Everythin' on my screen appears BiG & fAT!

[jared]

Hi there,
I just reinstalled Windows (that's my solution to a computer problem I was having).
Now, not only do I have to reinstall all my programs, everything on my screen appears BIG and FAT...it's like the whole screen is zoomed-in or something!!

It appears that I only have 16 colours. I went over to the Controls Panel-->Display icon-->Settings Tab, and i tried to move the slider labeled "Screen Area" to increase my resolution (cuz right now, it's in the lowest possible resolution), but the slider won't budge! :confused:

'was told this has something to do with the video card driver installation, and i followed the instructions given in the website:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q131806/

Start-->Control Panel-->Display-->Settings Tab-->Advance-->Adapter-->Change-->Next-->Method 1: Search for the new driver

I'm stuck here. How do I know which option to choose from? 4 were given:
1) a:/
2) CD Rom
3) Windows update
4) Specify a location

i don't know even where the driver is located...in fact, i barely know what the video driver is. Any help is appreciated! :(

[Lau]

Jared,

You probably need to update your video card driver. Do you still have the installation CD?
Or better yet, simply go to your video card manufacturer's website, download the latest dirvers and install. You should be able to move the slider in the Display properties after that.

Good luck

[Sylvander]

"I just reinstalled Windows (that's my solution to a computer problem I was having)."
To avoid all the hassle and work involved [in having to rebuild your software from scratch] you should instead, [in future if you haven't already done it] make backups of the whole contents of your C: partition/drive [after you've moved to another physical HDD or partition, all non-essentials (such as data files), leaving only the "Windows" and "Program Files" folders (plus a few odds & ends)]. Then you re-format your C: drive and restore a backup to fix software problems.


You need to have some idea where you are likely to find a driver for your video card. If you don't have a driver CD that came with the video card, then you will probably use a driver included on the Windows [which version?] installation CD. Was the video card in existence when your Windows OS was designed? If so, then Windows will probably include a driver. If the video card wasn't in existence when Windows was made, then a driver cannot have been included.
Normally you'd need to point the wizard at the ".inf" file for the video card driver, but if it's one that's included on the Windows disk you cannot do that because the file will be "packed" inside one of the "cabinet" [".cab"] files on the CD. Hence you'd need to tell it to search [for a compatible driver], then point it at the Windows CD. When the compatible drivers are listed you'd need to select one that suits your card. [Which card do you have?]

[jared]

Thanks for your responses. The video card I have is S3 Savage4 (I downloaded and ran this program called Aida32 System Info Tool that helped identify my card/display adaptor). I even downloaded the S3 Savage4 from some website. I'm having trouble with the installation though, and I must've did something wrong while trying to install it because I lost my screen after reboot! :eek: :confused: :(
Instead of getting the desktop screen, I now have a black screen...it's like the computer is in stand-by mode..instead of getting that little solid green light on the monitor, I now have this flickering orangey-yellow light.

I can get into safe mode. However, I don't know how to undo what I did...I'm not even sure if I can recall what I did. :(
ANy help is much appreciated!

[Sylvander]

Which Operating system do you have installed?

[jared]

I have Win98SE...I recently reinstalled it to fix an earlier computer problem I was having. I reinstalled Win98 into another folder.

[Lau]

Jared - what do you mean by "in another folder"?

Did you format you hard drive and reinstall windows or simply ran the CD and created another directory for your WINDOWS files?

[jared]

yeah I just ran the setup program and installed windows into a new folder...

[Sylvander]

Has that Windows installation ever worked to your satisfaction?
Was that recently?
On how many days have you booted since then?

You could boot to "Command Prompt Only" and input the scanreg /restore command and restore a set of good configuration files.

Alternatively:
If that new installation has never worked right [because you failed to install the correct video card driver], then you'd need to boot into safe mode; remove any duplicate display devices; and "Update Driver" to the correct ones for the video card and display [if they're wrong].

[jared]

Hi Sylvander,
No, after reinstallation, it appears that I have to reinstall everything, and I mean everything, that was lost...all my programs and various connections are lost (I just got me internet connections back today).
I reinstalled Windows about a week ago.

Yeah I tried your idea and after deleting the duplicate display adapters, my screen is no longer black. However, I'm back to square one. I'm still unable to alternate the resolution of my computer. I was given a website,
www.video-drivers.com/companies/906.htm acd=3&rvd=5&thx=9&bng=7&o=3
to where I need to find and download my Video card driver (S3 Savage4). There are so many in there...and after goofing up from my last attempt to install the video driver, I'm afraid to try again. Is there maybe some explicit instructions that tells you step-by-step on how to you can install the driver?? :confused:

[Sylvander]

See here http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;127139

Particularly at:
"Unable to Adjust Display Settings".

How about this for background?
http://www.cybertechhelp.com/html/tutorials/tutorial.php/id/12