AST RESEARCH, INC.           TECHNICAL BULLETIN # 1317           9-29-95



                  GARBLED TEXT WITH MATROX IN PREMMIA GX

PROBLEM:     When executing certain DOS applications, some of the text 
             may appear as garbage on the screen.  This conditions may 
             happen in only a few programs and will not affect all font 
             sizes in that particular application.

CAUSE:       BIOS release 1.7 (build 13) and above for the Matrox MGA 
             Millennium graphics accelerator deleted the 8x14 DOS font 
             to make room for DCB function calls.  The decision to remove 
             the 8x14 support was due to the fact that very few DOS 
             applications required it.  The user can implement this support 
             through a small (4k) TSR.

SOLUTION:    Download the self extracting file, BIOS17B2.EXE, from the 
             SYSTEMS area of the AST Support BBS (817-230-6850).  Expand 
             the file by entering:

                  BIOS17B2

             After expanding the file, execute the MAKDSK batch file, 
             which will transfer the disk image to a formatted 1.44MB 
             floppy disk.  After you create the disk, copy the FNT8X14.COM 
             file to the root directory of the boot drive.  To ensure that 
             the 8X14 font support TSR loads every time the user boots, 
             insert the following line near the beginning of the AUTOEXEC.BAT 
             file: 

                  C:\FNT8X14

SYSTEMS 
AFFECTED:    Part Number    Description
             501522-XXX     AST Premmia GX P100
             501733-XXX     AST Premmia GX P133