This guide is designed to help solve problems with using AGP graphics cards on different systems. There is a large amount of misinformation on what is required to make AGP work and how to solve problems with AGP, so we designed this to help people solve problems that they might be having. Please note: it is not meant to be a guide to show how to achieve maximum performance - many of the steps listed here will sacrifice performance for stability.
Please select one of the entries from the list below
Non-Intel Motherboard Chipsets
ALI (Aladdin)
VIA
SiS
AMDWindows 95
Windows 98
Windows NT
Windows 2000
Windows ME
Windows XPBus Speeds
AGP Patch Installation
Memory Timing
Video Driver InstallationPreferred BIOS Settings
Video IRQs
- Make SURE the PCI Slot next to the AGP card is EMPTY! Often these two slots will utilize the SAME IRQ and this will create problems for the APG card.
- After installing or removing ANY card on your motherboard ALWAYS go to your BIOS PNP/PCI Configuration page and ENABLE “Reset Configuration Data.”
- Make sure that you have USB ENABLED in your motherboard BIOS.
- Make sure that you are assigning an IRQ to VGA in your motherboard BIOS.
Non-Intel Motherboard Chipsets
ALI (Aladdin) - http://www.ali.com.tw
It is highly recommended that you install the AGP Patch from ALI prior to installing the e-VGA video drivers.VIA - http://www.via.com.tw
VIA motherboards have an AGP patch available as well as an IRQ Routing Patch. If you are experiencing problems with this, try installing both patches prior to installing the video drivers.SiS - http://www.sis.com.tw
It is highly recommended that you install the AGP Patch from SiS prior to installing the e-VGA video drivers.AMD - http://www.amd.com
It is highly recommended that you install the AGP Patch from AMD prior to installing the e-VGA video drivers.Windows 95
Windows 95 was not initially designed to support AGP. Microsoft corrected this in the last few OEM versions, OSR/2.1 and OSR/2.5 (also called Rev B or Rev C). In order to install an AGP adapter in the first version, you need to install the USB Patch for Windows 95. This patch is located on the Windows 95 installation CD and is called USBSUPP.EXE.
For Windows ’95 OSR version 2.5, there are two USB patches. One is called USBSUPP.EXE and the other is USBSUPP2.EXE. In OSR version 2.5, both of these must be installed carefully, with a system reboot after installing each patch. Then, be sure that the latest Direct X drivers are installed for the card to have DirectX support, as Direct X v5.0 would not work.
Lastly, verify that all patches for your chipset have been applied as noted above in the Non-Intel Chipset section. Windows 95 has a known issue with system memory; the OS cannot recognize more than 512mb of system memory.
Windows 98
Windows 98 was designed with AGP in mind. There are no extra drivers or patches that need to be loaded for the operating system to recognize the port. However, non-Intel chipsets may need a patch from the manufacturer before a card may be used in the AGP port. Windows 98 has an OS limitation of handling a maximum of 512mb, if you try to add more your system may experience problems.
Windows ME
Windows ME was also designed for AGP. You may want to download the latest patches and drivers from your motherboard manufacturer, as there may be known conflicts with the OS, Graphic Card, and motherboard. Windows ME also has trouble handling system memory sizes over 512mb, this may cause issues with your graphic card to work incorrectly.
Windows NT
Windows NT does not support AGP. These devices are treated similar to PCI cards, as the AGP slot was originally designed over PCI technology. However, with non-Intel chipsets, this can cause problems because of the differing AGP manufacturer designs. If you run into this problem, there is no way to solve it at this time, as none of the Non-Intel Chipset makers have taken the time to write patches for Windows NT. Though problems of this nature remain infrequent, it may happen to you and thus you need to be aware of it.
Windows 2000
Windows 2000 was built with AGP in mind, and operates in a similar way as Windows 98 in terms of AGP. Please check with your motherboard company to see if its chipset already has AGP support in Windows 2000 prior to installing it. In some cases, like with VIA, motherboard chipset support is already included, though it may require a minor patch.
Windows XP
Windows XP is the latest OS produced by Microsoft. Most motherboard manufacturers have released chipset drivers to support this OS, it is highly recommended installing the latest drivers for all of your devices.
Bus Speeds
Many Super Socket 7, Slot 1, and Slot A motherboards support the option of an AGP bus speed of 66 MHz, 100 MHz, 133 MHz or even higher. If you are having problems with AGP, make sure that your AGP bus speed is set to 66 MHz, and not the other options. Some AGP graphics adapters will work correctly at the 66 MHz speed settings and not at others. If you need help finding the speed setting or changing it, please consult your motherboard manual or contact your motherboard manufacturer.
AGP Patch Installation
With many of the Non-Intel Chipset AGP Patches, you will be given an option to install the AGP Patch in Normal or Turbo Mode. In all such cases, choose to install it in the Normal Mode because Turbo Mode is not supported well by many motherboard manufacturers.
Memory Timing
Because AGP interacts with your system memory, the timing on that memory can become very important. If you get consistent lockups when trying to use 3D graphics with your APG card, try setting the memory speed for your system memory (in your motherboard BIOS) to a slower speed setting. Please consult your motherboard manual or the motherboard manufacturer for assistance in finding and changing these settings.
Video Driver Installation
When installing drivers for your APG card, you may get a version conflict error that says "The file you are copying is older than the one currently on your system". Windows will then ask you what should be done. In all cases EXCEPT for the files MFC42.DLL and MSVCRT.DLL you should answer NO. The two files listed here should be answered YES. This will help prevent strange errors, especially in OpenGL applications.
- Make sure that you have installed the latest version of DirectX (version 8).
- Get the latest patches for any game that is causing problems, as a bug in the game could cause the problems you are having.
- Install any new motherboard BIOS or Microsoft Windows related patches from the motherboard manufacturer. This could resolve issues that the motherboard company has already fixed.
- Install the newest drivers for all of your devices. As an example, the original drivers for the NEC Superscript 860 laser printer could cause odd 3D game lockups.
- Set the AGP aperture size to the TOTAL Memory on the Video Card. For example, if you have a 16MB video card, then set the AGP Aperture size to 16MB. If you get strange or unexplained lockups, set this to 4MB and increase it incrementally to determine if this will fix the problem.
- Lockups tend to indicate that a system that is not implementing the AGP Aperture size properly (i.e. system RAM). Lowering the memory timings as well as the memory bus speed may help.
- Try to underclock the processor to the lowest setting the system allows. This may help with an overheating processor.
The BIOS checklist below assumes that you have installed the latest BIOS from your motherboard maker. If you have not, or are unsure of how to check or how to update your BIOS, please contact your motherboard manufacturer for assistance.
There are many methods to change settings in your BIOS. For most motherboard manufacturers, this is typically done at boot-up by pressing the DEL or F1 keys during the POST (Power On Self Test) memory count. However, motherboards will vary, so if these don't work, contact your motherboard or computer vendor for assistance.
Take some time to look around and familiarize yourself with how the BIOS is laid out and what the different controls are. When you have become familiar with it, set as many of the BIOS settings as you can to match the list provided below.
If you make any changes to your motherboard BIOS, it is required that you record them as so that you will be able to reverse any changes that you make if they create problems.
Also, please be aware that there is no industry standardization for BIOS. Each one is written specifically for one model of motherboard. Because of this, it is almost impossible to guess which category a given feature will be in, so you will need to look carefully. Also be aware that not every feature listed here will be available in every BIOS, and not every BIOS will call them by the same name. So, be aware that you may need to make some educated guesses. For example: AGP Turbo Read Mode: Enabled (found in one motherboard bios) is actually the same thing as AGP Read WS: 1 (found in another motherboard bios). If you have questions about what different settings do, contact your motherboard or BIOS manufacturer.
Preferred BIOS Settings
Assign IRQ for VGA: Enable
PnP O/S Installed: Enable
VGA Pallet Snooping: Disable
PCI Bursting: Disable
PCI Latency Timer: 128
Peer Concurrency: Disable
Video BIOS Shadowing: Disable
Video BIOS Cacheable: Disable
Video RAM Shadowing: Disable
Video RAM Cacheable: Disable
USWC Options: Disable (or set to UC)
Pipeline Cache Write: Disable
Assign IRQ To USB: Enable
PCI 2.1 Compliancy: Enable
Passive Release: Enable
Delayed Transaction: Enable
VGA Boot Sequence: AGP
AGP/Graphics Aperture Size: 4MB (See Above)
AGP Turbo Read Mode: Disable
AGP Turbo Write Mode: Disable
AGP WS Write: Highest Possible Value
AGP WS Read: Highest Possible Value
AGP Transfer Mode: 1x
AGP Clock: 2/3
MPS or MP-SPEC: 1.1 (For Multi-Processor Systems Only)Video IRQs
One of the most important things to remember is that your AGP card needs to have its own IRQ that is not shared with any other device in the system. The way to check this is as follows:
If you have an Award BIOS, you will see a PCI Device Listing at boot-up. You will see on this list an entry for the display controller. If it shows N/A as the assigned IRQ, then you will need to go into BIOS and assign one.
Once the card is assigned an IRQ at boot-up, make sure that it is not sharing that specific IRQ (i.e. IRQ 11) with any other system devices. To do this, follow these steps:
- Open your Control Panel
- Double-click on System
- Select the Tab that reads "Device Manager"
- Double-click on the top option "Computer." This will bring up a list of all the IRQs being used and which device is using it.
- Determine if your video card is using a shared IRQ.
If your AGP card is sharing an IRQ with anything other than “Holder For PCI Steering,” then you will need to change some things around in order to allow the AGP card its own IRQ. The most effective way to do this is to try physically moving the cards into different PCI slots within the system. Please keep in mind that PCI slot #1 and the AGP slot typically use the same IRQ, so avoid putting any PCI cards into that slot if you are using an AGP device. PCI slot #1 and the AGP slot are usually physically located side-by-side.