As LCD monitors are all the rage now, and CRTs are for the hard core fans, more and more I'm seeing problem where the end user has changed the resolution / refresh rate that the LCD monitor can't handle. This leaves the PC in a state where your LCD is blank and perhaps has a warning message box saying the resolution is not supported.

What I normally do, is connect a CRT and revert the changes, then reconnect the LCD. Since CRT's can't fit in one's pocket, it's not a good solution.

I'm wondering if you can boot up to a BartPE CD and change the host's resolution / refresh rate and then reboot?

It's a setting in the reg yeah?

I think you are correct. Maybe you can run setres.exe with runscanner?

just a though

MrXP

The decription of what 'RunScanner' does is very unclear.

Does it let you mount / load the host computer's registry to allow you to edit it?

Yes. In what way is http://www.paraglidernc.com/RunScanner.html unclear?

How about a autorun.inf file on a floppy disk
This can run setres.exe or something similar
to set 800x600 @60hz

I have not tried it but it would be much simpler than using PE Builder to access the registry

regards
Mike Barnes

Am I forgetting something? How about just booting up into safe mode and changing your display settings.

Yeah, that would work. I don't know where in the reg though.

The solution was so easy, it slipped under our radar.

Although, I did see an LCD Monitor once, that didn't even work in Safe Mode.

I needed to boot up in save mode with VGA support to change the sceen refresh rate in the display settings.
I found no working switch for the sceen refresh rate in the display settings in the standard/simple save mode!

What I do in situations like this, is delete(remove) the video driver in device manager.
Soon as you boot back up it is re-installed by windows. Works for me with ATI cards.

Sometimes when you boot in SafeMode you can't change much of the display settings. How would I change the res then? Where in the registry is the display res?


Sometimes the display adaptor is shown as a standard card, not as the installed card.

@hilander999

that's the only good solution

actually, just going into vgamode usually fixes this..for me at least

How about creating a batch file with the correct setres.exe string in it and then asign a hotkey to it. That way if your res ever gets out of wack you can just hit "F6" for example and vuola back to "800x600x60hz"

just a thought,

MrXP

I don't even have an LCD monitor, but this problem is not limited to the new monitors.

I use a plain old 17" flatscreen, when I need a bigger picture I turn on my tft projector
& play video games on a 160' diagonal picture that covers a twin size white sheet tacked to the wall.

Most of the problems I have are when people buy brand new video cards for older systems
& use monitors that cannot handle the new resolutions that these devices offer.

Most of the older svga monitors won't go above 1024x768, & if for some reason the video adaptor
decides to change the screen for you, all you get is one lline in the center of the screen
with an extremely anoying high-pitched sound.

When you hear this sound, you only have a couple of seconds to shut the monitor off
or you will be bying a new one.

@midasMost of the adaptors I see are made (or powered) by ATI.

This is my "CARD OF CHOICE". I always recomend ATI cards because I have never had
any problems that were not software related & easily fixable.

With the ATI lineup af video adaptors, switching into vga mode has never worked for me.
When you come back out of safe mode, the problem is still there.

All you have to do is delete the card from device manager & reboot twice.
This has never failed me yet. (Knocking on wood )

@MrXPThis is a fantastic idea.

The next time I have to drive somewhere to fix this, I will setup a "HOTSWITCH" to solve the issue.
Even with getting paid for fixing PC's, it's anoying to be bothered by simple things like this.
I can't even bring myself to take money for reseting a video card like this.
But it normally means that the next problem they have, I get called first.