AST RESEARCH, INC.          TECHNICAL BULLETIN # 0961                 8-16-94




                         ASCENTIA 900N VIDEO MODE MATRIX


PROBLEM:        None.  This is an informational bulletin.

CAUSE:          Not applicable.

SYSTEMS
AFFECTED:           AST                                               REVISION
                PART NUMBER         DESCRIPTION                         LEVEL

                501299-2XX      ASCENTIA 900N 4/50 CS10                  All
                501300-3XX      ASCENTIA 900N 4/50 CT9                   All
                501302-2XX      ASCENTIA 900N 4/75 CS10                  All
                501304-3XX      ASCENTIA 900N 4/75 CT10                  All

SOLUTION:       The following table provides detailed information on Ascentia
                900N Windows video drivers.

                           Acentia 900N Windows Video Drivers

DRIVER FILE NAME WINDOWS DRIVER NAME        PANNING  DISPLAY  DISPLAY  SIMUL
                                           AVAILABLE    LCD     CRT   DISPLAY
VGA.DRV          VGA                           no       yes      yes     yes
WD2464_4.DRV     640x480 16-color              no       yes      yes     yes
WD24_8.DRV       640x480x256 (Small Font)
                 (‘Factory Selected Driver’)   no       yes      yes     yes
WD24_8.DRV       640x480x256 (Large Font)      no       yes      yes     yes
WD2464_H.DRV     640x480 32K-color             no       yes(1)   yes     yes(1)
WD2464_H.DRV     640x480 32K-color (Ventura,
                 Pagemaker only)               no       yes(1)   yes     yes(1)
WD2464_H.DRV    640x480 64K-color              no       yes(1)   yes     yes(1)
WD2480_4.DRV    800x600 16-color               no       no       yes     no
PVGA600.DRV     800x600 256-color (512K)       no       no       yes     no
WD24_8.DRV      800x600x256 (Small Font)       yes(1)   no(2)    yes     (3)
WD24_8.DRV      800x600x256 (Large Font)       yes(1)   no(2)    yes     (3)
WD241K_4.DRV    1024x768x16                    no       no       yes     no
WD24_8.DRV      1024x768x256 (Small Font)      yes(1)   no(2)    yes     (3)
WD24_8.DRV      1024x768x256 (Large Font)      yes(1)   no(2)    yes     (3)


(1) TFT color only.
(2) On Dual Scan STN Color, display will only be 640x480x256. On TFT Color,
    display will be in Pan mode.
(3) Boot Scenarios for Simultaneous Video Mode, when high resolution modes are
    selected**

** Boot to Windows with 800x600x256 or 1024x768x256 (WD24_8.DRV) driver
   selected and an external monitor connected:
        * Effective on Dual Scan STN Color or TFT Color LCDs.
        * System will default to external mode with the selected driver.
        * Simultaneous Video control (<Fn>+<F5>) function disabled.
** Boot to Windows with 800x600x256 or 1024x768x256 (WD24_8.DRV driver
   selected with LCD only (no external monitor connected).
        * Dual Scan STN Color automatically steps down to 640x480x256 (no Pan).
          TFT Color will go into Pan Mode.
          Connect an external monitor and toggle <Fn>+<F5> to simultaneous
          mode:
        * Dual Scan STN Color will stay in 640x480x256 mode on both the LCD
          and external monitor.
        * TFT Color will be in Pan Mode on the LCD and the external monitor.

** Boot to DOS with 800x600x256 or 1024x768x256 (WD24_8.DRV) driver selected
   and a external monitor connected, toggle Video control (<Fn>+<F5>) to
   simultaneous mode and then start Windows:
        * Dual Scan STN Color automatically steps down to 640x480x256 (no Pan).
        * TFT Color will be in Pan Mode on the LCD and the external monitor.

Note: Pan Mode provides the ability to view 800x600 or 1024x768 desktop
graphics on the LCD in 640x480 resolution, by panning across the image one
section at a time using the SmartPoint TrackStick and scroll bars.