Hi friends, I have a functioning 386 which displays VGA color with no problems on an old (small) monitor. When I hook it up to a newer SVGA screen, it is defaulting to VGA monochrome. I've tried using the MODE command in MS-DOS but this has no effect. My guess is I need to re-configure the dip-switches on the graphics card. There are 4 switches, all OFF except switch 1. The card is an ORCHID 0-VGA-30449 and dates from 1988. Does anyone out there have the info on these switches? I've noticed that the pin arrangement of the 2 monitor cables differ. Is this an issue here also? Thanks, Harry

You might check here: http://www.thegreenhouse.us/th99/ It could be the card is not completely compatible with the monitor. Some of those older ones were picky. (edit) Or the card doesn't have enough memory to display colors in higher resolutions.

Hello Dave, Thanks for the speedy response. The website you suggested had info for a card similar to mine (8-bit ISA), but the monitor configuration settings for that card didn't include VGA. I don't really require high resolution (I'd be happy with plain ol' VGA color 80x25) but, as you say, I might be dealing with a compatabilty issue here that even the dip-switches can't resolve. Cheers, Harry

I don't know if this will work in your scenario, but one of the following may be worth trying: 1. I have occasionally experienced something similar on a 386 hooked to a (relatively) modern monitor. I can always tell when it happens because certain colored text on the POST screen shows up in mono. What works for me is that if I power on the monitor first, wait a few seconds, then power on the 386, it comes up in color as it should. However, giving it the three-finger salute sometimes starts it up in mono again. :( 2. As another possibility, see if there are any memory addresses that you are including or excluding in your CONFIG.SYS, assuming you are loading EMM386 or a similar expanded memory manager. There might be some conflict causing it to default to the monochrome memory range. I know it's not incredibly likely, but sometimes it's a case where DOS will override what happens after POST. And even Windows will override DOS's settings at times (e.g. POST starts up in mono, DOS apps like edit.com run in mono, but Windows still runs in color.)

Is it 8-bit or 16? Is there any identification on it other than just 'Orchid'?

Thanks for your replies. Dave - The card shown here looks just like mine. My card has the jumper (JP1) set to C (for color) http://www.thegreenhouse.us/th99/v/... Apparently the purpose of certain plug pins has changed since the early days of VGA. Of particular interest here are the pins allocated to the identifying of the monitor type. Someone on another forum has suggested I modify the video cable (making one pin NC). The more I look at this issue, the more this seems the likely solution. When I get time, I'll make the modification and let you know how it goes. Thanks everyone ;D

The switches may be for the 9-pin port but just in case you should probably set it for EGA multiscanning. And try both positions for JP1. Some of those old motherboards had a mono/color jumper. You might check that too. It seems like it would be easier to get another card rather than fiddle with rewiring the cable.