
                         Troubleshooting Guide
                    Version 1.0 -- December 21, 1994

                     Hercules Graphite Terminator

             (models GT501/2, GT801/2, GT1001/2, GT1201/2)


Contents:

Installation Problems
Problems with DOS or DOS Applications
Problems with Windows 3.1 or Windows Applications

For instructions on contacting Hercules for assistance, please see the
README.TXT file on the Installation Diskette, or "Contacting Hercules
Technical Support" in your manual.



***************************
*  Installation Problems  *
***************************

-------------------------------------------------------------
[Q] After I've installed the graphics card, my PC won't boot.
-------------------------------------------------------------

[A] There are a number of things that can go wrong when installing new
hardware, but when a PC fails to boot, it generally indicates a conflict
between Terminator and one or more devices in your system. If your PC
fails to boot after installing Terminator, try the following steps:

  1. Make sure any existing video card is removed or on-board video is
     disabled. The Terminator replaces your existing CGA, EGA, VGA or
     SuperVGA graphics card, so you should remove your old card.  Some
     motherboards have on-board VGA circuitry.  If your monitor attaches
     directly to your motherboard, consult your PC's documentation for
     instructions on disabling on-board VGA.  If you cannot disable
     on-board VGA support you won't be able to use a third-party
     graphics card in your PC.

  2. Change jumper settings. See the appendix titled "Jumper Settings"
     for a description on changing jumper settings.

  3. Make sure the Terminator is seated correctly, or try another bus
     slot.  A video card that doesn't make contact with all the
     connectors, or a faulty bus slot can cause boot problems.

  4. Make sure you have the correct Terminator for your PC. VL-Bus
     versions of Terminator require a VESA VL-Bus slot and will not work
     in an ISA or PCI local bus slot.  PCI bus versions of Terminator
     require a PCI local bus slot and will not work in an ISA or VL-Bus
     slot.  The Terminator will not work in an ISA (AT) bus slot.  Make
     sure that all of the connectors on Terminator are properly seated
     in the correct slot.

  5. Try removing other cards from the PC.  In rare instances, a serious
     conflict with another peripheral in your computer will cause a
     failure to boot.  One way to determine if this is the source of the
     problem is to remove other cards from your PC one by one and trying
     to boot again.  If there seems to be a conflict between the
     Terminator and another peripheral and you're not sure how to
     resolve it, contact the manufacturer of the other card, or call
     Hercules.

  6. Contact Hercules Technical Support. If you've tried all of the
     other steps and you're still unsuccessful in booting your PC when
     the Terminator is installed, get in touch with Hercules.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Q] I have my PC set up to go directly into Windows 3.1 when I power up.
I've installed the Terminator and now Windows doesn't work.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

[A] It is likely that your Windows installation is configured for a
video driver that is not compatible with Terminator.  This sometimes
happens when upgrading your video accelerator.  There are several easy
solutions to the problem.

  1. If possible, remove the Terminator and reinstall your previous
     video card.  Then, reconfigure Windows 3.1 to use the standard VGA
     driver supplied by Microsoft before reinstalling Terminator.  See
     the installation guide for instructions.  The standard VGA driver
     will work on any VGA card, including the Terminator.

  2. If this is not possible, it is necessary to interrupt the boot
     process and modify your AUTOEXEC.BAT file so it doesn't launch
     Windows 3.1 when you boot the PC.  If you're using MS-DOS 6.0 or
     later, you can do this automatically by hitting the F5 key when the
     display reads "Starting MS-DOS...". If you're using an earlier
     version of MS-DOS, you may boot from a bootable floppy diskette if
     you have one available.  If not, you should boot your PC and hit
     Ctrl-Break when the computer starts processing your AUTOEXEC.BAT
     file.  Then, answer NO to the "Terminate Batch Job? (Y/N)" prompt.

  3. For the purposes of installing a new video card, it's best to
     temporarily configure your system so that it boots to a DOS prompt,
     and does not go directly into Windows.  This way, if you run into
     any problems starting Windows with the new card, you can always
     reboot and go back to the DOS prompt. If you are using MS-DOS 5.0
     or later, do the following:

     a. From the DOS prompt, type:

        EDIT C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT

     b. Scroll down to the end of the AUTOEXEC.BAT file.  At or near the
        end, you should see a line that reads:

        WIN

     c. Comment out this line by placing the word REM (short for REMark)
        in front of it.  It should now read:

        REM WIN

     d. Select Exit from the FILE Menu to exit the program.  When asked
        if you'd like to save the changes to the file, answer YES.  Now,
        when you boot your PC, you will go to a DOS prompt, rather than
        Windows 3.1.  You may start Windows manually by typing WIN at
        the DOS prompt.  Once you've installed the Terminator drivers
        and you're confident Windows is now operating correctly, you may
        edit AUTOEXEC.BAT file and take out the REM statement added in
        step c.

  4. Contact Hercules. If you've tried the above and you cannot get
     Windows 3.1 to work with the Terminator, or if you're having
     trouble with any of the steps, contact Hercules for assistance.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
[Q] Even after I added the memory exclusion statements to my memory
manager, my PC locks up when I boot the PC.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

[A] Some memory managers have special features they use to free up extra
upper memory.  These include BIOS relocation and remapping of unused
BIOS space for use by other programs.  It is possible that one or more
of these features are causing the Terminator to fail.

  1. If you're running QEMM, disable the Stealth feature.  You're using
     Stealth if you have the ST:M or ST:F clause in your QEMM386 device
     line.  Although you should have already added the XST=C000 clause
     telling Stealth to avoid the Terminator,  Stealth may be causing
     other problems with your PC when the Terminator is installed.
     Remove the ST:M or ST:F clause and reboot your PC to see if this is
     the case.

  2. Run the memory manager optimization utility.  Many memory managers
     have an automatic optimization utility that configures your memory
     manager so it runs as efficiently as possible.  Try running this
     utility.  For details on optimizing your memory manager, consult
     your documentation.

  3. Consult your memory manager documentation or contact your memory
     manager vendor.  Memory managers have a variety of options that
     affect system performance.  Your memory manager documentation is
     the best troubleshooting resource.

  4. Contact Hercules. If you've taken steps recommended by your memory
     manager documentation or the vendor's technical support department
     and you're still not sure of the cause of the conflict, contact
     Hercules for assistance.

--------------------------------------------------
[Q]  The INSTALL program can't find my Terminator.
--------------------------------------------------

[A] INSTALL attempts to find a special "signature string" in
Terminator's BIOS.  Some memory managers will relocate the video BIOS,
preventing INSTALL from finding the information it needs.

  1. If you're using QEMM386 or 386MAX, make sure the proper memory
     exclusions have been added.  See the appendix titled "Memory
     Managers" for instructions on modifying your memory manager con-
     figuration.  These modifications should be made before the
     installation program is run.

  2. Boot without a memory manager.  To verify that your memory manager
     is causing the installation program to fail, temporarily boot your
     PC without invoking your memory manager.  If you're using MS-DOS
     6.0 or later, you can do this by hitting F8 when the display reads
     "Starting MS-DOS..." and answering NO when MS-DOS displays your
     memory manager device lines. Then, run the Terminator's
     installation program.  If this resolves the problem but you're not
     sure how to configure your memory manager to avoid the conflict,
     consult your memory manager documentation or contact your memory
     manager vendor's technical support department.

  3. Contact Hercules.  If none of the above suggestions help, you may
     have another conflict.  Contact Hercules for assistance.




*******************************************
*  Problems with DOS or DOS Applications  *
*******************************************

------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Q] My mouse, modem, scanner or other device doesn't work under DOS, but
it worked properly before I installed the Terminator.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

[A] The S3 series accelerators found on the Graphite Terminator
cards use the same I/O address as COM4.  Therefore, you must disable
COM4 before installing the card.

  1. Check the documentation for the device that is not functioning, and
     see if it uses COM4:.  If so, configure it to use another
     communications port.

     Tip: you can use MSD, provided with most versions of MS-DOS and
     Windows, to determine if another device is using COM4:.  Power down
     your PC, take out your Terminator card, and reinstall your previous
     graphics adapter.  Boot your machine and type MSD at the DOS
     prompt.  Hit C to go to the Comm Port... screen.  If data is
     displayed in the COM4: column, and your previous graphics adapter
     is not based on a chipset from S3, another component in your PC is
     using COM4: and will present a conflict with your Terminator card.
     If you cannot track down COM4: usage to a mouse, modem, or other
     device, you may have an unused serial port on an I/O card or even
     your motherboard itself that is configured to use COM4:.  See your
     PC's documentation for instructions on reconfiguring your serial
     ports.

  2. Change jumper settings. See the appendix titled "Jumper Settings"
     for a description on changing jumper settings.

  3. Contact Hercules. If you've tried the other steps and you still
     can't get your peripheral to work, get in touch with Hercules.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Q] I have a DOS application which has the capability of running higher
than the standard VGA 640x480 16-color resolution, but I can't get it to
do so with the Terminator.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

[A] This is probably a simple issue of configuring the software to take
full advantage of the Terminator.

  1. Use a VESA or S3 Trio driver.  Terminator can support high
     resolution operation in DOS applications that have high resolution
     drivers for the VESA Video BIOS Extensions (VBE), the S3 Trio
     chipset, or have a driver that's labeled for use with the
     Terminator family. See if your application has such a driver.
     Consult the application's documentation or the application vendor
     for further assistance.

  2. Contact the application's vendor. If you've consulted the
     application's documentation and you can't get it to work, contact
     the vendor.  They may have specific troubleshooting advice, or a
     driver update.

  3. Contact Hercules. If you've tried the above steps and your program
     should work but it doesn't, contact Hercules.

-------------------------------------------------------------
[Q] Since I've installed my Terminator, my sound card behaves
erratically or doesn't work at all.
-------------------------------------------------------------

[A] There may be a IRQ or base I/O address conflict between your sound
card and Terminator.

  1. Change jumper settings. See the appendix titled "Jumper Settings"
     for a description on changing jumper settings.

  2. Consult your sound card's documentation, or contact the sound card
     vendor. The makers of your sound card may be aware of configuration
     issues specific to some video cards.

  3. Contact Hercules. If neither you nor your sound card vendor are
     sure of the cause of the problem, get in touch with Hercules.




*******************************************************
*  Problems with Windows 3.1 or Windows Applications  *
*******************************************************

------------------------
[Q] Windows won't start.
------------------------

[A] There can be a number of problems that may cause Windows to fail
when changing video cards.  Generally, it ends up that the video drivers
aren't installed or configured correctly.

  1. Make sure the correct video drivers are selected.  Windows will
     probably not work if the video driver for another graphics card has
     been selected.  See the installation instructions for details on
     running Windows SETUP and selecting the Terminator display drivers.

  2. Make sure the exclusion statements are present in your CONFIG.SYS
     and SYSTEM.INI files. See the appendix titled "Memory Managers" for
     details on excluding the memory ranges used by the Terminator.

  3. Lower the refresh rate.  Your Terminator may be configured to output
     a scan rate and refresh rate that's higher than the capabilities of
     your monitor.  A quick way to verify this is to type the following
     at the DOS prompt:

     SETCRT -n 0 0 0 0 0 0

     This command lowers the Terminator's output to minimum values that
     should be supported by any monitor.  If Windows starts after you've
     lowered the refresh rates, go back and reconfigure Terminator for
     your monitor.  For complete instructions, see "Changing your
     monitor selection" under the chapter titled "Software Utilities."

  4. Reinstall the Terminator's Windows 3.1 drivers.  Occasionally, a
     Windows driver installation may not go smoothly for one reason or
     another.  To ensure that the Terminator's display drivers have been
     installed correctly, reinstall them.  For detailed instructions on
     how to do this, please see "Installing the Software" in the chapter
     titled "Basic Installation."

  5. There may be an address conflict between your motherboard hardware
     and Terminator's linear address driver. You can select a different
     linear address for the driver by doing the following:

     a) Use an ascii editor (such as MS-DOS's EDIT) to edit the
        SYSTEM.INI file in your Windows directory. You may want to
        backup your original copy first.

     b) Look for the Hercules section ( [Hercules] ).

     c) Change the 32 of the "linearaddr=32" line to 64.
        The default value is 32.

     d) Save the SYSTEM.INI file.

     e) Re-start Windows.

     f) Other values you can try are 16, 128, 256, etc (must be a
        multiple of 16).

  6. Contact Hercules. If you've reinstalled our Windows drivers and
     Windows still does not run, contact our technical support de-
     partment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
[Q] I've run the SETUP program and selected the Terminator drivers, but
    no Hercules program group is created when I start Windows.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

[A] Various factors, including the use of desktop programs other than
Program Manager, occasionally cause the program group installation
routine to fail.  If this is the case on your PC, it is easy to build
the program group yourself.  Refer to "Creating the Hercules Program
Group" in the chapter titled "Using Windows 3.1."

--------------------------------------------------------------------
[Q] When I use Picture Window to restart Windows in a higher resolu-
tion, I get a blank or scrambled screen, or the Windows desktop is
"duplicated" on the display.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

[A] This type of problem usually occurs when you've selected an
incorrect monitor type, or specified a vertical refresh rate that is too
high for your monitor.

  1. Reselect your monitor type.  The incorrect monitor type may have
     been selected, causing the Terminator to overdrive your display.
     Reboot your PC and reconfigure Terminator for your monitor.  For
     complete instructions, see "Changing your monitor selection" under
     the chapter titled "Software Utilities."

  2. Use SETCRT to select the minimum values.  If reselecting your
     monitor type produces the same results, try using SETCRT to
     configure the Terminator to use the lowest possible refresh rates
     and scan rates with the following command:

        SETCRT -n 0 0 0 0 0 0

     If this solves the problem, we may have misclassified your monitor
     model in the installation program, or your monitor's documentation
     may be incorrect.  See "Changing Your Monitor Selection" in the
     chapter titled "Software Utilities" for more details.

  3. Contact Hercules.  If no combination of scan rates and refresh
     rates seems to work with your monitor in higher resolutions,
     contact Hercules for assistance.

------------------------------------------------------------------
[Q] When I run Windows 3.1, the display is flickery at one or more
resolutions.
------------------------------------------------------------------

[A] If your monitor should be capable of supporting non-interlaced
operation at all resolutions,  flickering may indicate an incorrect
monitor configuration.

  1. Verify that the Terminator and your monitor both support
     non-interlaced operation at your resolution.  Interlaced mode is
     generally less stable than non-interlaced.  You may wish to use
     Picture Window to change to a non-interlaced resolution.

  2. Run the Refresh Rate Meter program.  The Refresh Rate Meter icon
     located in the Hercules program group gives you a reading of the
     vertical refresh rate at which your monitor is operating.  If the
     number seems low to you, reselect your monitor type.  See "Changing
     Your Monitor Selection" in the chapter titled "Software Utilities"
     for more details.  In some cases, running at a refresh rate that's
     too high for your monitor may also cause a flickering display.
     Consult your monitor's documentation and choose a lower monitor
     type if necessary. NOTE: The Hercules Refresh Rate Meter cannot
     distinguish between interlaced and non-interlaced screen refresh
     rates.  Check the results of the Refresh Rate Meter against the
     values listed by SETCRT to confirm the correct operation of
     Terminator.

  3. Contact Hercules. If you believe you've configured your Terminator
     optimally for your monitor but you're getting more flicker than you
     think you should, contact Hercules for assistance.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Q] My mouse, modem, scanner or other device doesn't work under Windows,
but it worked properly before I installed the Terminator.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

[A] The S3 series accelerators found on the Graphite Terminator
cards use the same I/O address as COM4.  Therefore, you must disable
COM4 before installing the card.  Additionally, another conflict may be
present.

  1. Check the documentation for the device that is not functioning, and
     see if it uses COM4:.  If so, configure it to use another
     communications port.

     Tip: you can use MSD, provided with most versions of MS-DOS and
     Windows, to determine if another device is using COM4:.  Power down
     your PC, take out your Terminator card, and reinstall your previous
     graphics adapter.  Boot your machine and type MSD at the DOS prompt.
     Hit C to go to the Comm Port... screen.  If data is displayed in
     the COM4: column, and your previous graphics adapter is not based
     on a chipset from S3, another component in your PC is using COM4:
     and will present a conflict with your Terminator card.  If you
     cannot track down COM4: usage to a mouse, modem, or other device,
     you may have an unused serial port on an I/O card or even your
     motherboard itself that is configured to use COM4:.  See your PC's
     documentation for instructions on reconfiguring your serial ports.

  2. Change jumper settings. See the appendix titled "Jumper Settings"
     for a description on changing jumper settings.

  3. Contact Hercules.  If you've tried the other steps and you still
     cant get your peripheral to work, get in touch with Hercules.

--------------------------------------------------------
[Q] My computer behaves erratically when I'm in Windows.
--------------------------------------------------------

[A] This can be caused by a wide variety of problems.  Try each of the
steps listed below to eliminate the problem.

  1. Make sure that the correct memory exclusions are present.  See the
     appendix titled "Memory Managers" for details on adding the memory
     exclusion statements to your CONFIG.SYS and SYSTEM.INI files.

  2. Make sure the correct drivers are being used.  Run Windows SETUP
     and verify that the Terminator drivers are installed.

  3. Change jumper settings. See the appendix titled "Jumper Settings"
     for a description on changing jumper settings.

  4. Check the documentation and see if any of the other components in
     your PC uses COM4:.  If so, configure it to use another
     communications port.  The S3 series accelerators found on
     the Graphite Terminator cards use the same I/O address as COM4:.

     Tip: you can use MSD, provided with most versions of MS-DOS and
     Windows, to determine if another device is using COM4:.  Power down
     your PC, take out your Terminator card, and reinstall your previous
     graphics adapter.  Boot your machine and type MSD at the DOS
     prompt.  Hit C to go to the Comm Port... screen.  If data is
     displayed in the COM4: column, and your previous graphics adapter
     is not based on a chipset from S3, another component in your PC is
     using COM4: and will present a conflict with your Terminator card.
     If you cannot track down COM4: usage to a mouse, modem, or other
     device, you may have an unused serial port on an I/O card or even
     your motherboard itself that is configured to use COM4:.  See your
     PC's documentation for instructions on reconfiguring your serial
     ports.

  5. Reinstall the Windows drivers.  One of the Windows display drivers
     for the Terminator may have become corrupted.  See "Installing the
     Software" in your Terminator manual for details.

  6. Contact Hercules. More serious hardware problems may be causing the
     symptoms.  Get in touch with Hercules for additional assistance.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[Q] One particular Windows application behaves erratically or does not
work.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

[A] This could indicate a problem with Terminator's drivers or with the
application itself.  There may also be a conflict with another device
that is only apparent with one application.


  1. Make sure that the correct memory exclusions are present. See
     the appendix titled "Memory Managers" for details on adding the
     memory exclusion statements to your CONFIG.SYS and SYSTEM.INI
     files.

  2. Make sure the correct drivers are being used. Run Windows SETUP and
     verify that the Terminator drivers are installed.

  3. Change jumper settings. See the appendix titled "Jumper Settings"
     for a description on changing jumper settings.

  4. Check the documentation and see if any of the other components in
     your PC uses COM4:.  If so, configure it to use another
     communications port.  The S3 series accelerators found on
     the Graphite Terminator cards use the same I/O address as COM4:.

     TIP: you can use MSD, provided with most versions of MS-DOS and
     Windows, to determine if another device is using COM4:.  Power down
     your PC, take out your Terminator card, and reinstall your previous
     graphics adapter.  Boot your machine and type MSD at the DOS
     prompt.  Hit C to go to the Comm Port... screen.  If data is
     displayed in the COM4: column, and your previous graphics adapter
     is not based on a chipset from S3, another component in your PC is
     using COM4: and will present a conflict with your Terminator card.
     If you cannot track down COM4: usage to a mouse, modem, or other
     device, you may have an unused serial port on an I/O card or even
     your motherboard itself that is configured to use COM4:.  See your
     PC's documentation for instructions on reconfiguring your serial
     ports.

  5. Reinstall the Windows drivers.  One of the Windows display drivers
     for the Terminator may have become corrupted.  See "Installing the
     Software" for details.

  6. Contact the software company.  Your software vendor may have an
     update that addresses the issue, or they may know this to be a
     video driver problem.

  7. Contact Hercules. Problems with a specific application may be
     caused by a fault in the Terminator's Windows driver.  If your
     software application vendor has no advice, or if they believe the
     problem to be caused by the Windows driver, get in touch with
     Hercules.  We may already have a driver update that addresses
     the issue.  When contacting us, have your current driver release
     (printed on your Terminator diskettes) ready.

-------------------------------------------------------------
[Q] Windows isn't running as quickly as I think it should be.
-------------------------------------------------------------

[A] Windows performance is very difficult to measure and judge.  If
performance is very slow, it could be that you are not running
Terminator's accelerated drivers or are running in a true color mode.

  1. Lower your pixel depth.  The Terminator, like virtually all video
     cards, does not run as quickly in the 65,536 and 16.7 million color
     modes.  If you don't need more than 256 colors, run Picture Window
     and make sure that you're running an 8-bit (256) color mode.





