Troubleshooting: ELSA Synergy Force User's Guide

Common Problems and Solutions

No image appears on monitor when computer system is turned on

Make sure that the Synergy Force is firmly seated and lined up properly in its AGP slot, and that the monitor cable is firmly and correctly connected to the card. Check the connectors of the video cable - secure it by fastening the screws  Make sure that your computer and monitor are plugged into electrical outlets and receiving power.  Is the monitor turned on and working?  If possible, select impedance 75 Ohm

Screen image defects appear

Check that your monitor supports the resolution, horizontal (kHz) and vertical (Hz) refresh rates as required by the graphics card.  Check for your current resolution, refresh rate, and color depth settings in the Settings and Monitor dialogs of the Display Properties dialog.

WARNING: Be sure that both video card and monitor support resolution and refresh rates you select. Incompatible resolution/refresh rate selection may result in monitor damage. Refer to your monitor's documentation for recommended resolutions and refresh rates.

Screen image is off-center, color balance is wrong, or there is no picture

Try adjusting the brightness, sharpness, contrast, and color balance controls of your monitor. Try adjusting the centering and positioning controls of your monitor to position the picture on the screen.  Set the monitor’s RGB inputs (and sync switches, if this option is available) to 75 Ohms, with the sync set to external.

Operating system warns that the video card is not configured properly

Check the driver installation and make sure that all software is correctly loaded corresponding to your operating system and applications.  Set Windows NT back to 'Standard VGA' and re-install the ELSA drivers.

NOTE: You must have Microsoft Windows NT Service Pack 4 or later installed prior to installing the ELSA drivers.

Checking for Address and Interrupt Conflicts

It is necessary to ensure that the I/O and memory addresses reserved for the video card are not used by other hardware devices. The integrated on-board VGA controller of your Synergy Force uses the following addresses (hex):

I/O address: Standard VGA I/O: 3B0-3DF  Memory addresses: Video RAM A000-BFFF  Video ROM C000-C7FF

NOTE: You cannot change the addresses of your Synergy Force. In case of an address conflict, try to modify the I/O address of the add-on card that causes the conflict.

Resolving Interrupt Conflicts To support the special graphics processor on the Synergy Force the system BIOS should automatically assign a system interrupt to the AGP slot where the card is installed. However, there may be problems if your graphics card does not receive an interrupt or a system interrupt is used for more than one device. In case of problems:  Check the system configuration utility of your operating system for the interrupt assignments.  Some older ISA legacy (add-in cards with jumpers, non-PnP) may cause a conflict if they are not configured in the ESCD (extended system configuration data) area of the system BIOS. Please refer to your computer’s User’s Guide for information on using the ISA Configuration Utility ICU to add the required legacy card resources to the system.

Uninstalling the Video Drivers

	NOTE:  To uninstall or reinstall the Synergy Force drivers, you need administrator rights or you must be logged on as a user with administrator rights under Windows NT.
	NOTE:  Before uninstalling the ELSA video driver, please close all open application programs and disable any anti-virus software that is running on your computer until the driver uninstallation is complete!

Windows NT 4.0

1. From the Start menu, click Start > Settings > Control Panel.
2. Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon to access the Add/Remove dialog.
3. Select the ELSA Display Driver and then click the Add/Remove button.
4. Click on Yes to start uninstallation process, Click Yes to restart your system.

Windows 98

1. From the Start menu, click Start > Settings > Control Panel.
2. Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon to access the Add/Remove dialog.
3. Select the ELSA Display Driver and then click the Add/Remove button.
4. Click on Yes to start uninstallation process, Click Yes to restart your system.

Removing the Video Card

1. Shut down your computer.

NOTE:  Physically remove the power cord from the system and wait 15-30 seconds for Flea Power to dissipate. Damage can occur to add-in components if power is not physically removed from the system during installation procedures

2. Remove the computer case as outlined in your Dell™ Computer User’s Guide that shipped with your system.
3. Ground yourself by touching the power supply box.
4. To remove the hardware, follow the appropriate instructions in your Dell Computer User’s Guide. If no uninstallation procedures are provided, you may simply reverse the hardware installation procedures.

Reinstalling the Video Drivers

	NOTE:  To uninstall or reinstall the ELSA drivers, you need administrator rights or you must be logged on as a user with administrator rights under Windows NT 4.0.
	CAUTION:  You must have Microsoft Windows NT Service Pack 4 or later installed prior to installing this adapter. If you do not have Service Pack 4 or later installed please proceed to http://www.microsoft.com. Locate Service Pack 4 or later and download it to your system. Install Service Pack 4 or later and then continue with the following instruction procedures.
	NOTE:  Before de-installing the ELSA video driver, please close all open application programs and disable any anti-virus software that is running on your computer until the driver de-installation is complete!

Windows NT 4.0

1. Insert the Dell Resource CD  into your CD-ROM drive. The drivers for the Synergy Force are supplied with your system on the Dell Resource CD.  Refer to the Resource CD documentation for the specific location of your video drivers.
2. From the Start menu, click Start > Settings > Control Panel.
3. Double-click the Display icon to access the Display Properties dialog.
4. Click the Settings tab and then click the Display Type button.
5. At the Display Type dialog, click the Change button.
6. At the Change Display dialog, click the Have disk... button.
7. Inside the Install From Disk dialog, click OK.
8. When Windows NT 4.0 identifies the device as Synergy Force, click OK.
9. The Third-party Drivers dialog box opens, notifying you that you are about to install a third-party driver. Click the Yes button to continue.
10. When copying is complete, click OK and then Close on the Display Type dialog box.
11. Close Display Properties and restart your system for the changes to take effect.

Windows 98

1. Insert the Dell Resource CD into your CD-ROM drive. The drivers for the Synergy Force are supplied with your system on the Dell Resource CD.  Refer to the Resource CD documentation for the specific location of your video drivers.
2. From the Start menu, click Start > Settings > Control Panel.
3. Double-click the Display icon to access the Display Properties dialog.
4. Click the Settings tab and then click the Advanced button.
5. At the Standard Display Adapter (VGA) Properties screen, click the Adapter tab and then click Change.
6. At the Update Device Driver Wizard screen click Next.
7. Select Display a list of all the drivers... and click Next.
8. Click the Have Disk… button. In the Install From Disk dialog box, click OK.
9. From the Models list, click Synergy Force and then click OK.
10. Click Finish on the Update Device Driver Wizard. Click Close on Standard Display Adapter (VGA) Properties screen.
11. Click Close on the Display Properties screen and click the Yes button to restart your computer.

Service, Support and Driver Updates

For information on how to contact Dell Computer Corporation's technical support, refer to the Getting Help section in the documentation that shipped with your system. You can also contact Dell's technical support via the World Wide Web at www.dell.com/support/index.htm.