Inspiron 8100 Display - Resolution cannot be set to match display size.

Yes...actually, when I hook up a monitor to the computer I can actually get the resolution to fit on the monitor as long as it is the primary display. 

 

The resolution setup is weird.  It doesn't really make much sense when I change the settings.  If I set the resolution higher, it's like the resolution isn't supported although the display settings say that it supports up to 1600x1200.  I really don't think it can support that resolution.  So, when you set the resolution to say 800x600 or 1024x768, the screen appears with part of the screen out of view.  Now, on some computers I've seen this where the resolution isn't supported on that screen, but you can actually move around the desktop and the desktop will move with the mouse where it's out of view, but back into view.  This one won't do that...it's like you just can't get to part of the desktop that's outside the view.

 

If I hit Fn+F7, the whole screen appears on the desktop, but it's like it's 640x480, but not stretched to fit the screen.  It's actaully like you're watching something that's a picture within a picture although the bigger picture is just black.

 

I hope that makes more sense.

 

Eric

 

P.S.  I installed the ATI M4 drivers from the Dell support site.

Eric,

 

LCDs have a physical number of pixels, and display correctly at only one resolution.   At lower resolutions you will either get blocky text, a fuzzy appearance, or the reduced display that you have seen.  Fn+F7 should put the desktop full screen.  At higher than the native resolution, you will get a virtual desktop effect where your desktop will be larger than the screen and you will scroll to the edges.

 

The video card may support resolutions larger than the LCD.  You need to find the native resolution of the LCD and use that resolution, except when using an external monitor.

 

Check the FAQ at the top of this board for a link with more information.

 

Okay, so don't take this the wrong way DELL-Rollie, but I'm not that ignorant.  I worked in the Windows group at Microsoft for 7+ years, so I'm fairly certain I know what to expect in terms of resolution for this screen.

 

What I'm saying is, then the resolution is low (when I would expect the black border around my displayed desktop) usually the desktop is centered in the middle of the display.  This is displayed off-center in the lower right hand part of the display.

 

So, if I bump it up to the next size (when you'd expect the resolution to get bigger and fit better), it actually jumps to a size that doesn't fit on the display.  And, when it's outside the parameters of the display, I am unable to move around the desktop where I would normally expect the desktop to shift so I could see different parts of the desktop, just not all at once.

 

Take into account that I have completely wiped the OS, and the OS still did not correctly set the appearance in this display.  It's the same now as it was before.

 

The only way I have been able to see the display fit on the screen is when I've hooked up an external monitor and that monitor is set to the primary display.  But, the laptop display set as the secondary monitor still doesn't fit the deskop area all on the display.  When I try to change the primary monitor back to the laptop display when everything looks okay on the external display, I get an error that is can't change because the resolution is outside the maximum acceptable resolution.

 

Believe me, this is the weirdest thing I've ever seen.  It has even been taken to another shop for an evaluation and they were unable to do anything as they had never seen this before.

 

I was hoping someone here might have a clue.

 

Thanks for all the help.  I'll keep waiting and hoping.

 

Eric Freeman

 

I wasn't offended per se by your suggestion...I know you guys have a process to follow.  I just wanted you to know that I wasn't new.  :smileyvery-happy:

 

The only thing I haven't tried is putting it in VGA mode to see what happens.  I can hook it up to an external monitor and display both at the same time.  The external monitor set as primary monitor displays correctly while the primary laptop display as secondary does not.  If I try to switch the laptop display to primary while the desktop appears correctly, I get that error about the desktop being displayed outside the display area and that it can't change.

 

I have read some other people with similar issues when they've had a project connected and their laptop goes into sleep mode and then it does what mine is doing when they turn it back on.

 

There was something about checking the mark " Control Panel > Display > Settings > Advanced > Displays > 'Panel' > Tick Scale Image, Select 'Expand to full panel size'".  I thought I tried this, but it may have been something I missed or didn't notice as this is the case with the other posts I have seen on the internet.

 

The part that doesn't make sense is that when I go into the BIOS setup screen, the resolution for this is also set outside the boundaries of the display on the laptop so that I can not see all of the text in the BIOS setup screen.

 

Eric

Eric,

 

I hope you won't take this the wrong way, but I did not know any of that, about you, or about the extent of the problem.  I provided a basic answer to what seemed to be a basic problem.  Sorry about that, so let's move forward and see if we can figure out what is wrong.

 

You are absolutely right, this is an odd one.  Let me make sure that I understand.  You set the resolution at 800x600, and it displays reduced in a corner of the LCD, then you bump it up to 1024x768, and it jumps off the screen. 

 

Can you set it up with the external monitor, and display on both at the same time?  I would like you to repeat those steps with both displays running and tell me what happens.  Have you tested it in Safe Mode to see if the same thing happens.

 

Basic troubleshooting says that if a problem appears on the LCD, but not on an external CRT monitor, then the problem is with the LCD, and not the video card.  This is obviously not a basic problem, but so far as I know, this should still remain true.  I also do not know of any software or driver problem that would cause the LCD to display in this manner.

 

Did it ever work correctly?  Were there any hardware changes before the problem first occurred?