Windows 98 Installation & Configuration Handbook

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- 7 -

Configuring Monitors and Video Cards


by Rod Tidrow

Configuring Your Monitor and Video Card

After your video card has been installed and is configured to work with Windows 98, you can use a few options to configure your display. If you need to install a video card under Windows, see Chapter 5, "Installing and Configuring New Hardware and Software."

Some of the changes you can make include changing the resolution for your display, for example, or choosing the color palette Windows 98 uses to display images on your screen. Depending on the capabilities of your video card, you may have more or fewer choices to select from for each option. If you have a capable video card, for example, you may have a number of resolution settings from which to choose.


TROUBLESHOOTING: When I was installing my video card, I didn't recognize (or I don't know) the manufacturer or model of my video card in the lists that appear in the Add New Hardware Wizard. Also, I couldn't find any disks that might be associated with my video card. What can I do? Windows 98 lets you choose a generic driver for use with your adapter if you are not sure what video adapter is installed in your PC. Choose Standard Display Types from the Manufacturers list box and either Standard Display Adapter (VGA) or Super VGA from the Models list box. If you are not sure whether your monitor is Super VGA capable, choose the VGA option.

You can configure your monitor and video card from the Settings page of the Display Properties dialog box, as shown in Figure 7.1.

FIG. 7.1 You use the Display Properties dialog box to modify the behavior of your monitor and video card.

You can use a few methods to view the Display Properties dialog box:

Specifying Resolution Settings

The Screen Area slider on the Settings tab in the Display Properties dialog box enables you to specify the resolution setting for your monitor and video adapter. This setting determines how much information you see onscreen. By dragging the slider to the right, you are able to see more images on your screen, although the images appear smaller.

To change the resolution, follow these steps:

1. Select the Settings page of the Display Properties dialog box.

2.
Click and drag the slider in the Screen Area section to the resolution setting you want.

As the slider stops at the different resolution settings permitted by your video adapter, the image displayed in the sample desktop at the top of the Settings page changes to show you the relative effects of the resolution setting you choose.

3.
Click Apply for the resolution setting to take effect immediately and to continue working in the Display Properties dialog box. You also can click OK for your changes to take effect and for the Display Properties dialog box to close.

4.
A message box appears, informing you that Windows will resize your desktop and that your screen might flicker for a moment. To continue, click OK.

5.
After the screen settings are changed, a message box appears, asking whether you want to keep the new setting. Click Yes to keep the setting. If you don't click Yes or No (to revert to the old setting) within 15 seconds, Windows automatically reverts to the old setting.


CAUTION: Depending on the capabilities of your video adapter, Windows 98 might need to shut itself down and then restart in order for the resolution changes to take effect. This is normal and no reason for worry. You are always warned first, and you have the option of not letting Windows 98 restart itself. If you choose this option, Windows 98 continues to operate normally, but the changes you made to your configuration do not take effect until the next time you start Windows 98.


TROUBLESHOOTING: When I change the resolution of my display, Windows 98 displays a black screen or has a bunch of wavy lines on it. What happened? You probably selected a setting that your video adapter and monitor cannot display. To return to your previous setting, reboot your computer and enter Safe mode by pressing F8 when your system boots and selecting Safe Mode from the Start menu. During Safe mode, the Windows 98 Standard VGA driver is loaded, enabling you to boot into Windows and change the resolution of your monitor.

By changing the Screen Area setting, you change the number of pixels used to create the images that appear on your screen. Pixels (picture elements) are the small units of color that make up the images you see onscreen. The setting that appears below the slider tells you how many pixels will be used to make up the images on the screen. The first number refers to the number of pixels in each row; the second number refers to the number of pixels used in each column. A setting of 640x480 pixels, for example, means that the images on your screen will be made up of 640 rows of 480 pixels each.

The greater the number of pixels used to create the images on your screen, the more clear the resolution. The smaller the size of the pixels, the greater the number of pixels that can be used; hence, the resolution is sharper, and you see more images onscreen.


TIP: Generally, the higher the resolution, the slower the display refreshes. Also, as you increase the resolution, the text size, menus, icons, and other screen elements decrease in size. For some users, this might make reading text or locating items on the desktop difficult. With some monitors, as you increase resolution, the monitor hum changes and might unnerve you until you get used to it or change the resolution setting.


TROUBLESHOOTING: I can't seem to move the slider in the Screen Area in any direction. The Less and More labels appear to be dimmed. The points along the slider where you can stop the pointer are determined by the capabilities of your video card and monitor. If your video card and monitor are capable of one setting only, you cannot move the slider in the Screen Area at all. The labels Less and More at each end of the slider appear dimmed if your video adapter and monitor are not capable of multiple resolution settings.

Using the QuickRes Utility

You also can specify resolution settings via the QuickRes utility. This utility enables you to quickly change the screen resolution and bit depth (such as 16 or 24 bit) without going through the Display Properties dialog box. Instead, you access a pop-up menu from the Windows taskbar to select the setting you want.


NOTE: QuickRes originally was available as a Windows 95 PowerToy utility. It now is integrated into Windows 98. If you previously installed QuickRes under Windows 95, it still may appear on your taskbar (next to the clock) and will work fine under Windows 98. You don't have to turn it on using the following steps.

To turn on QuickRes, use the following steps:

1. On the Settings page, click Advanced. The General page of your display adapter's Properties dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 7.2.

FIG. 7.2 The General page provides an option to turn on the QuickRes utility.

2. Select Show Settings Icon on Task Bar.

3.
Click OK.

4.
To change your display setting, click the QuickRes icon, and select a menu setting, such as 640x480 256 Color. See Figure 7.3. The current display setting is denoted by a check mark next to the setting value.

FIG. 7.3 The QuickRes utility is handy if you need to switch between resolutions several times a day.

When you select a new setting, QuickRes immediately changes the display setting. You are not presented with the Display Properties or Monitor Settings message boxes as you were in steps 4 and 5 in the preceding section.


TIP: If you have the QuickRes PowerToy installed from an earlier Windows 95 installation and want to remove it, open the Registry Editor and locate the following subkey:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

Edit the Taskbar Display Controls setting to remove the ,QUICKRES_RUNDLLENTRY item (including the lead comma). Don't remove any other piece of this entry. Close the Registry Editor, shut down, and restart Windows. You now can complete the preceding steps to turn on the Windows 98 QuickRes utility.


You also can access the Display Properties dialog box from the QuickRes menu by double-clicking the QuickRes icon or selecting Adjust Display Properties instead of selecting a new setting value.

Setting the Color Palette

You can specify the color palette Windows 98 uses to display colors onscreen. Instead of choosing specific colors, you can specify the scope of the palette Windows use. You might choose the 16-color palette, for example, or you might choose the 256-color palette. The Color drop-down list shows the number of colors and color palette (high-color or true color) that your monitor supports. For many users, 256 Color is appropriate. For artists or users who work with graphics-intensive software, high color or true color is required to achieve professional results.


CAUTION: Although choosing a palette with more colors enhances the images on your screen, more memory is used to display these colors, so overall system performance may suffer.

You choose the color palette from the Colors drop-down list that appears on the Settings page in the Display Properties dialog box, as shown in Figure 7.4. The capabilities of your video adapter determine how many choices are shown in the Colors drop-down list box.

FIG. 7.4 You can choose how many colors are used to paint the images you see on your screen.

To change the color palette, follow these steps:

1. Select the Settings page of the Display Properties dialog box.

2.
Choose the palette from the Colors drop-down list box. After you make a selection, the rectangular area below the drop-down list containing all the colors in the current palette you are using changes to show the palette you chose.

3.
Click Apply or OK. Depending on the capabilities of your video adapter, Windows 98 might shut itself down and then restart in order for the resolution changes to take effect.

Some programs might not operate properly after you've changed color settings. You might need to restart your computer to have these color settings take effect (that is, if Windows doesn't restart when completing the preceding steps). You can choose from three compatibility settings to control how Windows reacts when you change color settings. To change these settings, follow these steps:

1. On the Settings page on the Display Properties dialog box, click Advanced.

2.
On the General page, set one of the options in the Compatibility section. If you select the Apply the New Color Settings Without Restarting option, you should exit and restart any applications that are running when you change color settings.

3.
Click OK.

Setting Font Size

Many users are concerned with screen real estate. That is, they want more of it. Some users like to see more information onscreen even at the expense of the clarity of the onscreen image. You can display more information on your screen by changing the resolution setting, as demonstrated in the "Specifying Resolution Settings" section. Now, you'll learn how to squeeze more information on the screen by changing the font size of the text used in Windows 98. You also can use the change-font-size functionality to enlarge the font size so that text appears larger in Windows 98.

Figure 7.5 shows the Control Panel with the font size enlarged to the Large Fonts setting. Notice how the space between the icons has increased and how you can see less icons in the folder at one time. Figure 7.6 shows the Control Panel folder with the font size decreased with the Small Fonts setting. Notice how the space between icons has been decreased so that you can have many more icons at the same time in the folder.

FIG 7.5 Working with enlarged fonts.

FIG 7.6 Working with smaller fonts.

Changing the font size in Windows 98 is easy. You can choose from two predefined sizes, small fonts or large fonts, or you can specify a customized size by supplying a percentage size based on the normal size. You also can increase and decrease the size of the font by maneuvering a graphical ruler.


TIP: Your monitor and video card must be capable of multiple resolution settings in order for you to be able to change the font size. Windows 98 forces users to choose a resolution setting other than 640x480 pixels in order to change the font size.

To change the font size by using one of the predefined settings, follow these steps:

1. Select the Settings page of the Display Properties dialog box.

2.
Change the Screen Area setting to something other than 640x480 pixels (see "Specifying Resolution Settings," earlier in this chapter, for help).

3.
Click Advanced.

4.
Choose Small Fonts or Large Fonts from the Font Size drop-down list. Refer to Figure 7.2. On some systems, you might see the Change System Font message box, as shown in Figure 7.7, which tells you that the font change will not take effect until the fonts are installed and Windows is restarted. Click OK.

FIG. 7.7 The Change System Font message box informs you that fonts for the new display size must be installed.

5. Click OK. Another Change System Font message box appears, asking whether you're sure you want to change your system fonts. Click Yes.

6.
Click OK on the Display Properties dialog box.

7.
Depending on the capabilities of your video adapter, Windows 98 might prompt you to shut down and restart in order for the font-size changes to take effect. Click Yes to do this.

When Windows restarts, the new font setting takes effect.

Or, click OK for your changes to take effect and for the Display Properties dialog box to close.

To change the font size by specifying a custom size, follow these steps:

1. Select the Settings page of the Display Properties dialog box.

2.
Change the Screen Area setting to something other than 640x480 pixels.

3.
Click Advanced.

4.
Choose Other from the Font Size drop-down list on the General page. The Custom Font Size dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 7.8.

FIG. 7.8 You can specify a custom size for the font used in Windows 98, expressing the size as a percentage of the normal size.

5. Enter the new percentage size in the Scale Fonts To Be edit box. You also can choose from a predefined percentage by clicking the down arrow. Or, click anywhere on the ruler and drag to the left to decrease the size or to the right to increase the size.

6.
Click OK.

7.
Click Apply for the new font size to take effect immediately and to continue working in the Display Properties dialog box. Or, click OK for your changes to take effect and for the Display Properties dialog box to close. Depending on the capabilities of your video adapter, Windows 98 might shut itself down and then restart in order for the font-size changes to take effect.

Changing Video Drivers

If you obtain a new video driver for your video-adapter card, you can update to it using the Adapter page. This page is available by clicking the Advanced button on the Setting page of the Display Properties dialog box and selecting the Adapter page, as shown in Figure 7.9. This page contains information about the adapter card and the currently installed device driver. You'll see information on the manufacturer, chip set, installed video memory, and other items.

FIG. 7.9 The Adapter page includes information about your display adapter, as well as the Change button.

To change a video driver, click Change. The Update Device Driver Wizard starts, as shown in Figure 7.10. Work through this wizard as discussed in Chapter 5.

FIG. 7.10 The Update Device Driver Wizard walks you through updating your video driver.

If your monitor doesn't work right with the drivers included with Windows 98 or with supplied drivers from your manufacturer, you can use Windows 3.x driver. One problem with these drivers, however, is that they don't take advantage of the enhanced graphics support in Windows 98. Windows 3.x drivers do not support changing your monitor resolution on-the-fly, for example.

To install Windows 3.1 display drivers while running the Update Device Driver Wizard, specify the path to the disk or folder containing the Windows 3.1 drivers you want to use. You might need to copy these drivers from floppy disks or a previous Windows 3.1 directory.


NOTE: Some Windows 3.1 drivers require the screen resolution to be specified in the [boot.description] section of SYSTEM.INI, such as in the following example:

display.drv=GD5430 v1.22, 800x600x256


You also can set the refresh rate of your monitor. The settings in the Refresh Rate drop-down list depend on the monitor you use. Some monitors don't offer any settings that users can modify. Others offer settings such as 60Hz, 72Hz, and 75Hz. When you install Windows, the Adapter Default option is selected in order to support as many monitors as possible. Change the setting to one your monitor supports.


CAUTION: If you set a refresh rate to a setting not supported by your monitor, you can damage the monitor. Read your monitor's documentation for information on which refresh rates it supports.

Changing Monitor Types

You can set up Windows to recognize the type of monitor you use. In many cases, the monitor type is simply set up as Standard or Super VGA with 640x460, 800x600, 1024x768, or 1280x1024. These monitor types might work fine for you, but your specific monitor might have special features that work only when that particular monitor type is known by Windows.

To set your monitor type, display the Monitor page, as shown in Figure 7.11, by clicking Advanced on the Settings page of the Display Properties dialog box.

FIG. 7.11 The Monitor page lets you set the type of monitor you use, as well as other options for that monitor.

Next, follow these steps:

1. Click Change. The Select Device dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 7.12.

2.
Specify the manufacturer and model. If your monitor comes with an installation disk, click Have Disk and specify the drive on which the installation disk resides. Click OK.

3.
Click OK to install the monitor type.

FIG. 7.12 Use the Select Device dialog box to specify the monitor manufacturer and model.

If you want to change monitor options, you can do so from the Monitor page. The following are options that appear on this page:

4. Click Apply to save your settings.

Changing Acceleration Setting

You can adjust the acceleration setting of your graphics card by selecting the Performance page of your display adapter's Properties dialog box, as shown in Figure 7.13. Move the Hardware Acceleration slider to the Full setting. If you have problems with the graphics display after setting this to the Full setting, move the setting to the left until the problem abates. You might need to experiment with this setting until you find the best setting for your graphics card.

Setting Default Color Profiles

In Windows 95, Microsoft introduced Image Color Management (ICM) technology. ICM attempts to get consistent colors across scanners, displays, and output methods (such as printers, film, and commercial printing presses). Each monitor, scanner, and output device uses different illuminants (lighting) and colorants (dyes or pigments) to produce colors for you to see. Also, each device uses a different gamut to get a range of colors. A monitor, for example, might have a larger range of colors (gamut) than a commercial printing press. To improve color consistency across all these devices, a color-management system is required.

Windows 98 includes the ICM 2.0 API to provide even greater color management than ICM 1.0. You easily can set up ICM profiles in Windows 98 so that all applications can use the same profile for each input, display, and output device. (Usually, each application must create its own profile for each device.)

FIG. 7.13 The Advanced Properties dialog box enables you to set how Windows 98 uses your graphics hardware.

To select profiles in Windows 98, do the following:

1. Select the Color Management page on your display adapter's Properties dialog box, as shown in Figure 7.14.

FIG. 7.14 You can select a default color profile for your system from the Color Management page.

2. Select a profile from the list of profiles and click Set As Default. If a profile is not on this list, or you want to add a new one, click Add. The Add Profile Association dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 7.15.

3.
Select a color profile and click Add.

4.
From the list of profiles, select one and click Set As Default.

5.
Click OK to save your setting.

FIG. 7.15 The Add Profile Association dialog box includes ICC and ICM files for managing colors on your system.


TIP: Color management is a complex issue, particularly if you create commercial-quality output on your PC. Visit the Image Color Management Web page at

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/platform/icmwp.htm

to read more about this topic. Also, visit the International Color Consortium (ICC) Web site at

http://www.color.org


Enabling Microsoft Magnifier

For many users who have difficulty seeing onscreen text and images, one welcome feature of Windows 98 is the Microsoft Magnifier. Magnifier displays a separate window that displays a magnified view of a portion of your screen.

To start Magnifier, choose Start, Programs, Accessories, Accessibility, Microsoft Magnifier. Magnifier starts with the top of the screen changed to show a magnified view of your screen, as shown in Figure 7.16. As you move the mouse pointer, the magnified view follows the mouse pointer to enable you to see your display easier.

By default, Magnifier is set up to magnify your view by two. You can change the magnification by modifying the Magnification Level field. Acceptable levels range from 1 to 9.

You also can specify the following options:

FIG. 7.16 Magnifier shows a magnified view of a portion of your desktop.

FIG. 7.17 You can set up Microsoft Magnifier to use a high-contrast color scheme.

Click OK to save your settings, or click Exit to turn off Microsoft Magnifier.


TIP: After you run Microsoft Magnifier with the Use High-Contrast Scheme option turned on and then exit Magnifier, you might need to readjust your taskbar so that the Quick Launch toolbar is inline with the rest of the taskbar.

Setting Up Multiple Monitors Under Windows 98

Windows 98 enables you to install and use up to nine monitors on the same PC. These monitors can run at different resolutions to help you get more virtual screen real estate, as well as to create livelier environments for games and online interactions. You can use multiple monitors to display desktop-publishing documents so that you can see multiple pages at the same time, for example.


NOTE: Many applications are not yet designed to support multiple monitors. In the near future, you'll be able to find applications that take full advantage of this new feature.

To set up multiple monitors under Windows 98, your monitors and computers must be Peripheral Computer Interconnect (PCI) or Advanced Graphics Port (AGP) compliant.

To install multiple monitors under Windows 98, perform these steps:

1. Shut down your computer and insert the second video adapter card into your PC.

2.
Restart your PC. Upon startup, Windows should detect your second monitor. You might be prompted to insert the Windows installation disk.

3.
During setup, you might be asked whether you want to restart Windows. Click No until you are prompted that you must restart Windows. Then, click Yes to restart.

Upon startup, the monitor that shows your desktop icons and items is your primary monitor. Also, you can tell which is your primary monitor by running a full-screen MS-DOS window. The window appears in the primary monitor. If you want to change which monitor is the primary one, shut down Windows and plug the monitor you want as the primary one into the primary adapter. Plug the other monitor into the secondary adapter card. Restart Windows. l


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