Need words of wisdom on install?

[bandit373]

Hey All,
I Just received a brand new G400 max and am preparing to install it today. I have read alot of posts of install problems w the g400's and would be very appreciative if anyone can tell me what if any problems to expect or what I can do ahead of time to prevent a possible problem based on my computer configuration listed below.

Thank you in advance for anyone taking time from their busy day to help.

Pentium III 500
Intel tabor II mobo
Phoenix Bios (Just updated)
128mg ram
IBM 14.4G UATA66
2 IBM 18.2G UATA66 Using Promis Fastrack66
Controler card in Raid 0 array
Diamon Viper 550 AGP (Being Replaced R.I.P)
Quantum 3d Obsidian SX-24 (Voodoo 2)
Pioneer 103 dvd
Phillips CDD3610 CDR
Diamond MX300 sound card
Windows 98SE (Latest updates done)
DirectX 7
HP 4100 CSE scanner
HP DeskJet 712
RRG (if its ever available again from Matrox) Insert Sarcasm here

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[SCompRacer]

Hello bandit373, welcome to MAX world.

Many installs go without problems. </a> Just be sure you remove your present video card in device manager before installing the MAX.

Some systems will not allow IRQ sharing with the MAX, some do. Mine shares and does fine, </a>
others are not as fortunate. </a>

Video aperture size in BIOS is sometimes an issue. 64MB is usually a default, some require it set up to 256MB no matter what amount of RAM you have. Use what works is key here. </a> </a>

There have been some issues with IDE RAID brought up here, but I cannot remember the exact details or outcome. Try a search for the issue in Matrox Hardware. </a>

There can be an issue if you leave the Voo Doo II card in with drivers. Having had dual Voo Doo II's in SLI, I can suggest from experience that any minor loss of frames per second is no match for depth of color rendition you get in return. If you want it to stay, there were also fixes for it. </a>

Wouldn't hurt to have the latest game patches if you don't already. Coming from Diamond to Matrox I had to do some updates.</a>

Other than that, go for it and remember, no guts, no glory! Hope it goes well for you. If not, search or post away, and help will follow.

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Busy day? MURC'ers live to post, post to live....or was that when I rode Harleys, live to ride, ride to live?
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[This message has been edited by SCompRacer (edited 08 November 1999).]

[Agent31]

bandit373, how do you feel about formatting your HDD? hehe, Scompy pretty much summed it up in saying you should remove your old video card drivers prior to slotting that G400MAX into it's rightful place. I'm guessing that you're using the Diamond drivers for your card, in which case there will probably be a residual Diamond directory in your programs folder. Delete it.

Removing old drivers is the single most important step before intstalling new hardware, and whilst this will help to some extent, nobody can promise anything.

When you do get around to installing your G400, resist the temptation to tell it where your G400 drivers are when it first find your hardware! Install the Standard VGA Adapter driver first! Only after this stage is complete and you are enjoying your G400MAX in it's 640x480x16colour glory should you run the setup.exe from your CD or driver download package.

Good luck and enjoy that card!