Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.)

The questions and answers that follow should cover most of the common installation, compatibility, and software support issues for your new 3dfx Voodoo card.

Hardware Installation

Why does the computer fail to boot after installing the Voodoo card?

Check to be sure that the Voodoo card is properly seated in the appropriate expansion slot connector.

Check to be sure that your monitor's cable is securely connected to the Monitor Connector on the Voodoo card.

Voodoo5: Be sure that you have connected one of your computer's disk drive power supply cables to the Power Supply Connector on the Voodoo5 card. Use the included Power Supply Y-cable, if necessary.

Some computers have a display device built into the system motherboard. If so, then the system's BIOS must have some method for completely disabling the on-board display device in order to allow the Voodoo card to function properly. Please refer to the instructions for your computer to determine if it has an on-board display device and how to completely disable it. You may need to contact the computer's manufacturer for a BIOS upgrade to allow this.

You may also need to contact the computer's manufacturer to obtain a BIOS upgrade, software patch, or updated Bus Mastering or AGP Port Drivers to allow your new Voodoo card to function properly in the system.

Driver Support

Why do the Voodoo card's display drivers fail to load, or report an invalid display type, or identify the Voodoo card as a Voodoo2-based or Banshee-based card?

If you have previously installed a graphics card based on another 3dfx chipset (i.e., Banshee, Voodoo2, etc.) into this computer, then Windows 95 or 98 may attempt to use the device drivers for that older 3dfx-based card with the new Voodoo card. This could cause any of the problems described. You will need to remove all of the older 3dfx drivers from your system and from the Windows Registry to completely resolve this problem. Even if these older drivers don't seem to be causing any problems, you should still remove them because their presence in the system can prevent your Voodoo card from fully delivering all of its 3D acceleration performance.

Games and 3D Applications

Why do some 3D games or applications produce unusual display problems like doubled text or generate error messages regarding the display adapter not being properly configured, or simply lock-up the system, or terminate unexpectedly?

Some 3D games or applications have been written to take direct advantage of the 3D processing power of 3dfx graphics accelerator chips using the Glide 3D Application Programming Interface (API). The Glide API software on your system for your games may need to be updated to include the advanced 3D features and functions of the new 3dfx VSA-100 chip on the Voodoo card. You should contact the manufacturer of your 3D games or applications to see if a software patch or update is available that will allow your programs to fully access the advanced 3D power of the 3dfx VSA-100 chip on your new Voodoo card.

After installing the display drivers for Quake3, why do other 3D games or applications fail to function properly?

The Quake3 display drivers are specifically and only to be used for Quake3. They will not support your other 3D games or applications properly. You should reconfigure your system to use the 3dfx display drivers for your Voodoo card again before using your other 3D games or applications.

Why do some 3D benchmark applications show that the Voodoo card has failed some of the 3D tests that it is supposed to support?

The shareware versions of some 3D benchmark applications may not be able to run all of the 3D tests that are available from the registered versions of the same software. They will indicate that the Voodoo card has failed these tests, when in fact the tests have not been run on the card at all. Anytime that you use benchmarking software to compare performance, you should always be very careful to ensure that you are using the same version of that software for each side of the comparison to obtain valid results.