Forcing a Resolution in Windows XP

[filipe]

I just got a SyncMaster 225BW for Christmas. Its preferred resolution
is 1600 x 1050 (widescreen) but Windows XP is only letting me choose
1400 x 1050 or 1600 x 1200 -- no widescreen! Any resolution option it
gives me is pretty fugly.

Is there any way I can force the resolution of 1600 x 1050?

 

[David R. Norton MVP]

(e-mail address removed) wrote in

I just got a SyncMaster 225BW for Christmas. Its preferred resolution
is 1600 x 1050 (widescreen) but Windows XP is only letting me choose
1400 x 1050 or 1600 x 1200 -- no widescreen! Any resolution option it
gives me is pretty fugly.

Is there any way I can force the resolution of 1600 x 1050?

That depends on your video card. Have you downloaded the latest
drivers for your video card and for the monitor from the manufacturer's
website?

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

You need a VIDEO CARD that supports Wide Screen resolutions,
along with the correct video card drivers.

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User
Microsoft Community Newsgroups
news://msnews.microsoft.com/


---------------------------------------------------------------------------

"filipe"wrote:

| I just got a SyncMaster 225BW for Christmas. Its preferred resolution
| is 1600 x 1050 (widescreen) but Windows XP is only letting me choose
| 1400 x 1050 or 1600 x 1200 -- no widescreen! Any resolution option it
| gives me is pretty fugly.
|
| Is there any way I can force the resolution of 1600 x 1050?

 

[Rock]

I just got a SyncMaster 225BW for Christmas. Its preferred resolution
is 1600 x 1050 (widescreen) but Windows XP is only letting me choose
1400 x 1050 or 1600 x 1200 -- no widescreen! Any resolution option it
gives me is pretty fugly.

No you can't "force" the resolution. That's a function of the driver for
your video card. Check with the card manufacturer to see if it has a new
driver that will support that resolution. If not you'll need to get a
different card that does.

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

I faced the same problem last week, with my new Samsung 940BW LCD/TFT monitor. This monitor performs well only in their native resolution (1440x900). As this resolution was missing, I had to download the driver update for my NVidia GeForce 7300LE card. After a reboot, the 1440x900 was available, and no more fuzziness. So, try contacting the graphics card manufacturer / support team for more help, or perhaps a driver update.

Another option is to set a custom resolution in the software provided by your graphics card manufacturer.(Example.. NVidia control panel). If the card is capable of supporting higher resolutions than 1600 x 1050, you should be able to set a custom resolution (for 1600x1050) without a problem.

For NVIDIA cards, here is the info (from NVIDIA support) to set a custom resolution:

<quote>
Please follow the steps below to customize the resolution:

1) Right click on the Desktop and select NVIDIA Control Panel.

2) Once the control panel opens, click on Display

3) Under Appearance, select "Manage custom timings"

4) On the Manage custom timings page click on Create

5) On the Custom Timings page, under Custom display mode values please type in the required resolution.

6) Once the required resolution is added, click on test button and add the required resolution.

7) Then click on the NVIDIA Icon on the Taskbar of the Desktop and select the added resolution fro the screen resolution tab.

Please feel free to contact us, if you have any further questions.

Regards,
NVIDIA Customer Care.

</quote>

--
Regards,

Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]
Windows® XP Troubleshooting http://www.winhelponline.com


I just got a SyncMaster 225BW for Christmas. Its preferred resolution
is 1600 x 1050 (widescreen) but Windows XP is only letting me choose
1400 x 1050 or 1600 x 1200 -- no widescreen! Any resolution option it
gives me is pretty fugly.

Is there any way I can force the resolution of 1600 x 1050?

 

[mrhendu]

I"m having the same issue, BUT, my problem is that I have 4 of the
exact same computer, same OS, same video card, and same monitor(Samsung
SyncMaster 941BW) and I have 2 that will display the 1400x900 and 2
that won't. Any ideas why that would be?

Compaq said that the video card(Intel Q965/Q963 Express) doesn't
support that resolution. Well, then, how come 2 of my 4 computers are
doing it?


Puzzling.

Thanks for any help.

 

[Bob I]

32 bit color depth VS 16 bit color depth? Maybe a different video driver?

I"m having the same issue, BUT, my problem is that I have 4 of the
exact same computer, same OS, same video card, and same monitor(Samsung
SyncMaster 941BW) and I have 2 that will display the 1400x900 and 2
that won't. Any ideas why that would be?

Compaq said that the video card(Intel Q965/Q963 Express) doesn't
support that resolution. Well, then, how come 2 of my 4 computers are
doing it?


Puzzling.

Thanks for any help.

I faced the same problem last week, with my new Samsung 940BW LCD/TFT monitor. This monitor performs well only in their native resolution (1440x900). As this resolution was missing, I had to download the driver update for my NVidia GeForce 7300LE card. After a reboot, the 1440x900 was available, and no more fuzziness. So, try contacting the graphics card manufacturer / support team for more help, or perhaps a driver update.

Another option is to set a custom resolution in the software provided by your graphics card manufacturer.(Example.. NVidia control panel). If the card is capable of supporting higher resolutions than 1600 x 1050, you should be able to set a custom resolution (for 1600x1050) without a problem.

For NVIDIA cards, here is the info (from NVIDIA support) to set a custom resolution:

<quote>
Please follow the steps below to customize the resolution:

1) Right click on the Desktop and select NVIDIA Control Panel.

2) Once the control panel opens, click on Display

3) Under Appearance, select "Manage custom timings"

4) On the Manage custom timings page click on Create

5) On the Custom Timings page, under Custom display mode values please type in the required resolution.

6) Once the required resolution is added, click on test button and add the required resolution.

7) Then click on the NVIDIA Icon on the Taskbar of the Desktop and select the added resolution fro the screen resolution tab.

Please feel free to contact us, if you have any further questions.

Regards,
NVIDIA Customer Care.

</quote>

--
Regards,

Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]
Windows® XP Troubleshooting http://www.winhelponline.com


I just got a SyncMaster 225BW for Christmas. Its preferred resolution
is 1600 x 1050 (widescreen) but Windows XP is only letting me choose
1400 x 1050 or 1600 x 1200 -- no widescreen! Any resolution option it
gives me is pretty fugly.

Is there any way I can force the resolution of 1600 x 1050?

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

Might be due to the video driver version, or perhaps the monitor drivers?

--
Regards,

Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]
Windows® XP Troubleshooting http://www.winhelponline.com


I"m having the same issue, BUT, my problem is that I have 4 of the
exact same computer, same OS, same video card, and same monitor(Samsung
SyncMaster 941BW) and I have 2 that will display the 1400x900 and 2
that won't. Any ideas why that would be?

Compaq said that the video card(Intel Q965/Q963 Express) doesn't
support that resolution. Well, then, how come 2 of my 4 computers are
doing it?


Puzzling.

Thanks for any help.

 

[mrhendu]

All drivers are exactly the same(Checked through dxdiag as well as
through Winders driver properties). One of the working ones is using
"Plug and Play" monitor, the other is using the Samsung drivers. Using
either one of those doesn't make it work on the non-working computers.
I'm thinking that 2 have different chipset firmware because all files
on all the computers are the same.

The client is gonna bite the bullet and buy new cards for the
non-working ones that support wide-screen.