[Info-vax] Monitor colors go strange

[Michael Moroney]

tadamsmar <tadamsmar at yahoo.com> writes:

>Sometimes, when you open an new decterm on the console, the colors on
>all windows change.  We have one now where the colors turn orange and
>black.

What kind of system?  An old Microvax?

I remember with the first color graphics cards for the Microvax II, it
came as either 2 or 3 boards connected with a jumper.  One board was the
graphics engine, the other(s) were graphics memory.  With one memory board
it could display only 16 colors (4 planes) at once, with two it could
display 256 colors (8 planes) at once (wow!).  If you tried to display
more than those colors, it would "steal" colors from non-focused windows,
and they'd often turn into strange colors from elsewhere in the display.

To reduce this problem: Reduce color usage.  The window manager often uses
several colors, highlighted colors or shadow colors.