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• Overview
• Download drivers
• Screenshots. VBEMP x86 Project in work :)
• Instruction: Complete VBEMP driver removal from Win9x system
• Additional information
• Tested video cards/chipsets
• Driver troubleshooting
• VBE FAQ: VESA BIOS Extensions standard deviation list
• Project history
• Changelog
• License

Key features :

• The main IDEA of the project was taken from standard XP/2003 VGA.SYS display driver with generic VESA BIOS Extensions (VBE) 1.02/2.00/3.00+ support.
• VBEMP.DRV is a standard Windows 9x™ Video Display Driver.
• It supports ALL of MS Windows 9x™ Family (Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98SE, Windows Me)
• It supports a wide range of videocards emulated via virtualization software: Bochs, QEMU, VMware, Innotek VirtualBox, Microsoft VirtualPC.
• For proper operation my driver expects that your video card's BIOS is 100%-compatible with VESA Video BIOS extensions specification. Nowadays there are many video cards that don't fully supports INT10 interface, which is provided by VESA/VBE standard (See VBE FAQ below for details).
• Supports VBE 2.00+ compliant PCI/AGP/PCI-E video cards with linear frame buffer.
• Partially supports VBE 1.x compliant ISA/EISA/MCA/VLB/PCI video cards with linear frame buffer (only Cirrus Logic chips).
• 256color(8bit), 16bit, 24bit, 32bit true color modes support.
• 320x200, 320x240, 320x400, 400x300, 512x384, 640x350, 640x400, 640x480, 720x400, 720x480, 720x576, 800x480, 800x600, 1024x600, 1024x768, 1152x864, 1280x800, 1280x960, 1280x1024, 1400x1050, 1600x1200, 1792x1344, 1856x1392, 1920x1440, 2048x1536 if these resolutions are supported by your video card's BIOS. *
• Advanced Power Management (APM) and Monitor Detection support are provided by Windows itself.

Planned features :

• VBE 3.0 support (switching refresh rates)
• Uncached Speculative Write Combining (USWC)
• Feature to install the driver without reboot
• VBE 1.02 Support (Banked FB > 64Kb)
• DirectDraw Support
• Hardware Video Overlay Support
• More than one device for output (display, video out device, flat panel)
• 2-bit (mono) and 4-bit (16 colors) support for testing purposes only
• Old adapters support like EGA, CGA, Hercules etc. for testing purposes only :)

This driver is intended for using in case when your have some new or unknown video card(s) and you don't have drivers for it. It's really better to contact manufacturer of your video card or search THE WEB for the drivers. ONLY if you finally cannot find driver for your video card I recommend you to use mine (vbemp.drv). My driver is very simple one & does not provide any kind of 3D hardware acceleration (DirectX & OpenGL).

My driver does NOT support multiple video cards connected simultaneously and this feature is NOT planned.

Before installing VBEMP.DRV I recommend removing any display drivers installed and switching to the standard VGA mode 640x480x16colors.

• Windows 95 - latest Service Pack is recommended
  
• Windows 98 - latest Service Pack is recommended
  
• Windows Me - latest Service Pack is recommended
  

* If universal version does not work with your card, you may try Manual version. To get it you should contact me by e-mail & send me report generated by INFOVBE.EXE, so I could send you personal driver for your video card by e-mail.

Installation note 0: Current driver unsolved problems:

• Slow driver operation when user scroll, move or resize a window.
• Locking and garbage problems when entering DOS WDM or console session.
• Garbage problems when displaying text with some screen fonts.

Installation note 1: If you are experiencing problems while installing my driver read article below. Details here: MSKB: How to install or change a video driver (Q131806)

Installation note 2: If your card is working slowly and screen is flickering with VBEMP installed, especially when moving large windows and scrolling texts you may improve it: go to Control Panel -> Display -> Settings tab -> Advanced button -> Troubleshooting tab and move Hardware acceleration slider to the left position (None). Details here: MSKB: How to Change the Graphics Hardware Acceleration Setting in Windows (Q263391)

Installation note 3: Starting from version dated 2008.03.16, vbemp9x.zip contains these variants of VBEMP driver:

• \VBE9x\BASE16 - version (VBE 2.0+) for ANY cards, 8/16 bit color ONLY
• \VBE9x\UNI - version (VBE 2.0+) for ANY cards

• \VBE9x\ATI - version (VBE 2.0+) for ATI, 3dfx, Cirrus Logic, Intel740, TSENG Labs cards ONLY
• \VBE9x\NV - version (VBE 2.0+) for nVidia, Riva128, Intel (845+), Trident, Matrox, S3 cards ONLY
• \VBE9x\INTEL - version (VBE 2.0+) for Intel (845+) cards ONLY (experimental version)
• \VBE9x\BOCHS - version (VBE 2.0+) for BochsVBE card ONLY
• \VBE9x\VIRTUALBOX - version (VBE 2.0+) for VirtualBoxVBE card ONLY
• \VBE9x\VMWAREII - version (VBE 2.0+) for VMWare II SVGA card ONLY

• \VBE9x\CL54 - version (VBE 1.02) for Cirrus Logic CL-GD54xx cards ONLY

Installation note 3: By default any Plug'N'Play video cards will be detected CORRECTLY by 9x version of my driver. But if you wish, you MAY add your video card's PCI VENDOR/DEVICE ID in vbemp.inf so your card will named as it is or you can select the driver manually when Windows firstly find an unknown device. This is an optional operation!
Sample:

; INF file for VBEMP display driver
; Copyright 1988-2008, Anapa Corp.

[version]
Class=DISPLAY
signature="$CHICAGO$"
Provider=%Mfg%
 . . . . . .

 . . . . . .
[Mfg]
%AnaPa.DeviceDesc% = Driver.Install, NOPNP
%AnaPa.DeviceDesc%%AnaPa.DeviceDesc1% = Driver.Install, PCI\CC_0300
%AnaPa.DeviceDesc%%AnaPa.DeviceDesc2% = Driver.Install, PCI\CC_0301
%AnaPa.DeviceDesc%%AnaPa.DeviceDesc3% = Driver.Install, PCI\CC_0380
%AnaPa.DeviceDesc%%AnaPa.DeviceDesc4% = Driver.Install, *PNP0900
%AnaPa.DeviceDesc%%AnaPa.DeviceDesc5% = Driver.Install, *PNP0917
%AnaPa.DeviceDesc%%AnaPa.DeviceDesc6% = Driver.Install, NOPNP
%AnaPa.DeviceDesc%%AnaPa.DeviceDesc7% = Driver.Install, PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_5046
%AnaPa.DeviceDesc%%AnaPa.DeviceDesc8% = Driver.Install, PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4966&SUBSYS_4F721002
%AnaPa.DeviceDesc%%AnaPa.DeviceDesc9% = Driver.Install, PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4963&SUBSYS_4F731002
%AnaPa.DeviceDesc%%AnaPa.DeviceDescA% = Driver.Install, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2562&SUBSYS_52478086
%AnaPa.DeviceDesc%%AnaPa.DeviceDescB% = Driver.Install, PCI\VEN_xxxx&DEV_yyyy&SUBSYS_zzzzzzzz ; card template, see below 
 . . . . . .

 . . . . . .
[Strings]
Mfg="Anapa Corp."
AnaPa.DeviceDesc = "VBE Miniport"
AnaPa.DeviceDesc1 = " - Standard PCI Graphics Adapter (VGA)"
AnaPa.DeviceDesc2 = " - Standard PCI Graphics Adapter (XGA)"
AnaPa.DeviceDesc3 = " - Standard PCI Graphics Adapter"
AnaPa.DeviceDesc4 = " - Standard Graphics Adapter (VGA)"
AnaPa.DeviceDesc5 = " - VGA"
AnaPa.DeviceDesc6 = " - SVGA"
AnaPa.DeviceDesc7 = " (ATI Rage 128PRO 4x pri)"
AnaPa.DeviceDesc8 = " (ATI RV250 pri)"
AnaPa.DeviceDesc9 = " (ATI RV250 sec)"
AnaPa.DeviceDescA = " (Intel D845G)"
AnaPa.DeviceDescB = " Your card name"
 . . . . . .

To create this string you may use PCI.EXE tool mentioned below, here is a sample listing:

 . . . . . .
 Bus 1 (AGP), Device Number 0, Device Function 0
 Vendor 1002h ATI Technologies Inc
 Device 4966h Radeon 9000 Series (RV250)
 Command 0187h (I/O Access, Memory Access, BusMaster, Wait Cycles, System Errors)
 Status 02B0h (Has Capabilities List, Supports 66MHz, Supports Back-To-Back Trans., Medium Timing)
 Revision 01h, Header Type 80h, Bus Latency Timer FFh
 Minimum Bus Grant 08h, Maximum Bus Latency 00h
 Self test 00h (Self test not supported)
 Cache line size 32 Bytes (8 DWords)
 PCI Class Display, type VGA
 Subsystem ID 4F721002h Radeon 9000 Series (RV250)
 Subsystem Vendor 1002h ATI Technologies Inc
 . . . . . .

1. In \%WINDOWS_DIR%\SYSTEM.INI modify or add this line in [boot] section:
   

   *DisplayFallBack=1
   

2. Remove files:
   

   \%WINDOWS_DIR%\INF\DRVDATA.BIN
   \%WINDOWS_DIR%\INF\DRVIDX.BIN
   \%WINDOWS_DIR%\SYSTEM\VBEMP.SYS 
   \%WINDOWS_DIR%\SYSTEM\VBEMP.VXD 
   \%WINDOWS_DIR%\INF\vbemp.inf
   \%WINDOWS_DIR%\INF\vbemp.pnf
   

3. Delete your card from Device Manager or clean Registry hives:

   \\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\Display
   - delete all
   \\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ENUM\PCI 
   - delete all VEN_xxxx&DEV_yyyyy&SUBSYS_zzzzzzzz entries ( for your card ONLY )
   

Official VESA BIOS Extensions 3.0 standard information - http://www.vesa.org/public/vbe/vbe3.pdf.

THE VESA GENERALIZED TIMING FORMULA (GTF) Excel™ spreadsheet - http://www.vesa.org/Public/GTF/GTF_V1R1.xls.

VESA COORDINATED VIDEO TIMING (CVT) GENERATOR Revision 1.1 Excel™ spreadsheet - http://www.vesa.org/Public/CVT/CVTd6r1.xls.

SciTech Software Inc released commercial version of a similar driver (SciTech SNAP Graphics changelog) for Windows, OS/2, QNX & Linux. These versions are 21-day trial.

1. Download Windows 2000/XP Version 3.1.4 DPVL beta2 [dpvlbeta2.zip].
2. Download Windows NT 4.0 Version 3.1.1 [snap-winnt-3.1.1.exe]. Supported hardware.
3. Download Windows NT 4.0 Version 3.1.3 beta 1284 [snap-winnt-3.1.3-1284.exe].
4. Download DOS Version 3.1.1 [snap-dos-3.1.1.exe]. Supported hardware.
5. Download IBM OS/2 (eCS) Version 3.1.8 [snap-os2-3.1.8.exe]. Supported hardware.

A more recent Personal (6-month trial) version you may get after FREE registering at http://my.scitechsoft.com/navigate.php.

Here you can find some tests and benchmarks which I use to test performance of my driver - benches.rar

1. VBE 3.00 INTERNAL Intel Q963 (GMA 3000) Graphics
2. VBE 3.00 INTERNAL Intel 82845G Graphics
3. VBE 2.00 AGP 8Mb ATI Rage 3D Pro AGP 2x (BGA Package)
4. VBE 2.00 AGP 8Mb ATI Rage P/M Mobility AGP 2x
5. VBE 2.00 AGP 32Mb ATI Rage128 PF/Pro AGP 4x (TMDS)
6. VBE 2.00 AGP 64Mb ATI Radeon 9000 Series (RV250)
7. VBE 2.00 INTERNAL ATI Radeon Xpress 200M Series
8. VBE 3.00 16Mb? ATI Radeon X1650 Series (RV530 LE)
9. VBE 3.00 16Mb? ATI Radeon X1950 GT [RV570]
10. VBE 3.00 AGP 16Mb 3Dfx Interactive Voodoo3 2000
11. VBE 3.00 PCI 4Mb nVidia RIVA 128 2D/3D Gui Accelerator
12. VBE 3.00 AGP 4Mb nVidia RIVA 128 2D/3D Gui Accelerator
13. VBE 3.00 AGP 16Mb nVidia RIVA TNT GUI+3D Accelerator [NV4]
14. VBE 3.00 AGP 16Mb nVidia RIVA TNT2 Model 64 [NVM64]
15. VBE 3.00 AGP 32Mb nVidia GeForce2 MX/MX400 [NV11]
16. VBE 3.00 AGP 64Mb nVidia GeForce2 GTS/PRO [NV15]
17. VBE 3.00 AGP 64Mb nVidia Geforce3 Ti 200 [NV20]
18. VBE 3.00 AGP 128Mb nVidia GeForce FX 5200 [NV34.3]
19. VBE 3.00 INTERNAL nVidia GeForce 6100 nForce 430
20. VBE 3.00 nVidia GeForce 7600GS
21. VBE 2.00 PCI 4Mb Matrox MGA-2164W Millenium II PCI
22. VBE 2.00 AGP 4Mb Matrox MGA-G100 AGP
23. VBE 2.00 PCI 4Mb TSENG LABS Inc ET6000
24. VBE 2.00 PCI 2Mb S3 Inc 86C375 ViRGE/DX
25. VBE 2.00 AGP 4Mb S3 Inc 86C368 Trio3D/2X
26. VBE 2.00 INTERNAL Trident CyberBlade i7
27. VBE 2.00 PCI 8Mb? VirtualBox VBE Adapter (Innotek VirtualBox)
28. VBE 2.00 PCI 16Mb VMware SVGA II (VMware)
29. VBE 2.00 PCI 4Mb Cirrus Logic CL-GD5446 PCI (QEMU)
30. VBE 2.00 PCI 4Mb Plex86 VBE Adapter (QEMU/Bochs)
31. VBE 1.02 INTERNAL 1Mb Cirrus Logic CL-GD5428
32. VBE 1.02 VLB 1Mb Cirrus Logic CL-GD5428
33. VBE 1.02 INTERNAL 512Kb Cirrus Logic CL-GD5424

When you have problems with VBEMP, there are two basics scenarios:

1. Computer starts, but driver is not working properly.
2. Computer not starts, i.e. crashes, having BSOD or "hang".

Before debugging try these actions, provided below:

1. Physically remove memory chips or uses /MAXMEM boot.ini's switch to do it in this manner (if you have 1024 Mb RAM): 512 -> 256 -> 128 -> 64 -> 32 -> 16 -> 8.
2. Upgrade motherboard's BIOS to the latest version.
3. Clear CMOS settings to default or safe.
4. Decrease AGP Aperture in BIOS as it is unused by VBEMP.
5. Temporarily remove any external conrollers as: usb, sound, hdd, lan or others.
6. Try a videocard with another bus: AGP, PCIe, PCI, onboard.

To start debugging process you MUST request a DEBUG-version of driver from me by e-mail. Here are the solutions in brief:

1. Use Microsoft Windows 9x x86 32-bit Debugging Tools to trace debug logging information from the driver via serial port:
   • For Windows 95: search Internet for Win95ddk
   • For Windows 98: search Internet for Win98ddk.exe (19987736 bytes)
   • For Windows 98SE: search Internet for Win98ddk.exe (26377712 bytes)
   • For Windows Me: http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/devtools/debugging/installx86.mspx, winmeddk.exe (1469056 bytes)
   
   OR Install debugging components only from here: http://bearwindows.boot-land.net/deb9xkit.rar (Win9x/ME only).
   
   Connect two PC's using this nullmodem serial cable:

   MSKB: How to set up a remote debug session using a null modem cable (Q151981)
   
   9-Pin NULL Modem Cabling
   
   Remote host
   serial port connector Host system
   serial port connector
   
   Signal
   3  2  Transmit Data
   2  3  Receive Data
   7  8  Request to Send
   8  7  Clear to Send
   6, 1  4  Data Set Ready and Carrier Detect
   5  5  Signal Ground
   4  6, 1  Data Terminal Ready
   
   25-Pin NULL Modem Cabling
   
   2  3  Transmit Data
   3  2  Receive Data
   4  5  Request to Send
   5  4  Clear to Send
   6  20  Data Set Ready and Carrier Detect
   7  7  Signal Ground
   20  6  Data Terminal Ready
   

   • For Windows 95/98/98SE/ME:
     On target PC - Copy debugger.exe to Windows root directory (as usual it is - C:\WINDOWS) and make sure that system.ini resides also there contains these lines:

     [386Enh]
     ...
     
     ...
     LoadDebugOnlyObjs=YES
     device=C:\WINDOWS\debugger.exe
     debugsym=C:\WINDOWS\VBEMP.SYM
     debugsym=C:\WINDOWS\VBE.SYM
     DebugBaud=57600
     DebugCom=1
     

   On host PC - copy rterm.exe (or rterm98.exe) from target PC. After that create shortcut for it onto Windows 9x desktop.
   Firstly, connect two PC's via serial cable.
   Secondly, start host PC and execute rterm.exe.
   Then start target PC. It will be started in debugmode. If target PC hangs, exit from rterm.exe on debugger PC and send vbe.log to me.

After you produce logs from driver you can give me additional information about your system and video adapter. This step is optional!!! Without driver logs this information is meaningless for me!!!

1. Collect VESA BIOS and system information :
   
   

   • Download NEW 2in1 INFOVBE.EXE tool. This archive also contains 1.44 Mb bootable floppy image with this tool for users who dont have DOS or Windows9x already installed. You must run it under pure MS-DOS (Real Mode) like:

     INFOVBE.EXE > vbe.txt

   • Download PCI.EXE, pci104vka tool(s) and PCI devices list (place it in PCI directory overwriting existing version). You must run it under DOS/Windows 9x like:

     PCI.EXE -R -D > devpci.txt
     pci_w.exe -R -D -P -M -5 > devpci.htm
     pci_d.exe -R -D -P -M -5 > devpci.htm (if you have problems while running PCI.EXE from pci.zip)
     pci.exe -R -D -P -M -5 > devpci.htm (if you have problems while running PCI.EXE from pci.zip)
     

     Please send me vbe.txt, devpci.txt, devpci.htm in compressed view (rar, zip, 7z...) by e-mail.

2. For ISA/VLB card owners: There are new tools - lfb_det.exe/lfb.exe, which can automaticly detect linear frame buffer address of your card in system address space. They are distrubuted only by request via e-mail. Read pp.3 ("Collect system information"), make logs and I will send you these tools.

• DEC 06, 2007: initial "semi-automatic" version is made.
• DEC 08, 2007: fixes and some cleanup in code is made.
• DEC 13, 2007: first public release of VBEMP 9x web page.
• DEC 23, 2007: TEMPORARILY announced ability to make a "Manual" version of VBEMP by request.
• DEC 26, 2007: VBEMP minor changes.
• MAR 08, 2008: new MANUAL experimental version made for Intel chips.
• MAR 15-16, 2008: new UNIVERSAL version is finally made.
• MAR 22-23, 2008: UNIVERSAL version updated.
• OCT 21, 2008: new UNIVERSAL version with TSR VBIOS and ASUS EEE PC support.

[!] Important
[+] New
[-] Fixed error
[*] Changes
[?] Comments

2007.12.06
[!] first version is made based on framebuf.drv windows 95/98 ddk sample code

2007.12.08
[!] vesa cleanup in code

2007.12.16
[-] 0xC0000000-0xCFFFFFFF region now included in lfb search
[-] 16 bit color alignment corrected from 5-5-5 to 5-6-5

2007.12.26
[+] lfb now detected faster and automatically via vesa bios call
[-] 640x400x8 and 800x600x8 modes are corrected

2008.03.08
[+] in some intel chips 1600x1200 and 1920x1440 modes are enabled
[-] fixed nonexistent mode 0x100 640x400x8 for intel/cirruslogic chips

2008.03.13
[*] screen is cleared now before 4f02/int10
[+] separate versions for bochs/virtualbox/vmwareii

2008.03.15-16
[+] 320x240,512x384,400x300 lowres modes added
[+] in uni-version modelist size is 80 modes (which will be enough)
[-] lfb memory top fixed at 15mb (which will be enough) - was 8
[-] fixed option when videomodeptr list is stored in ROM (c000:yyyy)
[-] hiword of lfbsize expanded from byte to word
[-] modelist size calculated accurately
[-] vbemp.inf is corrected according to uni-version
[-] 15bit modes support removed
[-] in matrox cards 15bit modes shown as 16bit(5:5:5) - filtered

2008.03.22
[*] "uni" version: vesa detection code optimized
[*] "uni" version: drv/vxd in process being prepared to mtrr/uswc support
[*] "uni" version: vram memory cropped to 15 mb
[*] "uni" version: fixed overflow when computing offscreen ram *
[*] "uni" version: * accessible vram in theory must be less than 256 mb

2008.03.23
[*] "uni" version: debug info stripped
[*] "uni" version: 10 new videomodes added
[*] "uni" version: vesa 1.x cards now treated as unsupported
[*] "uni" version: vesa cards with < 1 mb vram are untested
[*] "uni" version: any mode listed in driver's inf will be enumerated

2008.10.21
[*] "uni" version: 800x480 and/or 1024x600 modes now supported (for ASUS EEE PC)
[*] "uni" version: TSR VBIOS support
[!] "uni" version: for full ASUS EEE PC support TSR VBIOS is REQUIRED (included with driver)
[*] "uni" version: VESA functionality in dos disabled when you start program in windowed mode
[-] "uni" version: With some buggy BIOSes screen garbage when starting dos or windows console programs in windowed mode
[!] "uni" version: accessible vram limited to 128 mb if it is greater than 128 mb

* term abbreviated to VBEMP below.

1. The authors - Bearwindows and AnaPa Corporation, exclusively own all copyrights to VBEMP.
2. Anyone may use this software free for noncommercial use only.
3. The VBEMP, may be freely distributed, with exceptions noted below, provided the distribution package is not modified. No person or company may charge a fee for the distribution of VBEMP without written permission from the copyright holder. The VBEMP may not be bundled or distributed with any other package without written permission of the copyright holder. Distribution of any VBEMP version before 10/19/2007 or unauthorized site content mirroring is strictly prohibited.
4. VBEMP IS DISTRIBUTED "AS IS". NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND IS EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. YOU USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE AUTHOR WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR DATA LOSS, DAMAGES, LOSS OF PROFITS OR ANY OTHER KIND OF LOSS WHILE USING OR MISUSING THIS SOFTWARE. THE LICENSE TERMS CONTAINED IN THIS DOCUMENT ARE SUBJECT TO BEING CHANGED, WITHOUT NOTICE, IN FUTURE EDITIONS.
5. You may not use, copy, emulate, clone, rent, lease, sell, modify, decompile, disassemble, otherwise reverse engineer, or transfer the licensed program, or any subset of the licensed program, except as provided for in this agreement. Any such unauthorized use shall result in immediate and automatic termination of this license and may result in criminal and/or civil prosecution.
6. Bearwindows and AnaPa Corporation reserve all rights not expressly granted here.
7. Installing and using VBEMP signifies acceptance of these terms and conditions of the license.
8. If you do not agree with the terms of this license you must remove VBEMP files from your storage devices and cease to use the product.

Thank you for using VBEMP.

Bearwindows and AnaPa Corporation