Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!munnari.oz.au!labtam!eyrie!phoenix!martin From: martin@phoenix.pub.uu.oz.au (Martin Gardiner) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.hardware Subject: Re: A2320 problem: A GREY VERTCAL BAR Message-ID: <1991Jan28.042509.205@phoenix.pub.uu.oz.au> Date: 28 Jan 91 04:25:09 GMT References: <1991Jan20.175904.4585@cc.helsinki.fi> <17831@cbmvax.commodore.com> <17871@cbmvax.commodore.com> Organization: Phoenix ComSystem. Public UNIX Melbourne Australia. Lines: 112 In <17871@cbmvax.commodore.com> drysdale@cbmvax.commodore.com (Scott Drysdale) writes: >>>After I installed my A2320 deinterlacer, I have seen a few >>>times a very strange 'phenomenon' on my screen. There appears >>>suddenly A GREY VERTICAL BAR, which appends from the top of >>>the screen to the bottom. It's appearance does not correlate >>>with any particular program, but it seems to disappear at >>>least when I open Dpaint III (v.3.14) in Hires mode. It also >>>disappears if I reboot my machine (warm or cold). >>> >>>When the bar appeared last time I noticed the following facts: >>> >>>- The bar appeared 'by itself' (I just left my machine on for >>>one hour and when I came back to my Amy, it was there; I had >>>just Workbench and Maxiplan Plus (v 1.9) screens in use; the >>>Maxiplan was not calculating or doing anything else) >>> >>>- The bar was not fixed to any particular screen, because it >>>was visible whatever screen I changed topmost, and it covered >>>whatever on the screen happened to be under it. However, if I >>>pushed down all screens including the workbench, it could not >>>be seen over the bare backround >>> >>>- Screen grabber (Grabbit) did not catch it (just the normal >>>topmost screen, as if the bar wasn't there at all) >>> >>>- The pointer could be moved OVER the bar >>> >>>- Programs and WB seemed to function otherwise normally >>> >>>- The width of the bar was 13 pixels, and the colour was >>>medium-darkish gray, and the leftmost and rightmost pixel >>>columns of it were lighter than the rest of the bar (if I >>>remember right the earlier appearances, the width can be also >>>different, as well as the horizontal placement of the bar >>>has varied) >>> >>>- If I switched the deinterlacer off, the bar remained on the >>>screen (and also when I switched the deinterlacer again on; I >>>don't know, if it can appear when the deinterlacer is off from >>>the beginning, because I have it always on...) >>> >>> >>>The hardware I currenttly have is: B2000 (PAL, rev 6.2), A2620 >>>(4 MB), GVP SCSI II (0/8 MB), NEC Multisync 3D (I have tested >>>my A2320 with EIZO Flexscan 9060S, too, and the bar also then >>>appeared a couple of times) and the A2320, of course. I have >>>KS 34.5 and WB 34.28 in my Amiga, and I use overscanned >>>(730x284) WorkBench screen. >>> >>> >>>So, I would like to know what is causing this 'bar'! Has anyone >>>else noticed this kind of problem? I hope at least C= engineers >>>have something to say about this matter... >>> >>> >>>(I can also send a 'reconstructed' IFF picture, if you C= people >>>tell me how to pack it and where to send it) >>> >>> >>> Ronkko@cc.helsinki.fi >> >>This sounds very strange! The only time I have seen anything that even >>looked like a vertical bar was if I had klugded up a cable adaptor to >>hook up brand X monitor to the A2320. The artifact that I have seen >>moved vertically, very slowly. I believe this was due to reflections on >>the cable itself since a high-quality cable adaptor, with good grounds, >>did elimated this artifact. Did you make your own cable adaptor? Did >>you try, just for fun, adjusting the fine tuning control as per the >>manual? If you did make your own cable adaptor, try replacing it with a >>high-quality store bought version. If this does not help, then I would >>suggest you return it for a different one and see if you still have the >>problem. >it sounds to me (a software weenie) like he's got a renegade sprite, since >the mouse can be seen above the grey bar, but it obliterates things underneath. >try running something like the Oing! demo or LPem demo, which uses lots of >sprites, and see if the bar vanishes during the demo, or there are missing/ >trashed sprites during the demo. >>Regards, >>Scott Hood >>Scott Hood, Hardware Design Engineer (A3000 Crew), Commodore-Amiga, Inc. >> {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!hood hood@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com > --Scotty >Scott Drysdale Software Engineer >Commodore Amiga Inc. UUCP {allegra|burdvax|rutgers|ihnp4}!cbmvax!drysdale > PHONE - yes. The problem sounds like the tipical pal sprite DMA problem I have had in the past. Depending on the placement of the WB screen(preferences) this may limit the amount of displayable sprites (I have had the max. of 4 displayed. The high numbered sprited been unable to be displayed). In DPIII the screen display is repositioned to a default which alows more sprites to be displayed. I suggest you have a background task that turnes on a sprite, this may be a virus or a program you are running in your statup-sequence. Your configuration may cause there to be a BUG in the software you atre running. I suggest you check every piece of software you run in your Startup. Suspect any graphic orientated program or screen hack, especialy PD software. The quickest way to identify the problem is to use prefs to reposition the screen in the top left corner, do this when the line appears and you may find it disappears or becomes a viable object. If it dissapears there is a sprite there that is transparent. This problem can cause games to have invisable or warped objects if your screen settings do not alow the sprites in the game to be dissplayed, this occures when a friend of mine played a game I developed of his Hard Disk without the correct preference settings. Martin Gardiner --- martin@phoenix.pub.uu.oz.au