Resolution Message

My friend just bought a new Gateway Computer and the icons and titles were so small tht we changed them to a more readable resolution. We changed it to:
1024 x 768.

I was wondering if you could tell us how she could get a little box to stop coming up every time she turns on her Computer. It tells her the resolution would be best at 1280 x 1040.

Is the only answer to the problem is change it back to 1280 x 1040 and then it is too small for her to read.

Any help would be appreciated.

Jean

 

That's gotta be a gateway message of some sort so sorry, can't help with it.

However, you might right-click on the desktop, select properties, select Appearance and play with both the font settings (normal, large, extra large) and in the advanced section, play around with icon size and the various other options. With a little time, you can get a desktop that is easy to read.

Then Here and turn on Clear Type then pick the settings that make documents, browser, etc. easiest to read.

Speaking of browser, try tools~internet options~accessibility and click the boxes to have it ignore font size & style specified on web pages. Much easier typeface then and 99 of 100 web pages do fine. Also easier then to adjust the type size on the web pages with the ctrl key and the mouse wheel.

 

Jean,
I would also have here contact gateway support as this sounds as Newt says a gateway specific message, and you shouldn't be forced into one desktop resolution. Maybe a driver issue in their somewhere as well? 1280 x 1040 is too small for most on anything less than a 21 inch monitor. Even on a 19" 1024 x 768 or 1152 x 864 is adequate.

 

Is it one of those OSD (on-screen display) type messages generated by the monitor or a Windows dialog box? If OSD, check the monitor manual on how to adjust the resolution notifier control.

 

Newt wrote:

• "...turn on Clear Type... "

Newt, Jean didn't say whether the monitor was CRT or LCD, and ClearType works only with LCD monitors.


Paul wrote:

• "1280 x 1040 is too small for most on anything less than a 21 inch monitor. Even on a 19" 1024 x 768 or 1152 x 864 is adequate. "

I beg to differ, Paul. My 17" LCD has a native resolution of 1280x1024, and it's perfectly acceptable, as long as adjustments are made in Display Properties (Appearance tab, Advanced button, Item window) so that font sizes are set to a minimum of 10 or higher.

I realize that a great many of the members here are SSCs (read "retired "), and that their eyesight may not be what it once was, but on an LCD screen it's best to use the native resolution which, on a 17" is usually 1280x1024 and, on a 14 "/15 ", 1024x768. On a 17" CRT, which actually measures 16" (diagonally) I would use 1152x864, although many are more comfortable at 1024x768.

And, it's all about what you're most comfortable with. I know one guy with a 19" CRT who runs it at 800x600. Why? Because that's what it was set at by the manufacturer and he doesn't understand: 1) that he can change the resolution, 2) how to do it. Personally, I don't like losing the screen "real estate" that comes with using lower screen resolutions.

I've asked Arie to initiate a poll querying users about what screen resolution they use, a subject which has long interested me. Ideally, it would be cross-referenced with screen size, but he tells me that his polling program doesn't have that capability. Maybe I'll just start a new thread and tabulate the results myself.

 

Jean ...

Re-reading your post makes me think that it's an LCD monitor. Use the suggested resolution (1280x1040? It's usually 1280x1024), but follow the bold print steps in my previous post.

Also, turn on ClearType, as Newt suggests ... Display Properties, Appearance tab, Effects button, check Use the following method to smooth the edges of screen fonts:, and select ClearType from the drop-down menu.

HTH

 

Newt, Jean didn't say whether the monitor was CRT or LCD, and ClearType works only with LCD monitors.

The effect is much more pronounced with LCD but I have gotten improvement with CRT ones as well. Enough so that I think it's worth a couple minutes of time to give it a go.

 

Newt wrote:

• "...I have gotten improvement with CRT ones as well. "

I had occasion to try it with only one CRT, and it made no improvement at all ... in fact, it actually degraded the screen presentation. The improvement on LCD screens, though, is nothing short of phenomenal.

 

Thanks for all your help.

My friend went out of town for a couple of days. When she returns I'll check with her how the computer is working and I'll get back to you.

More later.

Jean

 

Hi everyone,

My friend contacted me today with the following message:
------------------------------------
"Computer is running fine. I did get rid of that screendisplay. I can't believe how stupid I can be. It kept telling me to disable it, hit 2 and I kept hitting the number 2 on my keyboard and nothing would happen. It of course meant to hit the button with a 2 on it on the front of my screen.

Oh well. We are all getting old I guess. "
---------------------------------------

Thanks for all your interesting help though.

Jean

 

Another problem solved!