can't change monitor resolution

[ortigueira]

Hi.

My windows XP was giving me fatal errors upon loading, (I could never get
past a frozen screen). So I decided to re-install it. I have a Dell PC,
and I used the disk that came with the machine. Everything looks fine,
except that when I start Windows, I can only get the lowest resolution. I
followed the directions in help, (go to control panel, display, et cetera)
but the directions mention that on monitor type I must clcik on the
"properties" tab. In my machine, the tab is not clickable. I went also
to the My System dialog, and tried to see what the drivers for the system
are. I noticed that there are some conflicts, including one for the video
card (or something of the sort. I am going from memory as I am typing
this at work). I tried to get a proper driver, but neither the Windows XP
cd nor the drivers and diagnostic cd that came with the computer seem to
have them. Any suggestions?

Many thanks

Xis

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Hi.

My windows XP was giving me fatal errors upon loading, (I could never get
past a frozen screen). So I decided to re-install it. I have a Dell PC,
and I used the disk that came with the machine. Everything looks fine,
except that when I start Windows, I can only get the lowest resolution. I
followed the directions in help, (go to control panel, display, et cetera)
but the directions mention that on monitor type I must clcik on the
"properties" tab. In my machine, the tab is not clickable. I went also
to the My System dialog, and tried to see what the drivers for the system
are. I noticed that there are some conflicts, including one for the video
card (or something of the sort. I am going from memory as I am typing
this at work). I tried to get a proper driver, but neither the Windows XP
cd nor the drivers and diagnostic cd that came with the computer seem to
have them. Any suggestions?

Many thanks

Xis
======================
1) go to the Dell site with the service code from the computer case, and use
their tools to identify the hardware and download the appropriate drivers.

2) Get Everest personal from www.lavalys.com and use it to generate a
report, which will list the actual video hardware. Use Google to find the
appropriate drivers.

3) there may be a 3rd CD that has the drivers.

HTH
-pk

 

[Guest]

Dell PCs come with a Drivers and Utilities disk. Check it for drivers for
your video card. If not, you can go to Dell.com and download the drivers.

 

[ortigueira]

Thanks. As I mentioned before, it doesn't appear that the Drivers and
Utilities disk has the proper driver. Or perhaps I was not able to locate
it properly. I'll give it another try.

One more question, though. My experience with drivers in windows XP is
that you plug something new and the machine recognizes it and locates (or
asks you for) the driver. What is the easiest way to install a driver for
a device that is already attached to the system?

Thanks again

Xis

 

[Jim]

Hi.

My windows XP was giving me fatal errors upon loading, (I could never get
past a frozen screen). So I decided to re-install it. I have a Dell PC,
and I used the disk that came with the machine. Everything looks fine,
except that when I start Windows, I can only get the lowest resolution. I
followed the directions in help, (go to control panel, display, et cetera)
but the directions mention that on monitor type I must clcik on the
"properties" tab. In my machine, the tab is not clickable. I went also
to the My System dialog, and tried to see what the drivers for the system
are. I noticed that there are some conflicts, including one for the video
card (or something of the sort. I am going from memory as I am typing
this at work). I tried to get a proper driver, but neither the Windows XP
cd nor the drivers and diagnostic cd that came with the computer seem to
have them. Any suggestions?

Many thanks

Xis

--
Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/

You need to load the CD which contains Dell's drivers.
The ones on the Windows CD loads generic drivers which act just like that.
Jim

 

[Guest]

Hi, I just had the same problem, namely, the Properties button was grayed out
and thus inoperative. In my case, I had an intel MB and had to load the intel
CD that came with the MB. Once I ran this CD, everything worked fine.

 

[ortigueira]

Hi, I just had the same problem, namely, the Properties button was
grayed out
and thus inoperative. In my case, I had an intel MB and had to load the
intel
CD that came with the MB. Once I ran this CD, everything worked fine.

Thanks, Jim (and all others). It appears that all of you are pointing me
in the same direction. Let's see if I can get this fixed. I did try to
run my Drivers CD and it said it loaded things, but that didn't do the
trick. Perhaps I should unplug all the current peripherals (printer,
CD/RW, et cetera) and that might help when I try again.

Xis

 

[D.Currie]

If it was something besides the video card, you could remove it and reboot.

Problem with the Dell disks is that sometimes they have a fairly wide range
of devices so they can ship the same disk with a greater number of systems.
You're going to need to find out exactly which drivers you need for your
computer. You can also go online (if you can get there) and get updated
drivers from the Dell site. You may need to take the video card out and look
at it to see what card it is so you get the right drivers.

After the reinstall, the first thing you should have loaded was the chipset
drivers. These are the drivers for the motherboard devices like the AGP
controller, IDE, etc, and sometimes other things won't load properly until
the chipset drivers are loaded. Sometimes it works fine to do the chipset
drivers later, but it's recommended to do them first. Sometimes once you
load the chipset drivers, everything else re-detects, so this could solve
your problem.


Thanks. As I mentioned before, it doesn't appear that the Drivers and
Utilities disk has the proper driver. Or perhaps I was not able to locate
it properly. I'll give it another try.

One more question, though. My experience with drivers in windows XP is
that you plug something new and the machine recognizes it and locates (or
asks you for) the driver. What is the easiest way to install a driver for
a device that is already attached to the system?

Thanks again

Xis

 

[ortigueira]

Many thanks to all who replied and pointed me in the correct direction.

From this I learned that it is not a good idea to work on a computer
problem late at night, especially after I was already frustrated trying to
solve the problem that made me reinstall. When I thought I was already
installing the drivers, all I was doing was installing the program that
installs the drivers. Yesterday, after I came from work, it took me five
minutes to do the job. Nevertheless, I doubt I would have tried to do it
again if you guys hadn't insisted that that's what needed to be done.

Thanks again

Xis