can't change resolution

[hobey19]

i am using windows me, its is a dell with 256mb ram and integrated video. for some reason, it won't let me change the resolution or colors. it always asks me to restart, and comes back as what it was before. any help would be appreciated. this just started happening a week or so ago.

craig

[GaryRouth]

For a quick fix try, run System Restore (details are in the "Help & Support" menus on your Start menu) - use a restore point just before the problem. If that doesn't fix it (or if you have System Restore disabled) , you can try updating or reinstalling the video driver. To make sure a virus or spyware isn't the cause, run full system scans.
. . . Gary

[hobey19]

the people had disabled system restore, i did reloaded the drivers from the dell cd but have not yet updated them, and i have run sypware/virus scans

craig

[GaryRouth]

If updating the driver doesn't work, try uninstalling any traces of other drivers, and setting the video to Standard VGA before giving it another go with a recent driver. You can use a Registry Cleaner to help with this, too.
. . . Gary

[hobey19]

do you have any suggestions on what registry cleaner to use (the free-er the better). thanks

craig

[GaryRouth]

I don't see very many WinMe boxes, so I'm usually happy with Microsoft's RegClean 4.1, which works well with Win9x in general [though it can cause trouble for Office 2000 - fixable, but a nuisance -- I suspect that's partly why they stopped providing it for later versions].

I haven't looked in a while, but I imagine there's still some freeware and shareware titles at download.com you could try.

There's also the option of letting WinMe check for anything wrong - if you boot to a command prompt (use your WinMe CD, or perhaps a bootdisk from bootdisk.com) you can try the command

scanreg/fix

and see if that helps clean up any errors.

Seems like if it's the Intel onboard, it should reinstall OK. For the SiS or Via onboard, you could go with an updated driver. If it's an ATi onboard, they sometimes have a removal tool on their website - I can't remember if the nVidia onboard has a special removal tool or not. It's been awhile since I've updated video, but it's possible the Catalyst (ATi) & Detonator (nVidia) both offer to clean up the prior driver before installing the new version. You can also check the Dell website for any special tools or drivers - they are usually very thorough in providing most anything each model needs [part of what makes their computers so popular].
. . . Gary

[hobey19]

thanks a bunch. i will check on it tomorrow and post back. there's some good stuff for me to try

craig

[GaryRouth]

Turns out that bootdisk.com has links in it's Utilities section to a few Registry cleaners - I've seen Easy Cleaner mentioned on the forums a few times . . . http://www.bootdisk.com/utility.htm

Hope it goes well