BIOS Screen Too Large For Monitor

Hi,
I have a most peculiar problem.
Actually,it not only involves the BIOS screen,but Boot screen and Safe Mode as well. In all those cases the screen(window) is too large for the monitor screen, which is especially troublesome when accessing the BIOS, since I can't access certain parts of it.

OK,the specs
IBM Netvista M8305U42 ,onboard Intel Extreme Graphics Graphics chip 82845G driver ver. 6.14 (also tried 6.13 - no change) Monitor 19" LCD AG191D I-Inc (Hannstar) ,res. set at 1024x768 XP Pro SP2

As I understand it in above cases the normal video drivers are not used, but instead Windows uses vgasave

On other machines I never experienced this.Regardless of the user's normal resolution, 1024x768 or 1280x1024 or whatever, the BIOS screen or Safe Mode screen would show at a lower resolution like 640x480 or so ,but just fill the screen without going beyond the screen edges.

I read somewhere that there are several versions of vgasave.

So the question is:What can I do to permanently change this behavior and also,if there are different versions of vgasave,which one to get and where?

Any input will be greatly appreciated.

Pete

 

Hi,
I think you will need to use the adjustment controls on the monitor itself (there will be height and width) to shrink the viewable image.

Vgasave will only affect Windows (Safe Mode), not the BIOS screen or the startup menu because they will be controlled by the basic drivers loaded by the BIOS.

You could try the monitor on another computer or try another monitor on this computer. You will then see if the problem is in the monitor or computer.

When I have come across a similar problem I was able to shrink the viewable screen with the monitor adjustments.

If it were to be a problem in the computer, I might think about doing a BIOS upgrade, or, if it seemed to be in the graphics, look for a firmware update for it.

Matt

 

Hi Matt,

Thanks for the advice. It works OK on an old CRT,so it may be the monitor. Also,there is no size adjustment on this monitor, only position,so I can't shrink the picture.

I still find it kind of weird. In safe mode everything is way too large,but it doesn't do that on the CRT. I even set acceleration to zero,just in case that was the problem. No change. There were no drivers for this monitor so I'm not sure how to change firmware on it

At the moment I don't have another computer to try it on,but I'll have to check with the store if they want to try it on a few computers.

Anyway,thanks for the input.

Pete.

 

Followup

I found a partial solution that corrects the image for the BIOS screen
as wel as Safe Mode.
After a long discussion with a tech CSR ( at I-Inc-usa.com)
who was very patient answering my crazy questions ,
we came to the conclusion that the Plug & Play function had assigned
the wrong resolution for the BIOS and Safe Mode screens.

So I went back through the Display settings again.

Here's my fix:
Went into Safe Mode.Then this was my "path" :
R-click Desktop > Properties or Control Panel > Display
then Display properties > Settings > Advanced > Adapter > List All Modes
Then select a mode that the monitor will display properly.

You will find that when in Safe mode, the list is a lot shorter than in Normal Mode,
but 800x600 was available and that did the job.
It was at reduced colors,but it was at least a lot better than 640x480
and it allowed me to access all areas of the BIOS.

I had gone through Display settings before but the resolution was stuck at
640x480 (the slider wouldn't move).
It's only when I went via the adapter settings,that I could change the resolution.
Again,once set,you can't move the slider.

So that's it sofar.The Bootscreen is still too large (res too low),
but that passes in seconds,so of no concern

Although this may be an unusual problem,maybe this description may help someone.

Pete.