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How to force OS/2 (V-2.1, OS/2 Warp) to VGA-Mode


  How to force OS/2 (V-2.1, OS/2 Warp) to VGA-Mode Only if Blank / Illegible Display after OS/2 startup
There are a number of situations that will result in the inability to make sense of the pattern on the display unit. For example:

In case of OS/2 Warp, Reboot the system. At the moment that in the lefttop of the screen appear a small block with OS/2 written, push Alt+F1 button. A blue screen with RECOVERY CHOICES will appear. Select the option 'V'. Reset primary video display and Reboot. This option will autom. set OS/2 Warp to VGA mode.

In case of OS/2 V-2.x

  1.  Boot from OS/2 Installation Diskette.
  2.  Insert installation diskettes as promptet until the Welcome to OS/2 frame is displayed.
  3.  Press ESCAPE (F3) key to exit to a command line.

(From the command line it is possible to issue the SETVGA or RSPDSPI commands.)

RSPDSPI parameter 
PK: the primary display type
SK: the secondary display type
S: the source drive containing the display driver
T: the target drive where the drivers should be installed
L: the logfile name (default RSPIN'sTL.LOG)

Selective Install Video device drivers


The safest way to reconfigure the video mode is to use SELECTIVE INSTALL, which can be found in the System Setup folder. Selective install is a PM application called INSTALL.EXE, and is located in the \OS2\INSTALL subdirectory.


DSPIN'sTL is a faster way of reconfiguring the video mode (not useable for OS/2 Warp VGA/SVGA resolution)
DSPIN'sTL decides what to do by reading a Display Configuration (DSC) file.

Display Configuration (DSC) Files in OS/2 2.1, OS/2 2.1.1 and OS/2 Warp

DSC File Video Mode and Chip set OS/2
2.1		 OS/2
2.1.1		 OS/2
Warp		 Resolution and Video Memory DSP File 1 DSP File 2
PSATI ATI Mach8, ATI 28800 (SVGA) Y Y Y 640x480x256 (512KB)
640x480x256 (1MB)
800x600x256 (1MB)
1024x768x256 (1MB)		 AT480A
AT480B
AT600B
AT768B		 AT480AC
AT480BC
AT600BC
AT768BC
PSBGA32 8514/A Y Y Y      
PSCGA16 CGA Y Y Y 320x200x4 PSCGA16  
PSCL Cirrus Logic (SVGA) 5422, 5424 Y Y Y 640x480x256 (512KB)
640x480x256 (1MB)
800x600x256 (1MB)
1024x768x256 (1MB)		 CL480A
CL480B
CL600B
CL768B		 CL480AC
CL480BC
CL600BC
CL768BC
PSEGA16 EGA Y Y Y 640x350x16 PSEGA16  
PSHEAD Headland Technology HT209 Y Y Y      
PSMONO Monochrome Adapter Y Y Y   PSMONO  
PSS3 S3 86C801, 86C805, 86C928 1 Y Y All S3  
PSSPDW IBM VGA 256 color (SVGA) Y Y Y 640x480x256 (512KB)
640x480x256 (1MB)		 SP480A
SP480B		 SP480AC
SP480BC
PSSVGA32 Generic SVGA Y Y Y 640x480x256 PSSVGA32  
PSTRID Trident Microsystems TVGA8900c (SVGA) Y Y Y      
PSTSENG Tseng Laboratories ET4000 (SVGA) Y Y Y 640x480x256 (512KB)
640x480x256 (1MB)
800x600x256 (1MB)
1024x768x256 (1MB)		 TS480A
TS480B
TS600B
TS768B		 TS480AC
TS480BC
TS600BC
TS768BC
PSVGA32 VGA Y Y Y 640x480x256 PSSVGA32  
PSWD Western Digital WD90C11, C30, C31 (SVGA) Y Y 2 Y 2      
PSXGA32 XGA, XGA2 Y Y Y 3      
WP9000 Weitek Power 9000     Y      
WP9100 Weitek Power 9100     Y      
S3864 S3 864     Y      
CL54X Cirrus Logic 5426, 5428, 5430, 5434     Y      
WDC33 Western Digital 90C33     Y      
PSWDC24 Western Digital 90C24     Y      
PSWDC31 Western Digital 90C31     Y      
TLIW32 Tseng ET4000/W32, /32i, /32p     Y      
ATIM32 ATI Mach32     Y All ATIM32  
ATIM64 ATI Mach64     Y      

Table Notes 


1. The S3 86C805 display drivers are not shipped with OS/2 2.1, but are available from bulletin boards.
2. C30 mode only
3. Only OS/2 Warp has XGA2 option.

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