My Widescreen Monitor Now Thinks It's Square(ish)

[Gravdigr]

The other day (right after Momdigr got off Facebook) I turned on my monitor, and everything was off center, moved to the right about a inch and a half. The little 'x' in the top right corner, my time and date were all off the screen. She said "Everything was fine when I turned it off." I asked her if it looked ok now, and she said yes, so, go figure.

All the listed available resolutions (that work) are for the older square-ish design monitors, 800 x 600, 1280 x 1024, etc. I had been running it at it's native (recommended) resolution of 1440 x 900. If I go to 1400 x 1050, everything goes normal except for a band about 2 inches wide on the right of colored static (pink noise?) and static-y color bars on the left about a half inch wide. Anything bigger than 1400, and it goes black with a tiny box in the center that says "Out of Range" for about ten seconds and then the picture comes back.

Any ideas? RFN I'm at 1280 x 1024, stretched to fill the screen. Everybody in my pictures is all pumpkin-headed, DO NOT LIKE.

HP Pavilion (Slim) Win7 (64-bit) Pentium 2.6 (dual core) 4gb RAM (that's all I know)

I tried to update the monitor driver, but, of course, it said no more-up-to-date driver was found. I've never found a driver using the 'update driver' feature, ever. In like fifteen years.


ETA: AVG and Windows Update did nothing for me. No love at all.

[Pete Zicato]

lcd monitor or tube?

[xoxoxoBruce]

Widescreen tubes, are square.

[Gravdigr]

It's an LCD. By SVA. I was leery of the brand name, but it was $49 never outta the box. It's only about six months old, but, it did come from a store that buys up other stores' overstocks and such, Essex, by name. Kinda like a better class of Big Lots.

[Undertoad]

There's no monitor driver; it would be the video driver that could be updated, but this sounds like you bought the shittiest monitor available and got burned. To test the theory, plug any other monitor in and see what happens.

But just for shits and giggles, you should first make sure the cables are attached well and the video card is seated well in the computer.

[GunMaster357]

You should go have a look into the "display proprerties" to check if you didn't disable one property or another regarding display resolutions

[Gravdigr]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

There's no monitor driver; it would be the video driver that could be updated, but this sounds like you bought the shittiest monitor available and got burned. To test the theory, plug any other monitor in and see what happens.

But just for shits and giggles, you should first make sure the cables are attached well and the video card is seated well in the computer.

Monitor driver, , I misspoke. I checked the cables (I giggled, but I didn't shit) & they're ok, I always use those little safety screw-type things if the plug has them. As for anything inside, I'll let the Geek Squad crack it open the first time, so my little sticker stays intact, along w/my warranty. I guess at least a tech call may be in order, as well as taking the box in next time I go toward Best Buy.

Will go for the alternate monitor trial just as soon as I scrape the lazy off me...

Originally Posted by GunMaster357

You should go have a look into the "display proprerties" to check if you didn't disable one property or another regarding display resolutions

First place I went. That's how I knew my resolution choices had changed. Oddly, there is no longer a 'recommended' resolution in the list of available resolutions, and the originally recommended resolution, 1440 x 900, is not available.

I don't know if this is due to Win7, or caused by my problem, but, there are no "Default" settings available anywhere concerning monitors, video drivers, displays, etc...


Has anyone heard of a virus doing this sort of thing? When I ran AVG, it went through the scan pretty quickly, it usually takes close to an hour.

Deep down, I want Facebook to have caused this...it was the last site Momdigr was on before this happened.

[Gravdigr]

Also: Windows 7 identifies this monitor as a 'generic non-plug-and-play' monitor. I'm almost certain that when I plugged this thing up Windows said 'Hang on, something's new here. Oh, you got a new monitor, we got you covered, carry on.' My stupid may show, but, isn't that kinda what 'plug-n-play' is?

Thanx for the suggestions, btw.

[BigV]

pm

[xoxoxoBruce]

Oh boy, BigV must have something meaningful to contribute, because when he does he always PMs, rather than share it with the other people reading the thread.

[BigV]

heh

I have offered to help him directly, on his machine. The offer is still pending though. It didn't have any follow-on applicability to anyone else since it was intended only for Gravdigr. There's a chance it could be meaningful for him but useless (though perhaps not meaningless) to anyone else reading the thread.

[Pete Zicato]

Right click on the desktop.
Choose properties in the menu.
Choose the Settings tab.
Click on the Advanced button.
Choose the adapter tab.
Make sure the adapter is what you expected. If you're not sure look in the documentation that came with your computer.
Now choose the monitor tab.
I suspect that somehow your monitor driver got changed. (Yes there is a monitor driver - at least that's what ms calls it.)
Click on the properties button.
You'll have to poke around in this area. I've never had to fix up a situation like this. Roll back driver, and uninstall look potentially useful.
You might also try calling the SVA people to see if they've got a monitor driver file for your monitor.
All of the above assume XP, but later versions should be similar.

Actually, did you check in your stuff to see if you got a cd with the monitor? I did when I got my samsung.

Good luck.

[Pete Zicato]

Originally Posted by BigV

I have offered to help him directly, on his machine.

What software do you use for this, V? I like remote desktop, but he won't have the server part unless he sprang for professional.

[Undertoad]

RealVNC will do a remote desktop for free. The catch is, monitor resolution might throw a wrench into that plan. It will be a neat trick if a remote desktop can pick up on a resolution change on the fly.

[BigV]

Originally Posted by Pete Zicato

What software do you use for this, V? I like remote desktop, but he won't have the server part unless he sprang for professional.

I use GoToAssist Express, from Citrix. Not free, $70/month. But it has a ton of tools, including unattended access, which permits me to access the machines in my area of responsibility even without someone else at the other console to permit me. That sounds menacing, it's not. On the remote, there's a banner that indicates that the screen is being viewed and the remote can cancel and even block the connection at all times. But being able to see the server from home at oh dark thirty, to restart a service instead of driving half an hourrto work in my jammies and bunny slippers to do the same thing is seriously worth it.

I also us it on an ad hoc basis every day, to provide support for our worldwide staff burdened with cranky computers. My job it to make sure the computer isn't an excuse for them not getting their work done.

Crosses every firewall I've encountered, requires an internet connection, autosizes display, works on windows and mac,.. I just love it. I've used it to help a handful of dwellars. Wanna try it? Send me a pm.