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Q156822: Tseng Labs ET4000-W32I Chipset Only Supports 65K Colors

Article: Q156822
Product(s): Microsoft Windows NT
Version(s): 4.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbsetup
Last Modified: 09-AUG-2001

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0 
- Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0 
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SUMMARY
=======

Any Video card using the Tseng Labs ET4000-W32I chipset under Windows NT 4.0
will only be able to support 65K colors. This is a change from Windows NT 3.5x,
which allowed for 16.7M colors using the same chip set.


The W32I chipset uses a banked video memory system. The 16.7M color mode requires
24 bits per pixel, which is difficult to implement on a banked video system.
Windows NT 3.51 emulated a linear (non-banked) video system by using a
page-fault driven banking scheme. In Windows NT 4.0, the Graphics Device
Interface (GDI) and the video drivers were moved into the kernel. This move
makes it impossible to implement non-banked emulation and, therefore, can only
support 65K colors.

MORE INFORMATION
================

Full 24-bit, 16.7M color is supported with video cards using the Tseng Labs
ET6000 chipset.

Additional query words: prodnt
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Keywords          : kbsetup 
Technology        : kbWinNTsearch kbWinNTWsearch kbWinNTW400 kbWinNTW400search kbWinNT400search kbWinNTSsearch kbWinNTS400search kbWinNTS400
Version           : 4.0

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