PicassoIV Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 14.May 1997 - Actual Layoutrevision: PicassoIV v1.2

... If you got any questions or answers - please E-Mail them to me, so that i can add it...

Note:

The newest entries will be added at the beginning to give you the latest informations! If your problem is not covered here, it`s probably in the documentation.

• Q: Will there be an PicassoIV driver for Linux in future ?
  A: That is actually not 100% clear. Klaus Burkert, who wrote the driver for NetBSD don`t have the time to wrote that driver. But if any one of the Linux guys out there want to write a driver he will help them to write it soon, because there are not much difference for the PicolloSD64 and PicassoIV drivers. Please mail requests for help direct to me: Jens Langner
  

  
  

• Q: How can i check that my PicassoIV card has the AGA flicker fixer onboard (24-bit fixing)?
  A: Look at the flicker fixer chips (as shown in the illustration found in the manual); if the bigger on of the two (it carries an AMD logo) has a small sticker (should be a green circle) on it, your board has an AGA flicker fixer installed.
  

  
  

• Q: Since I installed my PicassoIV the system shows up software failures each time I turn on the computer or do a hard reset, what can I do ?
  A: That problem only exists on systems useing a CyberStorm SCSI Modul and have the old 1.6 PicassoIV resource. Grab a newer FlashROM update here and it hopefully will fix your problem.
  

  
  

• Q: My PicassoIV flicker fixer doesn`t seem to work correct with my A4000. What might be the problem ?
  A: Looks like your flicker fixer needs a rework. Two chips would need changing, plus a third chip that must be plugged into one of the empty sockets. Village Tronic doesn`t have that third chip in quantities yet, so you might have to wait a bit for the update to become available. This kind of problem appears with *some* Picasso IVs and with *some* A4000s, ECS machines are unaffacted. I suggest that you alert the your local dealer from where you purchased the card and have them alert Village Tronic.
  

  
  

• Q: I heard the Zorro2 PCI-bridge is currently undergoing some major modifications which will increase the bus speed to about 14MB/s. Will this be a hardware upgrade ?
  A: A small, socketed chip has to be exchanged. You don`t have to be a professional to do this. More informations will be posted here if that chip will be available.
  

  
  

• Q: Where in the 32 meg address space is the 4MB EDO RAM? I would like to test the speed of this with bustest.
  A: Run CheckBoards (in the Picasso96 archive). This will tell you about the memory address.
  

  
  

• Q: I has plugged my CD-ROM audio output to the onboard audio input but don`t get any sound on my audio boxes ?
  A: You need the new Install disk for the PicassoIV. In this archive is a little tool called "AudioSelect" were you can choose the audio inputs which should be selected for being used.
  

  
  

• Q: I use a utility called AWS to display my bootscreen information. Since I installed my PicassoIV and Picasso96, it seems to jump and jitter about half way thru the startup-sequence.
  A: This is because the Cirrus GD5446 and the rest of the PicassoIV gets a fresh setup during the initalisation of the PicassoIV driver.
  

  
  

• Q: I have my PicassoIV now and it comes without a english manual. How do I get one?
  A: It works like this:
  1) If you ordered your PicassoIV directly from Village Tronic you will receive the new manual in the mail.
  2) If you purchased the PicassoIV through a dealer or reseller, send a brief letter along with the serial number of your card to Village Tronic and request that the english manual be sent to you. Don`t forget to include your postal address.
  

  
  

• Q: The PicassoIV has a 85Mhz bandwith limitation in 16 and 24-bit modes? Is this a limitation of the Cirrus Logic chip or the PicassoIV itself ?
  A: It is the limitation of the Cirrus chip.
  

  
  

• Q: I have a S3 Virge spec sheet here that says the Virge has 4-bit modes and I`m pretty sure the S3 Tri64 has 4-bit modes, too. Are they not planar modes ?
  A: You are right, the chip can do planar, but the board can not access memory while in planar mode, AFAIK. That`s why there is no support for it on the CV. On the PicassoIV it is removed because with planar, you can only use one MB of RAM with the 5446 which could collide with the memory management. Picasso96 currently support only one memory size and using just on MB would not be ok.
  

  
  

• Q: Is there any software to use the onboard Soundswitcher of the PicassoIV?
  A: Yes. There is a new PicassoIV installation archive on the PicassoIV software page. This one includes a program called "AudioSelect" where you can switch the sources for the PicassoIV audio output.
  

  
  

• Q: Is there a driver available for NetBSD ?
  A: There is a working driver for the PicassoIV online the PicassoIV software page.
  

  
  

• Q: Why does the PicassoIV only come with german documentations ?
  A: The english manuals were finished just to late to be shipped, so VT decided to write a short english installiation manual which should be included, but unfortunately the german manuals were packed with the card.
  All users who got a german one instead of the english will be informed and get their complete manuals later.
  If you just can wait for it you can download a english manual as Postscript-document from here !.
  

  
  

• Q: Can the PicassoIV co-exist with the GVP IV-24 ?
  A: There is a gadget in the works that would allow the P4 to take the Amiga video signal directly from the Denise Chip, thus allowing any expansion hardware to stay in the A2000 video slot.
  

  
  

• Q: Is it possible to leave both the Picasso II and PicassoIV plugged into the system and boot from different partition when i want to use each card ?
  A: Sure, that will be no problem. If you use Picasso96, you can use both cards simultaneously, especially if you need planar modes for the momentally non-fixed DPaint-V or Wordworth 5/6.
  

  
  

• Q: Does FRODO or Magic64 work with the PicassoIV ?
  A: Make sure you have a 320x200 Mode. If you don`t you can make one.
  

  
  

• Q: Does the PicassoIV provide the same performance on ZorroII and III ?
  A: That is very complicated. First of all ZorroII provides slower memory operations and has a lower bandwith as ZorroIII and that`s the reason why the Picasso IV can`t really provide the same performance in ZorroII mode. But on the other hand the blitter is equally fast.

  
  

• Q: What are the max.frequencies of the PicassoIV?
  A:
  • Maximum bandwith: 135Mhz (8-bit) / 85MhZ (15/16/24-bit)
    
  • Horizontal frequency: 15,5 - 84 kHz
    
  • Vertical frequency: 50 Hz - 160 Hz
    
  • Max.Vert.Freq.at 1600x1200(8bit): 104Hz (Interlaced) - 52Hz (Non-Interlaced)
    
  • Max.Vert.Freq at 1280x1024(16bit): 100Hz (Interlaced) - 50Hz (Non-Interlaced)
    

  
  

• Q: Which SUPER-BUSTER revision is needed for the PicassoIV?
  A: The PicassoIV works fine with BUSTER chips of the rev.-11, rev.-9 & also rev.-7.
  There are no known problems with systems running rev.-9 or -7 and a PicassoIV

  
  

• Q: Will there be a PicassoIV driver included in future CyberGraphX releases ?
  A: Phase 5 has no board yet but will write a driver as soon as they will get a board from Village Tronic. But since VT don`t managed it yet to send one, i think it hopefully will help if people who want to see CGFX running on a PicassoIV send a direct e-mail to support@village.de or directly dial their phonenumbers and tell them to send Mariak a board.
  For further informations on CyberGraphX, please directly contact Phase5: support@phase5.de
  You can also take a look at the offical CyberGraphX Homepage www.vgr.com
  

  
  

• Q: Did the PicassoIV really support resolutions up to 1280x1024 in 24bit (non-interlaced) ?
  A: YES, it does. The only problem is, that if you set the Mode to non-interlaced, the refreshrate will be lowered down under 50Hz. But there is a trick where you can set the refreshrate over the 50Hz minimum of standard Monitors. Just use Picasso96Mode and lower the FrameSize for that revolution so that it will fit on your screen and will be higher then 49Hz.
  The only problem will be that 50-60Hz is not the best frequency for a workingscreen. The flickering is just to high. But it works !