Sharpening up my laptop display

[subseasniper]

Hey all,

A quick query. How do I sharpen up my laptop display on Windows XP?

I messed about with the display settings when I used a data projector and now the screen looks like the resolution settings have changed.

The only problem is when I change the screen cannot display the whole of my desktop or program. I have to scroll around to see different parts which is a total pain.

Is there a setting I can use to have a high resolution image without having to scroll all over the place?

Cheers.

 

[tdodd]

The only way to get a really sharp display is to set the resolution to match the native resolution of the screen. If you set a resolution smaller than native, which is what I guess you did, the screen has two options for display....

1. It will display your desktop as a windowed image centred in the middle of your display. Everything will appear sharp, but you won't fill the screen.
2. The display has to stretch the smaller resolution image to fit the actual physical pixels of the screen It will look soft and ugly.

Some screens/GFX cards allow you to set a resolution that is larger then your physical display can handle. In this example you get a virtual desktop that is bigger than your physical display. Everything will be sharp, but it won't all fit, so you end up scrolling your desktop to fit what you need to see within the screen boundary.

The correct solution is to set the output resolution to be equal to your screen e.g. 1280x800 or 1440x900 or 1920x1200 etc.. Just pick the right resolution and everything will be rosy.

If, for some reason, you cannot access the necessary control, because it has somehow slid off the edge of the visible screen, try a right click on the taskbar and then "tile" your windows. This should pull everything back within the visible desktop area.

 

[subseasniper]

Thanks for the advice. One other thing, how do I find out what the monitors resolution is?

 

[SteveBrem]

Thanks for the advice. One other thing, how do I find out what the monitors resolution is?

Another factor to consider is the video drivers you have in there just now. Make sure your drivers are up to date. Again this very much depends on a case by case basis.

Do you have any hardware stats you can post? The graphics card name etc would be handy of you know. If you don't know where to look, let me know and I'll help you out.

 

[subseasniper]

Cheers guys, got it back to its correct settings. I googled for the native resoloution and got it dialled in.

My, I'm sharp now.