How to resolve frequency overload message.

Question

My computer at my home has an message that says frequency overload. I had the video card replaced & I purchased a new monitor. I still can not get my computer to work.

Answer

This question was answered on June 8, 2005. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

In order to isolate the problem and find out if the video card or monitor is the cause I will provide you with a variety of troubleshooting tips.

1. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Display.

2. Click the Settings tab, and then click Advanced.

3. Click the Adapter tab, and then click Change.

4. Click Next, click Display a list of all the drivers in a specific location, so you can select the driver you want, and then click Next.

5. Click Show All Devices.

6. In the Manufacturers box, click (Standard Display Types).

7. In the Models box, click Standard Display Adapter (VGA), click OK, and then click Next.

8. Click Next, click Next, and then click Finish.

9. Click Close, click Close again, and then click Yes to restart your computer.

If you continue to experience problems, continue with the following section.

Advanced graphics settings

Windows 98 has a built-in method for troubleshooting video problems. There is a slider you can adjust to change the way Windows uses the video card. It is a good idea to start with the setting on the right (the Full setting) and move the slider one setting to the left until you find the setting that works best. To use the slider to change the way Windows uses the video card, follow these steps:

1. In Control Panel, double-click System.

2. Click the Performance tab, and then click Graphics.

3. Note that the Hardware Acceleration slider has four settings (Full, Most, Basic, and None). Each of these settings is described below.

Full

This is the default setting and allows for full hardware acceleration.

Most

This setting adds the following items: SWCursor=1 to the [Display] section of the System.ini file.

Setting SWCursor to 1 disables the hardware cursor.

NOTE: This setting is similar to using the /Y switch with some versions of the MS-DOS-level Microsoft Mouse driver.

The Most setting applies to Western Digital (WD) or S3-compatible drivers. If you have problems with the way the mouse pointer appears on the screen, try this setting.

Basic

This setting adds the following items:

• SafeMode=1 to the [Windows] section of the Win.ini file.

Setting SafeMode to 1 allows for basic acceleration only (for example, pattern bit block transfer [bitblt] and screen-to-screen bitblt).

• MMIO=0 to the [Display] section of the System.ini file.

Setting MMIO to 0 disables memory-mapped I/O for S3-compatible drivers.

• SWCursor=1 to the [Display] section of the System.ini file.

Setting SWCursor to 1 disables the hardware cursor.

Try the Basic setting if your computer seems to stop responding (hang) randomly and you have an S3-compatible video driver.

None

This setting adds the following items:

• SafeMode=2 to the [Windows] section of the Win.ini file.

Setting SafeMode to 2 disables all video card acceleration (for example, the GDI calls the device-independent bitmap [DIB] engine directly for screen drawing, rather than using the display driver).

• MMIO=0 to the [Display] section of the System.ini file.

Setting MMIO to 0 disables memory-mapped I/O for S3-compatible drivers.

• SWCursor=1 to the [Display] section of the System.ini file.

Setting SWCursor to 1 disables the hardware cursor.

Try the None setting if your computer seems to hang randomly, you have an S3-compatible video driver, and the Basic setting does not resolve the problem.

If you continue to experience problems, continue with the following section.

NOTE: If you reduce the graphics acceleration, and the problem no longer occurs, you can generally leave your system on this setting. The Basic or None setting is more compatible than Full in most cases. However, for best performance, or if you have programs that require full acceleration, contact the manufacturer of your display adapter for updated drivers. Some high-performance games require full acceleration.

Problems changing color depth

If you experience problems changing color depth on your computer, for example, cannot select anything other than 256 colors, there might be a problem with your display adapter driver. To ensure that you are using the correct display adapter driver, contact your hardware manufacturer.

Monitors

Use the following steps to verify that your monitor is selected correctly in Windows.

WARNING: It is possible to cause damage to your monitor if you select a monitor type that exceeds the capabilities of your monitor. Consult the monitor's documentation or manufacturer for specific information about its capabilities.

Unfortunately the manufacture of your video card is no longer in business and there little to no support available for the Diamond video card purchased after 9/1/2003. Go to http://www.diamondmm.com/support.php and check for any software updates or downloads available for your specific video card. If you continual to encounter problems related to your video card please consider investing into a new video card.

GOOD LUCK!

Author

Posted by Kisha of Katharine Gibbs School - New York on June 8, 2005