Introduction

This technical bulletin gives information on the display system in Windows NT Workstation 4.0 and Dolphin products.

Display drivers are dynamic link libraries (DLLs) that draw graphics and text on the screen via the video card's hardware.  The display driver also receives information about the display device, such as color and screen resolution and size of the display.

Drivers
Display drivers are hardware specific and supplied by hardware manufacturers. Windows NT Workstation 4.0 incorporates display drivers for most common video hardware. When considering purchasing a video card to be incorporated in to a Windows NT Workstation 4.0 system it is advisable to consult the Hardware Compatibility List produced by Microsoft. Selecting video hardware from the Hardware Compatibility List will ensure that you will be able to obtain Windows NT Workstation 4.0 compatible drivers. Ideally these should be used in every case, this will minimize possible problems in configuration and incompatibility.

Driver Information
To obtain details about your particular display driver in Windows NT Workstation 4.0 is a simple process.

1. Enter the Start menu using the Start button, then select Programs, Admin Tools and then choose Windows NT Diagnostics.
2. From the available property sheets, choose Display.
   
   

You will be presented with the video BIOS date and version number, the adapter settings, the type of video adapter, amount of memory the card has available. The vendor information including the SYS and DLL files being used and the version number of the drivers.

Changing the Driver
If you wish to change the adapter (driver) for Windows NT Workstation 4.0, perform the following procedure:

1. Log in as a user with Administrator rights.
2. Press the Start button, then choose Settings and then Control Panel.
3. You will then be presented with the Control Panel, choose the Display icon which will show your display properties.
4. You should then choose the Settings property sheet, from the Settings property sheet choose the Display Type button in the bottom right hand corner of the property sheet. You will then be presented with the Display Type property sheet which contains the video adapter information for your current display hardware.
5. To change the adapter select the Change button and choose the manufacturer of your hardware from the manufacturer list on the left of the dialog box. In the right hand section, titled Display, choose the model of your particular card. Select the OK button to complete the operation and re-start the machine.
   

NT & Dolphin products
When installing Hal, Supernova or Lunar for Windows NT some users may encounter an error following the installation. The error will report that the software cannot be run because an incorrect version of the video driver interceptor is installed. To fix the problem:

1. Log on as a user with Administrator rights then run dolcfgnt -r from the directory containing the current Dolphin software you are using, you will receive the message "Interceptor driver removed".
2. Then run dolcfgnt, without the -r switch, you will receive the message "Interceptor driver installed successfully".
3. Now simply restart the machine and run the software.
   
   

Note - it is most important that you use the interceptor driver (dolcfgnt) associated with the software you are installing.

How to create a Windows NT 4.0 Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).