Laptop display driver ... monitor too?

[buffalo rider]

Does anyone know whether the monitor driver matters in a laptop?
Or does only the 'display adapter' driver matter?

When we do Start->Control Panel->Display.
Then (while in the Display window): Settings->Advanced
We have a tab for the 'monitor', and
another for 'display adapter'.

We can select drivers for both 'monitor' and 'display adpater'. Do both
affect a laptop's display, or does just the 'display adapter' affect it?

(sorry if this is not necessarily an XP specific issue).
- buffalo rider ..

 

[LVTravel]

Normally the laptop display doesn't have to have a device specific driver
specifically installed like some desktop monitors do. If your laptop
manufacturer requires the monitor to have a driver other than the generic
one installed with Windows it will be provided on the driver's disk included
with the computer.

Many CRT monitors in the past had specific drivers available for them for
various features that they could perform from within Windows

The Display Adapter is extremely important to the successful viewing of any
information on the monitor.

Hope this answers your questions successfully.

 

[buffalo rider]

Yes that answers a good portion of my ponderings, but not all.

You mention ... the "driiver's disk included with teh computer"
Unfortunately I don't have this ... and is perhaps the reason I resorted to
posting a message. I rebuilt an older laptop after the disk drive died ...
replaced the disk drive, then all the software ... and I have problems
getting my laptop display restored to its previous clarity. Letters now are
garbled .. hard to read ... so I am trying to fix this. I have 3-4 "video"
drivers from www.driverguide.com that are supposed to work. I assume they
are for the "display adapter" side of things rather than the "monitor", and
they do help (I now have 16-bit color, instead of 16 color), but none of them
get my original clarity back.

So my post was to narrow down a solution. It was motivated by wondering if
I need to search for a better "display adapter" driver, or if the "monitor"
driver might be the problem ... or of course, whether something other than
either of these things might be the problem.

- BR

 

[LVTravel]

You need the driver specifically for the laptop's video card. If Windows is
running (at all) download and run Belarc Advisor from
http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html. Look through it for information
as to your Display Adaptor. If you find the name of the manufacturer of the
onboard video adapter, go to that manufacturer's web site and see if it
shows a driver for that specific model. Download and install.
Unfortunately Driverguide.com may not have exactly the driver you need to do
what you want.

Or you may go to the manufacturer's web site and put in the model of your
laptop and hope that they have a listing of all the drivers for your system.

If you can't find the drivers, and this will be all the drivers (audio,
video, motherboard, power settings, any network hardware), post the make and
model of laptop (off of any nameplate, including any information from
stickers on the bottom of the case) and someone here may be able to help you
find the drivers you need.