Computer question

[Mudcat]

I suspect this will be an easy bit of boobery to correct.

One of my computer does not have its display fitted to the screen (for lack of better terminology).

To use SBR forum as an example, this computer I am typing at now has the forum fitted so there is no need to scroll left and right. Width-wise, it is fitted to the display. But this one computer you have to scroll left and right to see everything. Know what I mean?

Is that correctable?

[Matt Rain]

Yes. Assuming that this is a new computer and that the correct monitor driver is installed, you can simply right-click on an empty spot on the desktop, then Properties (or Personalize if you're using Vista), then Display Settings. Drag the slider all the way to the right and click the Apply button.

Should there be a problem (screen going black, for example), just wait 15 seconds and it'll go back to its previous state.

[Matt Rain]

You might not like the new screen resolution though - depending on the size of your screen and your personal preference, you might wanna reduce the resolution a bit. To do so, just drag the same slider one notch to the left and click the Apply button. Repeat until it feels right to you.

[Mudcat]

Hmm. I don't know.

I did my best to follow the instructions. I dragged the slider for Screen Area all the way to the right. It said 1600 by 1200 pixels. When I restarted the computer, all I could see was wallpaper. It took me awhile to figure out that my icons were right out of the frame. It's like my desktop is much bigger than my display now.

And then when I open up a browser window it is all out of whack.

Did I misunderstand something?

[Matt Rain]

Nah, it just means that you don't have the correct monitor (and/or video card) driver installed - indeed, you went beyond your monitor's specs, so Windows created a virtual desktop that extends outside the frame, so to speak. If you move your mouse pointer to either side of the screen, it should scroll the virtual desktop all the way to the edge.

Simplest way to fix this is to go back to the slider, bring it back a notch, click Apply, then check if the whole desktop is showing. Repeat as necessary.

(You might not find the correct resolution if your video card driver isn't properly installed. 1600x1200 is the old "square", 4:3 aspect ratio, and just about every recent computer uses a widescreen, 16:10 aspect ratio. Still, maybe it'll work.)

[Mudcat]

Yeah I can tinker around but I can't do any better than what I started with. I think I just have a crap setup with that computer. No big deal; I don't do much with it but I thought I'd ask.

[SBR Lou]

Install current video card drivers. Then ensure resolution is set to something normal.