Thinkpads Forum

I did something (wrong) to the display adapter and monitor diver info and settings. I'm not sure what, but after some work I've got things back working well, but I'm not sure I have everything right. One thing I'm not sure about is the color settings, I can now set them to 256 colors max (not sure if this was true before). Any information or help will be appreciated. Here is all the info.

(From Device Manager)
Monitor/Driver (date): IBM Thinkpad 1024x768 LCD Panel/7-26-2004
Display/Driver (date): Trident Super VGA/4-23-1999

(From Display, Adavnced Settings)
ColorManagement, Monitor Profile: IBMTPLCD
Display Device: Trident
Adapter: Trident Super VGA, "current files", framebuf.drv, *vdd, *vflatd, framebuf.dll
Monitor: IBM Thinkpad 1024x768 LCD Panel

I played around with various Trident Cyber 9397 drivers, but couldn't get them to work right. I think one of the Trident Cyber 9397 drivers is in fact the correct one, so maybe I was doing something wrong.

Thank you

TJM

What I found on my 770's is that even tho you select the proper driver for the 770's video card, it WILL tell you it is not specifically made for the 770 hardware, but it is. Force the Trident Cyber 9397 driver and the 16 and 24 bit colors will work.

TJ

Thanks.

I've tried to force it, but must be doing something wrong. When I use one of the Trident cyber 9397 drivers (I've downloaded at least three versions), one of three things happens. Either at reboot it freezes on a dark screen with vertical lines on top (about 2/3 of the screen) and "random" pixels on the bottom; or it boots to a 800x600 screen and when I change it to 1024x 768 and "high color" it also freezes on reboot with the lines and the pixels (though slightly different, same general screen); one time I was able to get it to go to "high color," but at less than 1024x768.

Still looking for a way to get high color and 1024x768.

TJM

You shouldn't have to "force" your 770E to use anything -- on a clean install of Windows 98SE, following IBM's instructions to install the video driver downloaded from the current driver matrix should work just fine. I did it many times on my old 770E.

To download the correct video driver go to this page:
Video driver IV (TR9397D) for Windows 95/98 - ThinkPad 770

Follow the instructions further down that same page for installing under Windows 98. And that should do it.

If that doesn't work, then I would recommend first downgrading your video adapter driver so that it is using just "Standard VGA", rebooting, and then running through the install process above again.

And don't forget to reboot when it tells you to reboot -- your settings won't work properly until you do.

And I assume you are talking about Windows 98SE when you say Windows 98. If not, then my experience with the 770E may not be applicable as my experience was with 95B and 98SE, not plain vanilla 98.

Phil.

Thank you Phil.

I am using windows 98se. I have also tried the driver package from the link (Video Driver IV). The installation causes the boot freeze, vertical lines symptoms.

I'm really not sure at all what is going on. I've tried the driver from IBM, I've tried drivers form the Driver Guide and no luck.

Here are a couple ideas, maybe one of the experts here could help me sort through them or test them.

1. I may have first tried reinstalling the adapter/driver with a different version, not from the IBM matrix. This may have corrupted something or caused a file to be replaced with a wrong version. The best I've been able to do to test this is to delete all the files I can find and then reinstall them with the package from IBM before doing the driver update/imstallation. That hasn't worked.

2. When I do the driver update/installation with the IBM package, it asks for "tdisplus.dll." This file is not part of the package and the only copy I can find is in my C:/windows/system file. Could this be a source of the problem?

Maybe someone could post the file and display info from their 770e and the comparison would help. I really don't want to do a backup/clean install.

Thanks again.

TJM

A little more information.

In the current state, when Windows Plug and Play chooses the adapter and monitor, it chooses the standard PCI Graphics Adapter (VGA) and the Thinkpad LCD 640x480. Before I moved the backup inf files from the system directory and reloaded the monitor driver, it would choose "Trident Cyber 9397 PCI (v 6.45.5343.98) and "Default Monitor."

Thes combinations (and every other one I've tried) either won't go to 1024 x 768 and high color or will cause the freeze and lines on reboot.

TJM

pkiff gave good instructions and they should work. I suggest printing out the page from the link he provided, and make sure you are following the instructions to the 'T'. Make sure on instruction item 12 that you are telling the wizard to copy the manufacturer's files from the correct directory.

12. In the Copy manufacturer's files from: box, type C:\DRIVERS\W9X\DISPLAY and click the OK button. The Select Device window will appear with a list of video drivers.

I would also recommend downloading and reading the readme file from the same link for more information.

Have you installed the Windows 98 supplement files? I don't think that will solve your problem, but they do have a monitor profile in them.

Windows 98 installation supplement files - ThinkPad 770, 600E/X

TJM:

I don't use my 770ED on a regular basis anymore, but I pulled it out and checked the adapter driver settings today.

Under Display Properties -> Settings it says:
IBM ThinkPad LCD 1024x768 on IBM ThinkPad 770/770E/770ED (Cyber9397)
True Color (32 bit)
1024 by 768 pixels

Clicking on Advanced -> Adapter shows:
IBM ThinkPad 770/770E/770ED
Trident Microsystems
Cyber 9397
Trident-Built-In
4MB
DirectDraw 1.00
4.10.01.2173-6.45.5422-45.98.11
trid_d3d.drv, *vdd, vflatd, trident.vxd,trid_d3d...

In Device Manager, under Display adapters it shows:
IBM ThinkPad 770/770E/770ED (Cyber 9397)
And from there, under Properties -> Driver -> Driver File Details:
Driver Files:
- C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\TRID_D3D.DRV
- C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\TRIDENT.VXD
- C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\vmm32.vxd (vdd.vxd)
- C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\vmm32.vxd (vflatd.vxd)
Provider: Trident Microsystems, Inc.
File version: 4.11.01.2177
Copyright

I do not have the Windows library: tdisplus.dll installed on my hard drive that I can find. Are you sure that you are installing the correct package, downloaded from the download link I provided above?

Maybe TJ (skygodtj)'s advice at the beginning was right -- you may have to ignore any messages from Windows that tell you that the driver you are installing is not the best one for your current hardware. I think that is step 14 in the list of steps on the IBM page ("Click the Yes button if the Update Driver Warning window appears."). So maybe you do have to "force" it to use the right driver after all.

The display problems you are having suggest to me that you are using an improper video driver for your machine or that you have some kind of hardware failure. The fact that the half-screen banding or whatever only shows up when you have certain drivers loaded suggests a driver problem, not a general video/motherboard hardware problem.

Be sure to follow GobJabbar's advice to say you HAVE DISK and copy the manufacturer's files from the correct directory where you have saved the downloaded files.

Good luck,

Phil.

I want to thank everyone again, especially Phil who took the time to check his out of service 770.

I tried everything, step-by-step, writing it down as I went (should have done that from the start), following instructions exactly, using the "have disk" option, going to the safe mode, using the xga drivers and generic monitor, doing the monitor files first and then the display adapter and doing the display adapter first and then the monitor... I still kept running into the same problems.

Finally, I decided to try the 1280x1024 Thinkpad monitor files (instead of the 1024x768). It worked. I now can set the correct resolution (high color, 1024x768).

However at some point plug and play decided to use The Trident Cyber 9397 v6.45.542295 display adapter files instead of the 770/770E/770ED (Cyber9397) files. So I now have all sorts of options (television, flat panel...) in my advanced display settings, but it works fine and I'm happy.

If anyone is interested, this started when I tried to check a questionable hard disk via the pcmcia. the System frooze and on reboot the settings and drivers were messed up. I think my second mistake was grabbing a driver package from the Driver Guide instead of IBM/Lenovo. Not sure what my third and fourth and fifth mistakes were.

Some of this might also have something to do with having replaced my inverter last year with 12J0445 instead of 10L1660. I really don't know.

I'd rather have it working right with the right configuration, but working right with an alternate configuration is fine.

Thanks again.

TJM