will attempt to enable AGP FastWrite for your video card. This feature is not available on all motherboards and video chipsets, but can significantly improve performance when enabled. By default, this option is on, but if you think this is causing problems you may wish to try turning this off. gaoption lcdusebios [auto | on | off] This option controls whether the LCD BIOS is used on laptops. This option defaults to auto, which means that the BIOS will be used when the laptop is booted on the LCD panel, and will not be used when it is booted on an external CRT monitor. If you frequently switch between LCD and CRT screens, you may wish to set this option to on, so that the graphics modes will be limited to those that can be properly displayed on the LCD panel. gaoption vidmem [memsize | off] This option controls how much video memory should be mapped for the framebuffer. If you have a graphics card with a lot of video memory, you can use this option to limit the size of the framebuffer mapping. gaoption agpmem [memsize] This option controls how much system memory to allocate to video. It only has an effect on video chipsets that use AGP memory; currently the Intel i810 and i815 chipsets are the only ones that do so. The memory size defaults to 4096 Kb, but can be changed as desired. gaoption usesysmem [memsize | off] This option controls whether the system memory driver is used. It is only useful if you have no video card, as there will be no graphics displayed on any attached video cards; remote control software must be used. This option defaults to off, to enable it you must use a minimum of 512 Kb. gaoption compress [on | off] This option controls whether a compressed framebuffer is used. It is only useful if you have a graphics chipset which supports this feature, such as the AMD Geode GX2. The default is on, as it provides improved performance, but there are some limitations, such as the inability to do page-flipping. If you need page-flipping support, you will want to turn this off. GAPerf Performance Profiler --------------------------- This program allows you to run some performance profiling on the SNAP device drivers, which will allow you to see what sort of raw hardware performance your graphics card posseses. Try it out, you may find the results rather interesting... GAMode Dial-A-Mode Utility -------------------------- When SciTech SNAP Graphics is installed, it comes pre-configured with a set of standard display modes. The GAMode program allows the user to tailor the list of display modes to suit their tastes, allowing modes to be removed from the list, custom modes to be added, and custom refresh rates to be added for a particular mode. To show the list of currently configured modes and refresh rates, use: gamode show To add a new custom resolution to the list of modes, use: gamode add where is the desired X resolution, is the desired Y resolution and is the desired color depth (0,4,8,15,16,24 or 32, where 0 is for text modes). When a new mode is added, all refresh rates from 60 Hz to 100Hz will be added in 5 Hz increments. To add a new custom refresh rate for a particular resolution, use: gamode addref where is the desired X resolution, is the desired Y resolution and is the desired refresh rate in Hz. To specify an interlaced refresh rate, use a negative value (ie: -87 for 87 Hz interlaced). To remove a mode from the list of supported modes, use: gamode del where is the desired X resolution, is the desired Y resolution and is the desired color depth (0,4,8,15,16,24 or 32, where 0 is for text modes). To set the default refresh rate for a specific resolution, use: gamode set where is the desired X resolution, is the desired Y resolution, is the desired color depth (0,4,8,15,16,24 or 32, where 0 is for text modes), and is the desired refresh rate in Hz. SUPPORT...................................................... The most effective method of contacting support for SciTech SNAP Graphics for QNX is using the SciTech newsgroups. You can access the newsgroups via: news://news.scitechsoft.com/scitech.snap.graphics.embedded Known Issues ------------ 1. If you choose to install the SNAP Photon driver, the list in /etc/system/enum/devices/graphics will be overwritten such that SNAP is always selected as the Photon display driver. If you wish to restore the original QNX driver selection (based on PCI IDs), that file will need to be manually replaced from a previous backup copy. 2. Running the SNAP console programs (GAReport, etc.) under Photon is not currently supported, and will cause crashes. 3. There is currently no mouse support for the console (i.e. MGL applications). This does not affect the Photon driver. 4. Photon has poor error handling when the default graphics mode is not available. This situation can happen due to the license expiring, or if the VBE fallback driver is selected. To reset the list of modes, so that Photon will set things up again for the current configuration, you need to run the "crttrap clear" command. REGISTERING.................................................. Purchasing the Product ---------------------- You can purchase SciTech SNAP Graphics for QNX by calling our sales line at (530) 894-8400. SciTech SNAP Graphics for QNX is presently not available through our online web store. Registering the Product ----------------------- Once you have purchased the product, you will receive a personal registration code. To register the software, run the included register program. When prompted, enter the exact user name EXACTLY AS SHOWN, INCLUDING CASE! Hit enter and enter the registration code, and the product should then be registered. SciTech Software, Inc. 180 East 4th Street, Suite 300 Chico, CA 95928 (530) 894-8400 (530) 894-9069 FAX Web: http://www.scitechsoft.com Email: support@scitechsoft.com