640x480 res with 16 colors????

Need some serious help here...

from WinCustomize Forums
Okay, first off my mom got a refurbished computer from her friend this week and she wanted me to fix it up for her. I agreed, of course, and when I took my first look at it my thoughts were "OH MY GOD!". It is an HLC Pentium machine with a P 133MHz processor, 64MB of EDO RAM (I upgraded it to 128MB thankfully), 10 GB Hard Drive (I added a second 20GB for 30GB total storage, good enough for her anyway), a CD-ROM 4x drive and Floppy. As I said earlier, I added more system memory, and a second hard disk but my main problem now is with her display. She is running Windows 98 Second Edition for your records, and I added a new Dell M991 Monitor (17" CRT) in place of her old (I could even say rusty) 13 or 15" monitor that came with the PC. I also had this problem with her old monitor for your information. Okay, now to the symptoms: First off, I noticed that her resolution was set at 640x480. So, naturally, I tried to set it at 1024x768 (which appeared to be the maximum resolution supported by her graphics chip). It was at 16 colors, so I changed that to High Color. WhenI clicked "Apply", I got a dialogue box that said "Windows must be restarted for the settings to take effect. Click Yes to restart now or No to restart later.". I clicked Yes to restart, it restarted and it was still set at 640x480 res and 16 colors. This is when I started getting worried. I updated both the Display Adapter and Monitor drivers but Windows Update claimed that the most current drivers were installed and could not continue. What should I do? Thanks for the help guys. Peace.
19,970 views 59 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
OMG!...there are a zillion old used pci graphics cards out there,I'm not sure there are any new ones that would run on that system...go to a pc repair shop,they usually have a box full of old crap...they might even give one to you.

Might be easier just to get a newer used pc...about a zillion of those out there...

Windows update isnt the best place to get driver updates...you need to find drivers from the graphics chip manufacturer...tho on a system that old,you may be doing a lot of searching.

Good hunting.  
Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I thought I was old......  

Display Properties/ Settings/ Advanced/ General: Check " Apply Changes without Restarting". Apply. Keep Color at 16, set resolution at 1024x768 with an 85 refresh rate. See if it sticks. God only knows what graphics is in there, but that 640x480 is the Windows driver default.

BTW: that's a 19'' CRT.
Ashes of the Singularity II
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top
It will never do 85
Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I've already tried 6 different PCI graphics cards from my stash in the basement (I have a small repair business-thingy going so I have prettymuch everything I need...). Nothing is working. I found the latest drivers for all of the graphics cards and I'm still having the same problems.
Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top
It will never do 85


Hey.....I'm 85 and I do it....  
Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Hey.....I'm 85 and I do it....


ummmmm...ooooooooookkkkkkk...did you mean your monitor is set at 85 or you are 85 and you do "it"........oh nevermind
Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Is there an Onboard Graphic chip in there? If there is, turn it off in the Bios.
Reply #8 from WinCustomize Forums Top
good idea...im gonna do that right now.
Reply #9 from WinCustomize Forums Top
ok i went into BIOS. there are no options for Video so idk....i know there's an integrated graphics chip because there was no expansion card...
Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Try upgrading to a newer version of Windows? Like at least Windows 2000 if you still can. Windows XP won't like 128MB of RAM.    You should also Google the name of your Computer to see what comes up on graphics issues. The graphics cards you are trying might require Windows 2000 or higher.
Reply #11 from WinCustomize Forums Top
You can try 2 things. Disable the Onboard in Device Manager or look for a jumper on the board (RTFM)
Reply #12 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I don't currently have a copy of Win2k but I can probably get one...

I'll try the Device Manager part and then after a reboot i'm experiencing the same problems ill look for a jumper, then if all that fails ill tell ya.
Reply #13 from WinCustomize Forums Top
okay i disabled the onboard video thru device manager and now thru the dropdown for Colors i only get 16 colors (before, on the expansion card i would either get 2 or 16 and on the onboard i would get 16, 256, or high) and the resolution stays at 640x480, i cannot move the button to 800x600 or 1024x768 because they dont even show up. its locked at the lowest...im going to look for that jumper now...
Reply #14 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Maybe a bios flash?  
Reply #16 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Maybe a bios flash?


ill try that give me a second
Reply #17 from WinCustomize Forums Top
this would be a lot easier if we were all in an IM conference instead of just a forum...quicker response times anyway...oh well
Reply #18 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I have occasionally seen monitor drivers(standard plug and play) refuse to allow higher settings when windows didnt know what kind of monitor the card was attached to...(especially refresh rates)

try telling windows exactly what monitor is hooked up.
Reply #19 from WinCustomize Forums Top
it knows what monitor is hooked up, under Device Manager it is called "Dell M991" instead of "Default Monitor"
Reply #20 from WinCustomize Forums Top
hmmmm...MS driver or manufacturer?
Reply #21 from WinCustomize Forums Top
What about uninstalling all related components and rebooting?  
Reply #22 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I think your mum's expert needs an expert.

Step #1 in any messing around with an 'old' computer...open it up....remove all the cards....note their model numbers/types/whatever...along with the MoBo's....and 'Google' to find out exactly what you're looking at....

AKA....

RTFM ....

 

Reply #23 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I'm pretty sure that a Dell M991 is a 19" monitor, could this be part of the problem?
Reply #24 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I think your mum's expert needs an expert.[/quote]

I never said I was an expert...I'm still learning...I'm only 14...

hmmmm...MS driver or manufacturer?
End of quote


both Display Adapter and Monitor drivers by MS

[quote]I'm pretty sure that a Dell M991 is a 19" monitor, could this be part of the problem?


Yeah, yrag addressed that earlier...I dont think that would be part of the problem though...
Reply #25 from WinCustomize Forums Top
oookkk...that didn't quite come out right