How to get the screen resolution up on an XP PC?

November 2, 2005 5:04 AM

Please help with Windows XP PC with screen resolution issues.

I'm tearing my hair off with this PC. It had some other issues, so I backed everything up, reformatted the drive and freshly installed Windows XP. Everything else works, even WLAN but I cannot get the display to show anything else than the standard minimum, 640x480 with 16 colours.

After spending hours to find the drivers disc to the monitor (Samtron 72v) I found out that that wasn't the problem (the driver cannot even be installed) - in System Preferences the display adapter driver is shown as not installed and is using a default VGA one. However, it cannot find an updated one from Windows Update or from the drive. And in Display Properties the slider to change the resolution will not even move.

This PC has been built a couple of years ago by a firm that went bust recently and I do not know how to find out what the hardware is in order to get a proper driver.

I just want to get a proper resolution for my dad who is going mad with not being able to see graphics on websites and is doubting my skills in anything since I cannot fix this. And I'm usually using a Mac. Help please!

posted by keijo to computers & internet (16 comments total)

Sounds like you need to install a video card driver. If you can figure out what video card it has, you can find a driver for it...
posted by yeoz at 5:13 AM on November 2, 2005

The resolutions possible on the screen are controlled by the graphics card driver, not the monitor. Before you install that, the OS will just assume that you've got a base-level VGA card.
Actually, that should mean your colours are limited to 256 as well but you didn't mention that - am I on the wrong track?
posted by NinjaPirate at 5:14 AM on November 2, 2005

You need to identify the video card before you can find the proper drivers. If the VGA port on the back of the computer is parallel to the side of the case and is part of the cluster of standard ports (like the parallel, serial, and usually USB ports) then you have integrated video, meaning that that the video subsystem is part of the motherboard and you'll have to identify the make and model of the motherboard to get drivers. This is a huge pain.

If the port is perpendicular to the case and is located in one of the expansion slots then you have an AGP (or possibly PCI) video card. Opening the case and investigating the card should give you a manufacturer. Both Nvidia and ATI use more-or-less unified drivers now, meaning that there's only one driver to download for their entire line of cards.

If you're really really stuck, and your father doesn't play any games or do anything more demanding than use a web browser, it might be worth it (in terms of sanity) to just go buy a new video card and install it. You can get an older ATI Radeon for about 30 bucks. Installation is simple, and you're guaranteed to have the proper drivers.
posted by mmcg at 5:26 AM on November 2, 2005

Sorry, by display adapter I meant equally a graphics card. But NinjaPirate, I've only got 16 colours mate.

yeoz, that is exactly what I do not know, I don't know what the hardware is.
posted by keijo at 5:27 AM on November 2, 2005

mmcg, it is parallel and part of the standard cluster. I guess I'm really stuck. The problem is that this beast came pre-installed (I hate that) and I don't know what they did to it before handing it over.
posted by keijo at 5:33 AM on November 2, 2005

They had the driver disc that accompanied the motherboard. You shouldn't feel bad about not having this; I almost always lose it immediately after I build a new machine.

Your best course of action from this point is to reboot the machine and go into the BIOS (after you get the beep, hit DEL or F12 a few times). If you're lucky the BIOS will identify the motherboard from there, and you can start googling around to find the manufacturer and hope that they provide drivers on their site.

If that doesn't get you anywhere, buying a new video card is seriously one of the better options at this point. Since the old card was integrated, you might actually see an improvement in performance if you replace it with a cheap 15-30 dollar card. If you do go down that road, just make sure you get a PCI card, and not AGP, because you can't be entirely certain that that machine even has an AGP expansion slot.
posted by mmcg at 5:47 AM on November 2, 2005

Take mmcg's advice, it's pretty much spot on.

1) Find out what kind of motherboard it is. Here's a thought: take the cover off the case and look for an identifying make and model on the motherboard. You can usually look up the motherboard and chipset, and in most cases go get the appropriate driver readily. Sometimes the BIOS will even announce the video card chipset when the systerm first boots up.

2) As mmcg notes, if you can even ID the brand of video chipset- i.e., an NVidia- you can go with a semi-generic driver and have pretty decent results. At least better than safe mode style graphics.

3) If simply looking for the brand with your own eyes fails you, then worst case, go buy a lower-end video card, 128MB memory minimum. Shouldn't cost much, well under a $100 for most and it'll be a breeze to install- power down the box, take off the cover, slap it in the AGP slot, power back up. The device may auto-detect on its own, but at worst you throw the included CD or downloaded drivers in and get it properly installed. I just did a quick search on Newegg.com, and you can get a 256MB video card for $59.75 as just the first hit on a search for video cards.

4) NinjaPirate is not entirely correct: the installed video monitor driver can impact the available resolutions, because the default setting in Windows is that the video driver will only display resolution, color, and refresh settings that are supported by both the video card and the monitor. However, that is not likely why you are in 16-color 640x480 mode; this would be more the example of why, despite a widescreen monitor, your video card doesn't have 16x9 resolutions listed in the Display Settings dialog. It'd be more the fine tuning or max capabilities of the system.
posted by hincandenza at 5:53 AM on November 2, 2005

You're not stuck. You still have two options:

1. You can tear the case off the sucker and see if you can see a googleable serial number. This will probably lead to a downloadable driver.

2. You can pop out to a shop and get a cheap video card. You then disable the integrated card from the hardware manager and install the new one and its drivers. In fact, the computer that I am typing this on has two video cards-- an integrated one that I have disabled (but can't remove) and one in a PCI slot that actually handles the video.

(much like mmcg said)
posted by Mayor Curley at 5:54 AM on November 2, 2005

Thanks guys, you are great as always. I kind of tried rebooting and looking through the info but I'll have another look (not used to that on Macs :)). As much as I hate opening hardware, it may have to come to that since my dad really doesn't need this for more than a browser. Anyway, thanks.
posted by keijo at 6:11 AM on November 2, 2005

Sorry keijo - I went for lunch, happily oblivious of graphics cards and BIOS. What a bastard I am.

Whatever happens, you're going to have to go greasy-handed into the machinery. As mmcg seems to have said everything, I'll just agree

a) try to ID the motherboard first because getting the drivers should sort out any other problems you haven't found yet (like getting the sound and network to run)

b) get another card (but if you're worried about options try to buy it from a bricks'n'mortar store like PC World because, although it'll cost an extra £10, the staff are bored to pieces and can help with any installation issues.)

I'd really recommend the last bit if the computer's one of the desktop machines which sits horizontally under the monitor. They can have problems accommodating standard cards.

Good luck. We'll have to meet up again once this winter stuff has blown off.
posted by NinjaPirate at 6:20 AM on November 2, 2005

Yeah, looking forward to that mate, I'm not in London now but may be soon. (oops, derailing my own thread). Anyway, cheers to you and y'all.
posted by keijo at 6:23 AM on November 2, 2005

If you don't want to open it, use Unknown Device Identifier.
posted by ed\26h at 6:24 AM on November 2, 2005

Prior to cracking the case, try Everest Home Edition, which should identify the mobo for you.
posted by punilux at 6:40 AM on November 2, 2005

Once you have identified the mobo make and model, you should find and download the right chipset drivers for it as well as the video drivers (and sound drivers, if it has builtin sound). Install the chipset drivers before installing the video and sound drivers.

Google the model number, and try to pick out the manufacturer's website amongst the plethora of dodgy driver download sites. If the mobo isn't too ancient, and the mobo manufacturer (as opposed to the system assembler) hasn't gone out of business, it's entirely likely you'll be able to download all the drivers you need from a Technical Support section on the manufacturer's site.
posted by flabdablet at 7:18 AM on November 2, 2005

You could also try the Belarc Advisor but I'm not sure if it will identify hardware which is improperly installed. Anyway, it's free.
posted by blag at 3:00 PM on November 2, 2005

Thanks all, especially blag, fixed it with having Belarc Advisor identify it as Intel Extreme Graphics. AskMeFi is great.
posted by keijo at 10:35 PM on November 2, 2005