Windows version of PRAM?

[0098386]

just wondering, and to cut a massive story short i bought a Radeon 9600 Pro last year. worked fine, but only with a TFT monitor. all due to my mate using it first with his CRT. so the settings saved on the card are all not compatible with TFT.

so... my question is has Windows got its own form of PRAM? just so i can totally reset my video card. right now I have to wait till windows is booted before the monitor displays anything (get an 'out of timing' error in boot up).

i ask here because the Windows forums were stupid. nobody could help. too busy flaming about who could frag more... you know the sort.

or is there a way to flash any video card back to factory settings?

 

[ajwitte]

Yes, the BIOS Flash memory. If you can get to the BIOS setup utility, there is usually a "reset to factory defaults" option. If you can't get that far, the problem is likely hardware related. Some newer PCs have four diagnostic LEDs that blink in various patterns if a hardware failure is detected at boot. The manufacturer's Web site will likely have a table of the possible LED states if the machine has them.

 

[iMeowbot]

If you can't see the menu to change stuff, most PCs have a little jumper on the mainboard that will reset everything if you boot up with it moved. If you're lucky, there will even be a marking on the circuit board or a label inside the cover telling you which one it is. As an alternative, pop out the battery for a few minutes.

 

[ajwitte]

/me reads original post more carefully

Just plug in a CRT to change the BIOS settings.

 

[mkrishnan]

When you say that the settings are not LCD compatible, do you mean the refresh rate or resolution? Windows should be able to boot in safe mode using your video card, and you should be able to change the resolution using the normal tools while in Safe Mode, shouldn't you? I don't quite understand how the firmware of the card could be made to be non-LCD compatible.