screen area

[Stewart]

I recently bought a 19" tft monitor and am very pleased with it but am
puzzled at a problem I am having with the screen settings.
It is a digital monitor and can take a setting of screen area 1920 x 1080
but if I set it at this then the desktop becomes a bit like a panorama scene
and the task bar, tool bar and sides have to be accessed by scrolling with
the mouse; in other words the "desktop" is bigger than the screen.
I have to set the area at 1280 x 1024 to get a comfortable fit.
My question is, why does a monitor come with a setting of 1920 x 1080 if I
cannot use it or am I missing something?
Can I change some setting so that the 1920 x 1080 will work without the need
to scroll up, down and sideways?
Thank you.

[Mike M]

Check that your video drivers support a resolution of 1920 x 1080. If not
then check the manufacturer's web site to see if they have more recent Win
Me compatible drivers for your graphics card. It is quite possible that
an older graphics card or drivers would not support this resolution.

Out of curiosity may I ask what model wide screen TFT monitor you have
bought? Until I saw your post I don't think I was aware of a 19" monitor
that supported a 1920 x 1080 resolution. I've got an "old fashioned" 4x3
19" TFT monitor and this has a resolution of 1280 x 1024 and would like to
have a widescreen 16.9 TFT monitor but cannot really afford to buy a 23"
monitor which is what I thought was previously necessary to obtain the
sort of resolution you mention (1920 x 1200).
--
Mike Maltby

Post by Stewart
I recently bought a 19" tft monitor and am very pleased with it but am
puzzled at a problem I am having with the screen settings.
It is a digital monitor and can take a setting of screen area 1920 x
1080 but if I set it at this then the desktop becomes a bit like a
panorama scene and the task bar, tool bar and sides have to be
accessed by scrolling with the mouse; in other words the "desktop" is
bigger than the screen.
I have to set the area at 1280 x 1024 to get a comfortable fit.
My question is, why does a monitor come with a setting of 1920 x 1080
if I cannot use it or am I missing something?
Can I change some setting so that the 1920 x 1080 will work without
the need to scroll up, down and sideways?
Thank you.

[William J. Leary Jr.]

Post by Stewart
I recently bought a 19" tft monitor and am very pleased with it but am
puzzled at a problem I am having with the screen settings.
It is a digital monitor and can take a setting of screen area 1920 x 1080
but if I set it at this then the desktop becomes a bit like a panorama scene
and the task bar, tool bar and sides have to be accessed by scrolling with
the mouse; in other words the "desktop" is bigger than the screen.
I have to set the area at 1280 x 1024 to get a comfortable fit.
My question is, why does a monitor come with a setting of 1920 x 1080 if I
cannot use it or am I missing something?
Can I change some setting so that the 1920 x 1080 will work without the need
to scroll up, down and sideways?

Find out what the pixel count on the monitor is. I've got Dell 24" with 1920
X 1200 pixels. That's it's best resolution. One hardware pixel to each
display card pixel. However, my Radeon card will let me set it to 1920 X 1440.
The extra 240 vertical pixels are off the screen. If I move the mouse past the
top or bottom of the screen, it scrolls to bring the unseen portion into view.
I'm pretty sure this is a feature of the video card, not the monitor. When I
had a 21" CRT attached, I could set resolutions beyond what the monitor could
handle, and it would do the same thing, except that it would also do scroll
left/right along with up/down, depending on which way the settings exceeded the
CRT.

Or, from what you've said so far, it seems to be functioning normally. 1280 X
1024 sounds about right for a 19" TFT.

What monitor and video card are you using? I researched quite a few before
deciding on this setup. I may have something in my notes about what you've
got.

- Bill

[Stewart]

Thanks to both, my monitor is a Samsung SyncMaster 930 BF and the video card
is a NVIDIA GeForce FX5200.
From what you say Bill it seems I just have to accept the situation as I do
not think that I have the skill to tweak the video card, it just seemed
strange to me that the card and monitor did not match up. I am running
Windows 2000 and maybe if I had been using XP there would have been a better
link but I doubt it.

Post by Stewart
I recently bought a 19" tft monitor and am very pleased with it but am

<snip>
<snip>

[Mike M]

Stewart,

The resolution of a Samsung SyncMaster 930 BF is 1280 x 1024. You cannot
use a higher resolution. In fact I don't believe that any current monitor
supports a resolution of 1920 x 1080. Your Samsung monitor has a 5x4
aspect ratio and is not wide screen. A 1920 x 1080 monitor would be wide
screen and even then somewhat unusual, most have an aspect ration of
around 16:9. For example the 21" wide screen Samsung SM215TW has an
aspect ratio of 16:10 and a pixel count of 1680 x 1050.

just seemed strange to me that the card and monitor did not match up.

No, there is nothing strange other than you thinking the aspect ratio and
pixel count of your monitor is different from its spec.
--
Mike Maltby
MS-MVP Windows [2001-2006]

Thanks to both, my monitor is a Samsung SyncMaster 930 BF and the
video card is a NVIDIA GeForce FX5200.
From what you say Bill it seems I just have to accept the situation
as I do not think that I have the skill to tweak the video card, it
just seemed strange to me that the card and monitor did not match up.
I am running Windows 2000 and maybe if I had been using XP there
would have been a better link but I doubt it.

[Stewart]

Mike, I read what you are saying but how can you explain that if I go into
properties and then settings I can choose the larger numbers of 1920 x 1080
and if I then apply this setting the taskbar drops off the bottom of the
desktop as does the toolbar etc and they can only be accessed by scrolling.
The icons look to be the same size but are no longer at the edge of the
desktop but slightly in. Anything I want to view now extends beyond the
screen perimeter and scrolling is needed.
Thank you.

Post by Mike M
Stewart,
The resolution of a Samsung SyncMaster 930 BF is 1280 x 1024. You cannot
use a higher resolution. In fact I don't believe that any current monitor
supports a resolution of 1920 x 1080. Your Samsung monitor has a 5x4
aspect ratio and is not wide screen. A 1920 x 1080 monitor would be wide
screen and even then somewhat unusual, most have an aspect ration of
around 16:9. For example the 21" wide screen Samsung SM215TW has an
aspect ratio of 16:10 and a pixel count of 1680 x 1050.

just seemed strange to me that the card and monitor did not match up.

No, there is nothing strange other than you thinking the aspect ratio and
pixel count of your monitor is different from its spec.
--
Mike Maltby
MS-MVP Windows [2001-2006]

Thanks to both, my monitor is a Samsung SyncMaster 930 BF and the
video card is a NVIDIA GeForce FX5200.
From what you say Bill it seems I just have to accept the situation
as I do not think that I have the skill to tweak the video card, it
just seemed strange to me that the card and monitor did not match up.
I am running Windows 2000 and maybe if I had been using XP there
would have been a better link but I doubt it.

[William J. Leary Jr.]

Post by Stewart
Mike, I read what you are saying but how can you explain that if I go into
properties and then settings I can choose the larger numbers of 1920 x 1080
and if I then apply this setting the taskbar drops off the bottom of the
desktop as does the toolbar etc and they can only be accessed by scrolling.

My ATI Radeon also offers 1920 X 1080, along with a lot of other very odd
combination. I recognize a few of them as being compatible with old Apple
monitors, but some of the others I've never seen before at all.

What I'm a bit amazed by is that you don't have to also scroll left/right to
get the entire task bar. I'd have expected the icon tray (lower right corner)
to be off the screen to the right. With the monitor only offereing 1280 X 1024
you should have 56 pixels below the screen and 640 off the right. Can you
actually see both the start button and the clock/icon tray on the task bar
without scrolling left/right?

Post by Stewart
The icons look to be the same size but are no longer at the edge of the
desktop but slightly in. Anything I want to view now extends beyond the
screen perimeter and scrolling is needed.

Look at it this way. The biggest "window" your monitor can "see" is 1280 X
1024. If you set the video card to 1920 X 1080 you'll be viewing a sub-set
1280 X 1024 in size. By moving the mouse to the edges, you can scroll this
window over whatever portion of that 1920 X 1080 you like, but it's still only
viewing a portion.

- Bill

[Mike M]

Post by Stewart
Mike, I read what you are saying but how can you explain that if I go
into properties and then settings I can choose the larger numbers of
1920 x 1080

Because you have your video card set to display all the possible screen
sizes it can display rather than the subset suitable for your monitor.
--
Mike Maltby
MS-MVP Windows [2001-2006]

Post by Stewart
Mike, I read what you are saying but how can you explain that if I go
into properties and then settings I can choose the larger numbers of
1920 x 1080 and if I then apply this setting the taskbar drops off
the bottom of the desktop as does the toolbar etc and they can only
be accessed by scrolling. The icons look to be the same size but are
no longer at the edge of the desktop but slightly in. Anything I
want to view now extends beyond the screen perimeter and scrolling is
needed.

[Stewart]

Mike, would there be any benefit in resetting (if I can) the video card to a
maximum of 1280 x 1024?
I find that there is no problem except when I change the settings in order
to watch a VHS film or a DVD when I go to a much lower figure to enhance the
picture; then when I try to reset I forget what setting to use. If the
video card was limited to 1280 x 1024 then I could just go to max.
Thank you.

Post by Mike M

Post by Stewart
Mike, I read what you are saying but how can you explain that if I go
into properties and then settings I can choose the larger numbers of
1920 x 1080

Because you have your video card set to display all the possible screen
sizes it can display rather than the subset suitable for your monitor.
--
Mike Maltby
MS-MVP Windows [2001-2006]

Post by Stewart
Mike, I read what you are saying but how can you explain that if I go
into properties and then settings I can choose the larger numbers of
1920 x 1080 and if I then apply this setting the taskbar drops off
the bottom of the desktop as does the toolbar etc and they can only
be accessed by scrolling. The icons look to be the same size but are
no longer at the edge of the desktop but slightly in. Anything I
want to view now extends beyond the screen perimeter and scrolling is
needed.

[Mike M]

Stewart.

See if at Display Properties | Settings | Advanced | Monitor you have a
check box "Hide modes that this monitor cannot display". If so ensure
that it is checked and then click Apply. If you don't find this setting
on the Monitor tab see if there is something similar on the Adapter tab.
Whether this setting is available is I think a function of the video or
monitor drivers rather than the operating system.
--
Mike Maltby
MS-MVP Windows [2001-2006]

Post by Stewart
Mike, would there be any benefit in resetting (if I can) the video
card to a maximum of 1280 x 1024?
I find that there is no problem except when I change the settings in
order to watch a VHS film or a DVD when I go to a much lower figure
to enhance the picture; then when I try to reset I forget what
setting to use. If the video card was limited to 1280 x 1024 then I
could just go to max.
Thank you.

[Stewart]

Mike, that is what I was needing, all is back to normal with that box
ticked.
Thanks a lot.

Post by Mike M
Stewart.
See if at Display Properties | Settings | Advanced | Monitor you have a
check box "Hide modes that this monitor cannot display". If so ensure
that it is checked and then click Apply. If you don't find this setting
on the Monitor tab see if there is something similar on the Adapter tab.
Whether this setting is available is I think a function of the video or
monitor drivers rather than the operating system.
--
Mike Maltby
MS-MVP Windows [2001-2006]

Post by Stewart
Mike, would there be any benefit in resetting (if I can) the video
card to a maximum of 1280 x 1024?
I find that there is no problem except when I change the settings in
order to watch a VHS film or a DVD when I go to a much lower figure
to enhance the picture; then when I try to reset I forget what
setting to use. If the video card was limited to 1280 x 1024 then I
could just go to max.
Thank you.

[Mike M]

Stewart,

I'm glad that you found that check box and that order has now returned to
your system! Thanks for the feedback.

Regards,
--
Mike Maltby
MS-MVP Windows [2001-2006]

Post by Stewart
Mike, that is what I was needing, all is back to normal with that box
ticked.
Thanks a lot.