Compaq Contura 486-25 has a 640x480 screen with enough video memory (512kB) to run at 256 colors, with the correct drivers. If you don't do graphics, games or the Web, you'd not really see the need for more than 16 colors.

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For the Compaq Contura 400 Series drivers visit this page: http://www.compaq.com/support/files/contura/us/locate/1_878.html (This page also has PCMCIA Drivers if you need them) They also have a Western Digital WD24A2 Display Driver for your laptop version: http://www.compaq.com/support/files/contura/us/download/8484.html HTH

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I have a Toshiba T1900 with 486 20Mhz, 210MB HD, 4MB Ram. It was manufactured sometime late in '92. Isn't exactly the best laptop even in it's time. Since I bought it in as a used laptop i don't have any manuals. Does any one know how many colors it can display?

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Use a diagnostic and find out the amount of video memory. If it's 256kB you've got 16 color VGA max. If it's 512kB you can get 256 colors if you can find the driver. I mentioned the Compaq (1993?) as an example of a laptop that only just has the 256 color capability, though back then not many users would've needed a laptop with more than 16 colors. I only did when I wanted to use it on the Net, and the machine is less reliable in that configuration.

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It would seem that Toshiba T1900 came with 4 or 8MBs as standard. So you should have no problems with higher colors. Found this site via a Google search which may be of interest to you: The Ultimate Unofficial 486 Toshiba FAQ? http://home.att.net/~ronkar/toshiba.html

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Just found out from the specs that T1900 could only display 16 colors in 640x480 mode. Thanks all.

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I have seen at least one VGA card with 256 Kb which has a Windows 3.1x driver for 600x400 256 colors. It was from Western Digital. Other resolutions at 256 colors are possible indeed with less then 512 Kb, (they are called Tweaked VGA resolutions), but there simply is no Windows driver available. Some DOS picture viewers can display also in 256 colors with non standard resolutions.....

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Hal: the machine's RAM is not the same as the video memory. Do a Google for Video RAM.

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Well, Andrew Ordo is right. EGA/CGA I believe is monochrome and can only display 2 or 16 colors. VGA can display 256 colors, but I don't think it can go any higher than that. SVGA can go from 16 colors to 16 Million Colors, or True Color, which is not supported under Windows 3.1. Your laptop might need certain drivers for it to work under 256 colors. A CURA

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Sorry bout the previous post. ACURA

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Since there seems to be some confusion as to who knows what, allow me to clear up something. The term "VGA" has become a word like "Kleenex". It is often used by laymen to describe any standard color monitor, like any type of facial tissues are often called generically, "Kleenex" even though we know they are other brands. Its easier to remember VGA than SVGA, XGA, SXGA, UXGA, etc., which almost no manufacturer uses to refer to it's display anymore. Preferring now "Full Color" or "True Color" and lines of resolution which get more to the point. Allow me to refer you to this from: http://whatis.techtarget.com (display modes) The term display mode refers to the characteristics of a computer display, in particular the maximum number of colors and the maximum image resolution (in pixels horizontally by pixels vertically). There are several display modes that can be found in personal computer (PC) systems today. The earliest displays for personal computers were monochrome monitors that were used in word processors and text-based computer systems in the 1970s. In 1981, IBM introduced the Color Graphics Adapter (CGA). This display system was capable of rendering four colors, and had a maximum resolution of 320 pixels horizontally by 200 pixels vertically. While CGA was all right for simple computer games such as solitaire and checkers, it did not offer sufficient image resolution for extended sessions of word processing, desktop publishing, or sophisticated graphics applications. In 1984, IBM introduced the Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA) display. It allowed up to 16 different colors and offered resolution of up to 640 x 350. This improved the appearance over earlier displays, and made it possible to read text easily. Nevertheless, EGA did not offer sufficient image resolution for high-level applications such as graphic design and desktop publishing. This mode has become essentially obsolete, although it is sometimes found in old word processors and PCs in private homes. In 1987, IBM introduced the Video Graphics Array (VGA) display system. This has become the accepted minimum standard for PCs. Some VGA monitors are still in use today. The maximum resolution depends on the number of colors displayed. You can choose between 16 colors at 640 x 480, or 256 colors at 320 x 200. All IBM-compatible computers support the VGA standard. In 1990, IBM intoduced the Extended Graphics Array (XGA) display as a successor to its 8514/A display. A later version, XGA-2 offers 800 x 600 pixel resolution in true color (16 million colors) and 1024 x 768 resolution in 65,536 colors. These two image resolution levels are perhaps the most popular in use today by individuals and small businesses. The Video Electronics Standards Assocation (VESA) has established a standard programming interface for Super Video Graphics Array (SVGA) displays, called the VESA BIOS Extension. Typically, an SVGA display can support a palette of up to 16,000,000 colors, although the amount of video memory in a particular computer may limit the actual number of displayed colors to something less than that. Image-resolution specifications vary. In general, the larger the diagonal screen measure of an SVGA monitor, the more pixels it can display horizontally and vertically. Recently, new specifications have arisen. These include Super Extended Graphics Array (SXGA) and Ultra Extended Graphics Array (UXGA). The SXGA specification is generally used in reference to screens with 1280 x 1024 resolution; UXGA refers to a resolution of 1600 by 1200. Nowadays, the older specifications (VGA and SVGA) are often used simply in reference to their typical resolution capabilities. A driver A driver is a program that interacts with a particular device or special (frequently optional) kind of software. The driver contains the special knowledge of the device or special software interface that programs using the driver do not. In personal computers, a driver is often packaged as a dynamic link library (DLL) file. video adapter A video adapter (also called a display adapter or video board) is an integrated circuit card in a computer or, in some cases, a monitor that provides digital-to-analog conversion, video RAM, and a video controller so that data can be sent to a computer's display. Today, almost all displays and video adapters adhere to a common denominator de facto standard, Video Graphics Array (VGA). VGA describes how data - essentially red, green, blue data streams - is passed between the computer and the display. It also describes the frame refresh rates in hertz. It also specifies the number and width of horizontal lines, which essentially amounts to specifying the resolution of the pixels that are created. VGA supports four different resolution settings and two related image refresh rates. In addition to VGA, most displays today adhere to one or more standards set by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA). VESA defines how software can determine what capabilities a display has. It also identifies resolutions setting beyond those of VGA. These resolutions include 800 by 600, 1024 by 768, 1280 by 1024, and 1600 by 1200 pixels.

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i just bought a chinese laptop it called "NB-150C" not sure what it is, but its runing win3.1 (everything in chinese) and some of the software i installed said need 256 color or higher. any ideas or comments about this?

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