Monitor Resolution

[hajach]

I have just replaced my CRT monitor with an Acer 19" LCD with the unusual optimum resolution of 1440 x 900. I bought it from Amazon and all the reviewers there said they had no difficulty setting the resolution to 1440 x 900. I cannot seem to do this could someone please give me some advice.

Currently my monitor is working on 800 x 600 which is what my CRT was set at. I go into display props. and the resolution slider doesn't offer 1440 x 900 when I move it.

I have tried to download new drivers but windows cannot find any and states that my monitor resolution is ok. This isn't so because I don't think Windows has actually recognised my change of monitor it simply states my monitor is a Plug and Play Monitor the same as it did with my old CRT.

Can anyone tell this idiot how I can get my lovely new monitor working on 1440 x 900. I have Widows XP SP2

[glc]

System specs, please. You need a new video driver, not a monitor driver.

[hajach]

Originally Posted by glc System specs, please. You need a new video driver, not a monitor driver.

Hi glc, it was the video driver that Windows was trying to update, I'm a bit of a novice.

My system specs are.
Windows XP SP2 Home
1.67GHzAMD Athlon
80GB H/D
512mb RAM
NVIDIA Ge Force MX 420
CD RW 32X
DVD 16X

[Statica]

Assuming that you've got the Acer 1916W monitor. You need the drivers from: https://www.synapsenow.com/synapse/d...s/AL1916wc.zip

Check to see if your video card is identified correctly .. if not you need to download it from here: http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp

[glc]

The GF4 MX has native XP drivers, but they are not widescreen capable. You need to install the Nvidia drivers.

[hajach]

Yes my monitor is the Acer AL 1916W


I don't quite understand what is meant by checking to see if my video card is identified correctly Statica .

My widescreen is working ok on 800 x 600 glc, I just want to get it on the recommended setting because it is supposed to be a lot better.

If I don't hear from you two fellas to the contrary because of what I've said, I shall go ahead and download from both the above sites. Many thanks for your help

[hajach]

I've downloaded the zip file from synapsenow, it's currently in My Docs, could you please tell me where I should extract the files to.

I haven't downloaded Nvidia drivers yet.

[Statica]

Extract to any known location .. then open up Display Properties > Settings > Advanced button > Monitor tab > Driver tab > Update Driver button > Install software from a specific Location and point it to the location you extracted your files to.

You will probably need the Nvidia drivers as well if you cant see the supported resolution.

[hajach]

Thanks Statica, putting the new Nvidia drivers in seems a bit more complicated so I'll wait for the morning, it's getting late here in the UK

[glc]

Installing the Nvidia driver is very simple - just download the driver, the file is an executable, just run it and follow the prompts.

[hajach]

Good morning glc, thanks for your help on this. I am just about to download drivers but would like to check a couple of things with you before I do so.

From the choices offered I have ended up with this download, is it the correct one ?
93.71_forceware_winxp2k_international_whql.exe

I have read the following as recommended on the site and have a couple of questions.

[Driver Installation Hints
"Download Accelerator" utilities should be disabled when downloading any drivers

Do not run virus protection software in the background while installing the drivers. This prevents the driver from configuring itself properly.

Before installing new drivers make sure you uninstall all NVIDIA display drivers from the Windows Control Panel. Browse to the Start Menu > Windows Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs and search for "NVIDIA Windows Display Drivers" or "NVIDIA Display Drivers" and select remove ]

What are Download Accelerator Utilities and where will I find them ?

If I uninstall the Nvidia Drivers first as it says, will the screen still work so I can see what I'm doing to install new one ?

[glc]

If you don't know what a download accelerator is, you don't have any of those. Yes, the screen will still work with the standard VGA driver. You may not have any Nvidia drivers installed anyway.

[hajach]

I removed the old Nvidea drivers and installed the new ones and have adjusted the resolution to 1440 x 900. then I used the monitor controls to fill the screen. My first impression was of how much more detail there was in my photos and how sharper the text is, so that objective has been achieved.


I tried to install the AL1916wc drivers that Statica suggested above but the Update Wizard said it could not find better drivers than those already installed, which are Microsoft 5.1.2001.0

I am now left with a few problems which are new ones.

Windows pages are displayed perfectly, but not so web pages. Some web pages display perfectly, filling the widescreen. Others are only half the width of the screen,either in the middle or on the left of the screen.

The text size on some web pages is very small and will not respond to the adjustment available on the toolbar. Other sites the text size is fine and can be adjusted.

Another new problem is that when the Windows media player is playing a video or My Pictures is doing a slideshow, there is a wide black border down the sides which didn't used to be there.

Looks like I've got more problems than I started with, I would appreciate any advice you could give re. this.

[glc]

That's normal with a widescreen monitor to get the black side borders when you are not viewing widescreen content. The web pages you are having issues with have probably not been coded properly to fill the screen at that resolution. I'd try an alternative browser such as Opera or Firefox on the pages that are not working properly.

[hajach]

glc , I have tried Firefox and Opera but the web pages still only fill half the screen. If I progressively reduce the resolution then the screen picture grows until I hit 800 x 600 when all web pages fill the whole screen, as they did before I started trying to use the recommended resolution.

The web pages that don't fill the screen when using 1440 x 900 include major sites like Microsoft and the BBC, which work fine at high resolution on my daughters computer so I don't think it is a web site issue.

Any thoughts ?

Incidently this site is one of many that do fill the screen.

Edited to say that I have just discovered I can expand the picture to fill the screen if I use the zoom. Is there any way I can get it to fill the screen without having to do this all the time

[glc]

By not filling the screen, do you mean the window itself is not full screen? Try maximizing the window or hitting F11 in IE to go full screen.

[hajach]

Originally Posted by glc By not filling the screen, do you mean the window itself is not full screen? Try maximizing the window or hitting F11 in IE to go full screen.

glc the Browser window opens as normal, when it is maximised the problem website pages only occupy half of the window.

[Statica]

It really depends on how the webpage was coded. A lot of good pages are written to occupy a % of the user's screen - this is obviously the better way as it takes into consideration different screen resolutions and sizes that may be used. Some users decide to use absolute values for the page width .. usually, this method panders to the lowest possible denominator .. which means that if you use a high res monitor or a larger screen size, you're the proud owner of a lot of white-space.

[hajach]

Thanks Statica, I shall have words with Acer, they don't tell purchasers, if used on high res. the screen may be half empty.

In the meantime I have reset it to 800 x 600 and it is working perfectly as before.

[glc]

It's not Acer's fault - you would have the exact same issues with any 19" widescreen.

[hajach]

Originally Posted by glc It's not Acer's fault - you would have the exact same issues with any 19" widescreen.

Oh well I'll just have to accept 800 x 600, it's pretty good so it's no great hardship.

Once again thanks very much for your assistance fellas, it has certainly expanded my knowledge a bit.

One last question on this subject. Would it make any difference if a installed a better graphics card.

[glc]

Nope.

I would go nuts if I had to live with 800x600 these days. Maybe you just need to get used to a high resolution.

[hajach]

I think I'll pass on that glc if it means having to read very small text that can't be made larger, and having web pages squeezed into one half of the browser window.

[glc]

You should be okay if you can get the browser zoom working. My solution is better I think - I wear glasses and have no problem with a 19 inch CRT at 1280x1024, standard fonts.

***EDIT*** - In IE, View, Text Size - what is that set to?

[BRS_Priya]

Hi Guys,
I have got a Dell XPS 410 system with a ACER AL1916W ASD monitor. From the tech spec i saw that the native resolution of the monitor is 1440 x 900 and I have NVIDIA GForce 7300 LE video card and its not showing this resolution setting nor the properties settings have trhis resolution with it. Can Some one help me on this. I have done downloading the drivers and installing for nvidia and acer.