Try holding a ctrl or shift (don't remember which one ;) when booting. That should force a 640x480@60Hz mode which every LCD will support. From there you can configure the display in Monitors.

Trying to install MacOS did nothing (and it wasn't able to install). I'm starting to suspect that something was short circuited when I plugged in the DVI cable because everything shows 640x480.

Is this possible?

Did you try if DVI in high res is available under OSX ?

Cos when it's a flashed PC card such problems as non-working DVI aren't unheard of.

It's an original apple one. I wasn't able to get that far. Right now I'm trying Ubuntu to see if it finds the problem and fix it.

Ubuntu can't detect any screens, and DVI doesn't work. I guess the gfx card is broken somehow ...

Either that or your monitor has some failure in DCC that your Win-PC can somehow work around.

Wait, does the monitor save stuff like that?

[Edit]@jacadcaps

I missed your text there. I can force other screen modes but they look awful. Not nearly close enough, no matter how much I tinker. So I've given up that idea.

[ Edited by Yasu 18.12.2013 - 14:06 ]

I've given up. The only reasonable answer is that something broke in the card when I inserted the DVI cable. I'm gonna get another gfx card and see if that works.

Very strange. Ive never seen anything like this happen. Let us know if another card solves it. Id like to see how the end results work out.

I will. I'm also gonna see if I can find another monitor to test on too.

Today I got the suggestion to reset the NVRAM/PRAM. So I changed to a Mac keyboard, hold down the option, command, p and r button and started it. It worked in the sense that the horrible bootup sound returned. But screen resolution was the same as ever.

Then I tried to change the battery. I let the computer be off for a while (power cord removed from socket). And nothing. Same as before.

So I'm still at square one.

[Edit] I also tried to reset VRAM in open firmware. I wrote:

0 > reset-vram
0 > reset-all

No change. Now it must be either the monitor or the gfx card that's broken.

[ Edited by Yasu 21.12.2013 - 21:41 ]

Tried a different monitor. Didn't work either. Now it's only the gfx card left. It must have broken.

Can be frustrating when a problem like that arises...

Have a flashed Radeon 9200 SE card that was working fine one day. Next day booting into MorphOS, the machine would come to a crawl and eventually just freeze.... I tried my DVI port on the card, but again nothing would even show up and the MDD Mac seemed to not even boot right. Plugged it back into the VGA port and it would boot once again, but shortly after MorphOS would come to a crawl. In short, the card was just crap.

My brother had a spare Radeon 9000 Pro 128MB pc card which I flashed over to a Mac bios, and works great! The fan on it was failing and making noises so I just rested a 80mm fan between the video card and the sound card.

@Doffo

Flashed cards are famous for being unreliable. My card however is a mac original. The only thing I can think of is that it most have gotten a shock when I plugged it in, or that something broke because I plugged it in while both the computer and screen was on. I hope a new card will fix this.

@Yasu

Figured the card failed due to it being shipped a few times a couple states over, and me just being careless and throwing it wherever. :P But ill have to see how long this one lasts.

> I plugged it in while both the computer and screen was on.

Do I understand right that you plugged the graphics card into the AGP slot of an active mainboard?

No no, god no. Just the DVI cable.

I got a new G5 today (a 2 GHz one) and tried it and the pre-installed MacOS had the exact same problem as my old G5. Very strange indeed. I'm starting to think that it must be the computer screen that does something it shouldn't. I use an Samsung SyncMaster SA350. I've read that other have had similar problems and that a firmware upgrade helps. Well, not this problem it doesn't.

I also tried to change to another monitor. MorphOS doesn't find it's native resolutions, and neither does MacOS. But Ubuntu PPC does. Tomorrow I'm going to try a Mac friendly monitor and see if that helps. If it doesn't, I have no idea what to do anymore but to give up.

Getting really odd.
I've never used anything but generic PC monitors and they have always worked.
I even have a dirt cheap 19" widescreen on the system I am typing on now without any issues.

Somebody needs to help my friend out here.

I've given up. It simply doesn't work, and I'm at my wits end.

@Yasu

well, have you yet tried to change the screencabel? couldt find if you did or not, just ignore if you already did.

tried a pure hdmi cabel with dvi adapter? maybe you fried your vga port =)

X

[ Edited by XzIt 04.01.2014 - 23:27 ]

I have had a switchboard that needed extra power connection so Windows
And morphos were able to show the right resolution. The VGA cable could
Indeed bring such effects if it was part ob the switchboard set or its
To long. Maybe the wire that transfers the signal Form your monitor is
Broken. Dont give up.
Greets

@Yasu

I had problems with a DVI to HDMI cable on my G5 and this tip from Kronos did the trick.

Maybe it will help you too?

https://morph.zone/modules/newbb_plus/viewtopic.php?forum=11&topic_id=9404&post_id=103360&viewmode=flat&sortorder=0&showonepost=1

@Xzit

I did try that, but only with the ones I've already used between the switch. Me and my friend also tried using another monitor, but that only had DVI so we had to use two VGA-converters to make it work. We got a very poor screen and only in 640x480, but we did try another VGA cable.

@defender

Well, wouldn't that mean that a straight connection from the monitor to the computer should work? Or atleast another monitor? But it's still the same problem. So freaking weird!

@Intuition

Thanks! I tried that one and sadly, no change. I was able to find my old backup (from 3.3) and copied the file "SA300-350" to it's destination. But it looks like MorphOS isn't able to use that file since it fall backs to either blurry 800x600 or crisp 640x480 (VESA?).

Two questions, where does this file "SA300-350" come from? I can't see the monitor anywhere in Prefs.

Should I presume at this point that there is something wrong with either the VGA cable or the monitor?

[ Edited by Yasu 05.01.2014 - 01:28 ]

Quote:

Sounds like the cable at least could be faulty.