There is a vast array of different video adapter cards available, each one needing its own particular device driver software. Without the right device driver, you may be able to make some use of the display, but you probably won't be able to make full use of its capabilities.
To make matters worse, each version of each PC operating system needs a different version of the device driver, and each model of video adapter card may be available for only a few months before being superceded by a newer model.
Taking these factors together, the number of possible device drivers is quite huge, so it's not particularly surprising that the particular video device driver which you need will probably not be included in the NT 4.0 distribution.
However, finding and installing the right device driver should be straightforward.
The first thing to do is to identify the precise make and model of your video card.
One way to do this is to look at the identification string on the video card's BIOS. To find this: login as administrator; look on the Start menu for Programs / Administrative Tools (Common) / Windows NT Diagnostics; and click the Display tab (illustration). The box at the top of the window should contain the video card's identification string, which should tell you the card's make and model.
Another way to identify the card is to open up the PC and look for a make and model printed on the card itself.
Once you know exactly which card you have, the next task is to locate a copy of the Windows NT 4.0 device driver for that card. The card may have an accompanying floppy or CD. If so, look on there for an NT 4.0 device driver. Failing that, look on the internet. Most video card manufacturers make their device drivers freely available for downloading from web sites or ftp sites.
To install the device driver, first find the correct files (floppy, CDROM and hard disks are available through the "My Computer" window; for access to Unix home directories, see the separate SAMBA section of these notes). If the required files are in a ZIP archive, install a zip program (see separate section) and use it to unzip the archive.
Some device drivers are supplied with an installation program, called something like "install.exe". If you have one of these, run it to install the device driver. You can then configure your display as described below.
If there is no install program, there should at least be a ".inf" file. In this case, you can install the driver using the Display component of the Control Panel. In this, click the "Settings" tab (illustration) and click "Display Type". The default adapter type is "vga compatible display adapter". To use your device driver, click "Change", and click "Have Disk". "Browse" to navigate to the correct ".inf" device driver file. Once selected, a standard warning about installing "third party" drivers will appear; it's safe to say "yes" to this. Once finished, close the Display window, which will prompt a reboot.
NT should now be using the correct device driver for your video adapter card. You can now configure the display to your requirements. Open the Display section of the Control Panel once again, and click "Settings" (illustration). From here you can set the number of colours (Color Palette), the screen resolution (Desktop Area), and you can reduce flicker by trying to maximise the Refresh Frequency. If you choose a high resolution like 1200x1024, you may want to choose Large Fonts rather than Small Fonts. Use the Test button to test settings. Once things are to your taste, close the Display window. This will trigger a reboot.
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