Fullscreen acting odd

[jonba]

Hey All-
When I built my computer I used lots of old peripherals to cut down on
costs. Usually this is quite effective, but my old Gateway2000 Vivitron15
monitor was starting to die. Luckily, while browsing a local thrift shop, I
surprisingly found the exact same make and model of monitor for 10 dollars,
except in 17 inches, and it's in far better condition. I switched them out
and tweaked the screen via front panel and everything seemed fine. What
doesn't work properly, however, is full screen. When switching in, instead
of content going to each edge of the screen, it simply occupies a box, which
is suspiciously similar in size to my old monitor. Any suggestions?

Windows XP Pro
Radeon 7000 w/ 64 meg RAM
512mb DDR SD-RAM
1.33 GHZ AMD Thunderbird

-Jon

 

[Anon]

Hey All-
When I built my computer I used lots of old peripherals to cut down on
costs. Usually this is quite effective, but my old Gateway2000 Vivitron15
monitor was starting to die. Luckily, while browsing a local thrift shop, I
surprisingly found the exact same make and model of monitor for 10 dollars,
except in 17 inches, and it's in far better condition. I switched them out
and tweaked the screen via front panel and everything seemed fine. What
doesn't work properly, however, is full screen. When switching in, instead
of content going to each edge of the screen, it simply occupies a box, which
is suspiciously similar in size to my old monitor. Any suggestions?

Windows XP Pro
Radeon 7000 w/ 64 meg RAM
512mb DDR SD-RAM
1.33 GHZ AMD Thunderbird

-Jon

The 17" monitor likely uses a different driver than the 15", even if they
have similar specifications. Update the driver for the monitor and make
sure that windows correctly identifies the monitor by exact make and model
number, rather than generic or default or something like that.

If you've already done that, you should be aware that running a monitor at
different settings can cause the display to appear to be a different size
and/or position on the screen. Thus, you should try different resolution,
color depth and refresh rates to see if you can find a combination of
settings that is more to your liking. But before you try to tweak the
resolution, color depth and refresh rates, BE SURE that windows properly
identifies your monitor by exact make and model number. If not, choosing a
different refresh rate could actually damage the monitor.

If necessary, download a new driver for that monitor from gateway's web
site. If you can't find one specifically for xp, see if they have one for
windows 2000. If so, that driver might work also. -Dave

 

[jonba]

The 17" monitor likely uses a different driver than the 15", even if they
have similar specifications. Update the driver for the monitor and make
sure that windows correctly identifies the monitor by exact make and model
number, rather than generic or default or something like that.

If you've already done that, you should be aware that running a monitor at
different settings can cause the display to appear to be a different size
and/or position on the screen. Thus, you should try different resolution,
color depth and refresh rates to see if you can find a combination of
settings that is more to your liking. But before you try to tweak the
resolution, color depth and refresh rates, BE SURE that windows properly
identifies your monitor by exact make and model number. If not, choosing a
different refresh rate could actually damage the monitor.

If necessary, download a new driver for that monitor from gateway's web
site. If you can't find one specifically for xp, see if they have one for
windows 2000. If so, that driver might work also. -Dave

Boy do I feel stupid. It turns out full screen mode was being affected by
the fact that Video-Out was turned on. I guess default drivers are okay too
sometimes.

Btw, I couldn't find drivers made especially for Vivitron17 anywhere, not
even on Gateway's site. Do the Vivitron17's go by another alias, perhaps?

 

[Dave C.]

Boy do I feel stupid. It turns out full screen mode was being affected by
the fact that Video-Out was turned on. I guess default drivers are okay too
sometimes.

Btw, I couldn't find drivers made especially for Vivitron17 anywhere, not
even on Gateway's site. Do the Vivitron17's go by another alias, perhaps?

Well, that explains it. If video out was on, then the vid. card was
probably running at a very low resolution. I found a reference which leads
me to believe your monitor might have been manufactured by Philips. Maybe
you should e-mail Philips to ask about a driver, or seach the Philips web
site. -Dave

 

[jonba]

Well, that explains it. If video out was on, then the vid. card was
probably running at a very low resolution. I found a reference which leads
me to believe your monitor might have been manufactured by Philips. Maybe
you should e-mail Philips to ask about a driver, or seach the Philips web
site. -Dave

And on the back of the monitor is says "Manufactured by Sony Corp." Quite
interesting. I'll check both sites and see what turns up.