Windows XP and Monitor Resolution problem!!

Here is my problem:

All of a sudden my monitor's resoultion changed to the bare minium, 640 X 480 and will not allow me to tab over to a higher resolution. My Color quality is "Lowest (4 bit) ". I am not sure why this is happening. It happened yesterday morning, could it have been after a faulty update? Also I would like to mention, I got a new printer (HP 4215) and installed that 2 days ago.

Here is the error message again after a restart:

"Your Computer's screen resolution and color depth are currently set at a very low level, click this balloon to fix this problem "

When I click it, nothing happens. I tried to go into Display properties and increase resolution and color quality but it will not let me.

Could this be a virus of some sort? I did a system restore to 2 days ago, and it worked fine for the remainder of the day yesterday, however, this morning, it went back to poor quality. This leads me to believe it is some type of automatic update, but I certainly could be wrong!

My specs are:

Windows XP SP1
Dell Dimension 2400 and Dell Monitor

Please Help!

Thanks,
Justin

 

The problem you're having is almost always caused by corrupt video drivers. Why they get corrupt is anybody's guess...it happens.

To try the easiest thing first, right click on My Computer, left click on Properties. Go to the Hardware tab and click on the Device Manager button. Double click "Display adapter," double click the video card listed there. Go to the Drivers tab and click on the Update Driver button.

Step through the wizard and hopefully Windows can reinstall the drivers.

If that doesn't work, you'll need to go to the website of the card's manufacturer, download the newest drivers for the video card/operating system combination you have and install them.

 

The Dell driver website for the 2400:
http://support.dell.com/support/dow...en&SystemID=DIM_PNT_P4_CEL_2400&os=WW1&osl=EN
I suggest you install the chipset drivers first, then the graphics/video drivers (there are 4 different models of onboard graphics drivers).

Graphics/video drivers sometimes need to be completely uninstalled, especially if there are different versions (of makes or models) on the system.

If you need help with your model (2400), the Dell Community Forums will have a website for it.

Matt