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External Monitor Quirk

post #1 of 12
Thread Starter 
Hey All,

5660 512megs ram 2.53 proc. I have a 19" external monitor plugged in which I use as my main (I close the laptop lid when using the 19") running 1280x1024 when running the 19".

Here's the wierd thing. Whenever I run any video files (.mpeg, .avi and others) my monitor resolution drops to 640x480 I think and the video runs full screen. Let me backtrack a bit. The resolution stays the same on the laptop 1280x1024 but on the monitor switches to 640x480. When the video is over, the monitor is unusable (lines and snow). What I have to do to fix it is on the laptop open display control panel. Switch to ANY other resolution click apply then change it back to 1280x1024.

Anyone know of a fix so that the monitor doesn't switch resolutions on me? Thanks in advance.

post #2 of 12
Something you can try is set it to 16bit and see if it still does it...
post #3 of 12
Thread Starter 
Yes it does. I tried going all the way down to 800x640 at 16bit colors with the same results. Here's a curious thing though. If I turn OFF the laptop display and only show on the external monitor, it's fine. I only have this problem with video files. My games and apps all work fine. Oh yeah in case anyone needs to know, I'm running Win XP Pro. Thanks again.


P.S. Thanks for the quick reply Adam
post #4 of 12
Thread Starter 
Also, as a fix, would anyone happen to know if you can set the 5660 on boot to ONLY show on the external 19" if it detects an external monitor and display on the LCD at all other times? Hope that made sense. Thanks.

post #5 of 12

I think I have your solution....

The refresh rate of your laptop video adapter is likely not supported by the 19" external monitor. You need to find a refresh rate and video resolution that both your laptop's video adapter and monitor support. Many laptop LCD's run at 60mhz; your 19" monitor may need 85mhz or more to support resolutions above 640x480.

If you go into your display settings, find the tab for your adapter. You should have a button that says 'Show all modes'. This will list all the video modes your adapter will support. I would then look at your monitor's user manual to see what modes the monitor supports. If you don't have the manual, try a Google search for the monitor's model name and number.

Hope this helps!
post #6 of 12
Thread Starter 
That didn't work either. Just in case I'm doing it wrong, here's what I did.

Open display control panel.
Goto settings
Click advanced
Click monitor
Uncheck "hide modes that this monitor cannot display"
Change screen refresh rates (Itried both 75 Hertz and 85 Hertz)
Click apply and ok

Thanks again for everyone's help.

post #7 of 12
So when you go to the properties of the monitor it says it's still at 75hz? That shouldn't be too high. Does it do it if you have it displayed on the LCD? or just the monitor?
post #8 of 12
Thread Starter 
If I display on laptop and monitor simultaneously no work. Meaning the laptop display is fine the monitor display is screwed up.

if I turn off the laptop display (Fn F7) and ONLY display on the monitor, I can play video files fine.

post #9 of 12
Have you checked to see if there were any Windows Media Player patches in the Windows updates?
post #10 of 12
Ok, lol, wish I had gotten here sooner.... First off, most laptop display adaptors can only show full motion video on one display at a time (ie: if you want to watch a movie on a tv, you have to disable the laptop screen to watch it on the tv...). Otherwise, the second screen will turn into a solid color and you won't be very happy with the experience of watching the movie, lol. The graphics cards just don't have enough power to display full motion video on two displays at once. I know this for a fact with the tv out, and I'm pretty sure it's true for monitors (another limitation is that you can't play games using an extended desktop, like use a CRT to make the screen wider and then play across both...). Someone correct me if I'm wrong about this stuff, but the idea behind disabling your LCD display (not just turning it off... disabling it) is to get the computer to display at the resolution you want on the external monitor or tv so that when you put something in full screen it will fit right. That's prolly why the video played at 640x480... If I were you, I'd go into the advanced properties for display and click the displays tab and turn off the LCD and set the monitor as the main display... do this by selecting the little dot under it as opposed to the little set of screens. Hope this helps!
post #11 of 12
Thread Starter 
Thanks beebster. Is that the same as pressing Fn +F7. If I use Fn +F7 to make the external the only one active, everything works fine.

post #12 of 12
Yes, it is the same thing (assuming F7 has a little picture of an LCD with a forward slash and then a CRT). That cycles through the options of either just the LCD, just the CRT, or both at the same time. If you're doing video or gaming, I strongly recommend you pick ONE and set it to only display on that one. Glad to see it works!
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