derrick_morin___fallon__ne Posted March 4, 2006 Share Posted March 4, 2006 I just got a new monitor - Gateway 21" widescreen. The resolution is supposed to be set at 1680x1050. I have it plugged into my laptop while I await my new computer and I can't get the right res set. 1680x1050 is not an option on my computer's resolution settings. I'm running XP. Does anyone know of a way to to add a resolution setting in XP? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
don_cooper Posted March 4, 2006 Share Posted March 4, 2006 Not sure what you need but there probably isn't enough video ram on your laptop to display 1680. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrick_morin___fallon__ne Posted March 4, 2006 Author Share Posted March 4, 2006 768mb of RAM. Plenty. In fact the notebook will display two resolution settings that are higher than 1680x1050, but the monitor won't go that high. 1680x1050 is a widescreen setting that just isn't available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zee Posted March 4, 2006 Share Posted March 4, 2006 Derrick, you can use a program like Powerstrip: http://www.entechtaiwan.net/util/ps.shtm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kai_griffin Posted March 4, 2006 Share Posted March 4, 2006 The video card in your laptop most likely doesn't support that specific resolution (1680x1050); a list of all the resolutions your video card supports can usually be found in the Display properties (Control Panel "Display" applet, go to "Settings" tab, click on "Advanced" button, and find "List All Modes" on the "Adaptors" tab. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fanta Posted March 4, 2006 Share Posted March 4, 2006 See if a driver specific for your monitor is available, either on a CD with the monitor or on the vendor web site. May be your PC is recognizing the monitor as a generic plug & play or so, and is not aware of all the resolutions the monitor can support. Make sure you have the specific drivers installed, and the monitor is recognized with its brand and model. Or may be your graphic adapter just does not support that resolution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrick_morin___fallon__ne Posted March 4, 2006 Author Share Posted March 4, 2006 Video RAM 64MB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kai_griffin Posted March 4, 2006 Share Posted March 4, 2006 Video RAM is irrelevant to the issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico_digoliardi Posted March 5, 2006 Share Posted March 5, 2006 I am using a Mac with large Apple flat panel monitor more often than ever, largely for Final Cut Pro. The res is set to 120! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly_flanigan1 Posted March 5, 2006 Share Posted March 5, 2006 Boy, the video ram on my 19 + COMPUTERS varies. The ancient ones have 1 meg of ram, and cannot support a high res. Many other ancinet ones are at 2megs, and support moderate resolutions. The several Number 9 AGP cards are 16megs, and support fairly high resolutions. The modern cards with 64, 128, and 256 megs support alot higher resolutions. Video ram does matter, it boxes in the max resolution and bit depth. This goes back before Photoshop existed, and is basic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kai_griffin Posted March 5, 2006 Share Posted March 5, 2006 Kelly, I didn't really mean to imply that it's always irrelevant - just that it's irrelevant to <i>this</i> issue. The reason I say that is because Derrick pointed out that he's given the choice of selecting resolutions that are even higher than the one he's aiming for... which implies that a resolution somewhere in between would be OK as far as Video RAM goes... but is not offered for other reasons (ie, the driver and/or card doesn't support it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serge c Posted March 5, 2006 Share Posted March 5, 2006 What Kai Griffin said. Also, many modern videocards drivers will allow you to set ANY resolution you want up to the maximum they can display (in nvidia it's in the Display Properties/Advanced/Card Name/Screen Resolution and Refresh Rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly_flanigan1 Posted March 5, 2006 Share Posted March 5, 2006 With my 2 year old IBM laptop; the laptops resolution is 1024 x 768, It will drive an external monitor to 2048 x 1536. The "way" to set an external monitor is sometimes abit contrived on some laptops, and if done wrong wont have the full pallet of resolutions available.<BR><BR> Derrick should mention his specific name and model of laptop to see if there is just a cockpit issue. <BR><BR>The video ram boxes in the selection of resolution and bit depth. I mentioned this fact because it was brought up that it doesnt matter, which is wrong. I have seen XP placed on machines as slow as 200Mhz, and seen laptops with not much video ram. <BR><BR>Search google for your laptops name and model, plus external monitor to see if there any known issues or not obvious ways to activate the external ports full drivers. Just because the laptop has the full 64 megs and correct divers doesnt mean the external port doesnt have a cockpit error blocking it full pallet of resolutions. Does the monitor have a driver? Some settups crank down to a dummer mode unless the driver is loaded; or there will be a lessor set of calibration tools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrick_morin___fallon__ne Posted March 5, 2006 Author Share Posted March 5, 2006 The monitor came with a tutorial and calibration tools, and software for the rotation feature, but no driver. The notebook is a Dell Inspiron 8200 with GForce 4 64mb graphics card. Thanks for the input so far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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