Which was the bigger waste of money...?

RaIo · Oct 4, 2008

(Or "Another Native Resolution Problem")

I'm in the process of building a PC, so I thought I'd try the ole Windows Vista 64-bit version for the machine. I've got for the machine, a Philips 22" 220CW8FB/05 LCD wide screen monitor, which has a nice display, really.

As one does, I've calibrated said monitor and saved the settings, everything looked great. Experience tells me to be weary of what might happen, so I restarted the PC to see that my monitor's resolution and setting aren't displayed properly.

The image is stretched vertically, and the Start bar isn't even visible - until - I go Personalize > and adjust the resolution to something else, select No when asked if I'd like to keep it and hey presto, my monitor displays properly now. Problem is, I have to do that every single time I restart the machine.

Currently, I've got just the drivers that come with my components CDs, I haven't been able to check on-line for other versions (but there isn't one for the monitor) for say the motherboard or graphics card, because in one of typically brilliant Windows moments™ (like when my mouse stopped working and it prompted me to "click here to fix the problem"), when I tried to install the -Vista compatible- modem, Vista said it wouldn't install it without a digital signature, and that I should go to the manufacturer's website for more information. I would. If I had a modem.

So, in your humble opinion, which is the bigger waste of money currently? Vista or my monitor (twice as expensive as Vista)?

Alternatively, any suggestions as to how I would be able to resolve the aforementioned conflict? I'd really like to keep both of them.

PS. I guess it could also be a graphics card problem. It's French (not really, it's from Taiwan, an MSI NX8800GT).

xguntherc · Oct 5, 2008

Get the latest drivers for the 8800GT.. I'd recommend getting them from the actual Nvidia website. Here's a link to the Newest drivers possible. with Physx included. this will actually make the GFX card work about 15% better or more cuz it's all the improvements.

Here's the link to the exact driver, this is a Vista 64bit intall.

If you have not installed a driver for the GFX card. then that is for sure your problem. As after you install the driver. you should set the Monitors resolution through the Nvidia Control Panel. witch you can access by right clicking your mouse. it will be in the middle. Go there after installing this driver.

GeForce Release 178

Good Luck. post results

RaIo · Oct 5, 2008

Thanks for replying - unfortunately that didn't do anything, it's still the same as before, I had tried with the latest drivers off the manufacturer's site, then again with the nVidia ones from the link you gave.

The problem is just as before, it's saved at 1680*1050@60Hz, but after a restart it doesn't seem to realize this, despite it still showing that when you check it. You need to change the resolution, then select No when asked to keep it, and then it displays properly.

Starting to dislike this Vista 64 gig. Bought another modem, which installed fine, but hard crashes my machine too when trying to connect. Reminds me of Win Me (in that I've never had so many crashes since then). Great scenes.

roy69 · Oct 5, 2008

Have you tried installing a generic pnp monitor driver

RaIo · Oct 7, 2008

roy69 said:
Have you tried installing a generic pnp monitor driver

No, I haven't - where would I go about finding one, I'm not turning up anything on Google.

By the way, my monitor is recognized as a "Generic PnP Monitor" by the marvel that is Vista. And yes, the driver is installed, though according to Vista, I'm guessing not to it's whimsical liking.

roy69 · Oct 8, 2008

In your first post you said you select no to keep the settings :confused:

.
Try selecting yes to keep the settings.

RaIo · Oct 9, 2008

roy69 said:
In your first post you said you select no to keep the settings.
Try selecting yes to keep the settings.

Err... no, not quite. After I calibrate the monitor, and save the settings, Windows shows the display as being 1680*1050. That's cool. It displays properly, until I restart, then it "defaults" to the factory settings (i.e. uncalibrated). When I check the settings after the restart it still shows 1680*1050, though it's clearly not, because the image is distorted, fuzzy and out of proportion. To get it to display properly, I have to go to the Personalize or nVidia control panel, to modify the display ,and then click Apply. After it changes the resolution (doesn't matter to what), I select No, for it to default back to 1680*1050 and -then- it displays like it's supposed to.

xguntherc · Oct 9, 2008

lol WOW

thats retarded. haha I'm sorry.

Maybe it's a faulty 8800GT lol I don't know. but my vista works like a charm, and is NO way like WinME!

RaIo · Oct 9, 2008

Funny you should say that, cause I tried both the monitor and card on my old XP rig, and surprisingly (and frustratingly), everything works like a charm. There's nothing wrong with either of them.

The only other variable is Vista 64. And it sure feels like a 64 bit version of WinME right now...

xguntherc · Oct 9, 2008

lol.. try vista 32

I don't know Sir, sorry for the no help.

Fumz · Oct 10, 2008

RaIo said:
... As one does, I've calibrated said monitor and saved the settings, everything looked great. Experience tells me to be weary of what might happen, so I restarted the PC to see that my monitor's resolution and setting aren't displayed properly.

The image is stretched vertically, and the Start bar isn't even visible - until - I go Personalize > and adjust the resolution to something else, select No when asked if I'd like to keep it and hey presto, my monitor displays properly now. Problem is, I have to do that every single time I restart the machine.

...

So, in your humble opinion, which is the bigger waste of money currently? Vista or my monitor (twice as expensive as Vista)?

Did you calibrate manually or use some sort of software tool from the Phillips CD? It sounds like you've installed a software calibration tool and that's what's messing you up; not Vista or the drivers.

ChrisJust66 · Oct 10, 2008

Another thing that I'm wondering is have you used windows update to update your system? Usually it'll download drivers for your monitor. Although I don't know what monitor drivers do. Maybe it keeps the settings for it?

roy69 · Oct 10, 2008

ChrisJust66 said:
Another thing that I'm wondering is have you used windows update to update your system? Usually it'll download drivers for your monitor. Although I don't know what monitor drivers do. Maybe it keeps the settings for it?

I have a feeling that the drivers also dictate what resolutions to use.

Fumz · Oct 10, 2008

ChrisJust66 said:
Another thing that I'm wondering is have you used windows update to update your system? Usually it'll download drivers for your monitor. Although I don't know what monitor drivers do. Maybe it keeps the settings for it?

Windows Update doesn't have monitor drivers. Windows Update doesn't scan vendor sites looking for the latest drivers, which is one of the biggest problems with Windows Update: it only updates that software which vendors have provided to Microsoft... and if the vendors do not give them updated drivers, which is often the case, then you're not going to get them, or worse, get outdated ones.

A GeForce should have no problem whatsoever with a 22" 1680x1050 monitor; Vista too for that matter. Having tried a few sets of drivers already, using an older set will most likely do nothing for you... and I'm sure if I tried, we could get a few thousand Vista users in here to attest to the fact that it's also not Vista.

Dwarf · Oct 10, 2008

Hi RaIo,

Having read through this thread, I am a bit perplexed as to why you are having this problem. There are a couple of possibilities. Firstly, make sure that the monitor cable is securely fitted at both ends. Try using the other socket on the graphics card. You could also try a different cable to eliminate the possibility of a faulty cable (not only do signals travel from your PC to the monitor to tell it what to display, but signals also travel in the reverse direction to tell your PC what the capabilities of the monitor are, particularly as regards signal timing). Another possibility is a corrupted driver for your graphics card. To resolve this, you need to uninstall the driver by following this Tutorial: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/165382-device-manager-roll-back-driver.html. You should restart your PC after each roll back, and note that you may need to repeat this procedure a few times (until the 'Roll Back Driver' button is grayed out (see the 2nd image in section 7 of the Tutorial). Next, download and SAVE a copy of the latest graphics driver: GeForce Release 178. I recommend this procedure for both graphics and audio drivers. ALWAYS download them and save them to your hard drive BEFORE running the installation routine - NEVER try to install them whilst you are downloading them.

ChrisJust66 · Oct 10, 2008

Fumz said:
ChrisJust66 said:

Another thing that I'm wondering is have you used windows update to update your system? Usually it'll download drivers for your monitor. Although I don't know what monitor drivers do. Maybe it keeps the settings for it?

Click to expand...

Windows Update doesn't have monitor drivers. Windows Update doesn't scan vendor sites looking for the latest drivers, which is one of the biggest problems with Windows Update: it only updates that software which vendors have provided to Microsoft... and if the vendors do not give them updated drivers, which is often the case, then you're not going to get them, or worse, get outdated ones.

A GeForce should have no problem whatsoever with a 22" 1680x1050 monitor; Vista too for that matter. Having tried a few sets of drivers already, using an older set will most likely do nothing for you... and I'm sure if I tried, we could get a few thousand Vista users in here to attest to the fact that it's also not Vista.

All I know is every time I reinstall vista, it id's my monitor in windows update and downloads something for it. Now I don't know it's actually drivers or what, but it downloads something with my monitors name and model. And it'll do that every time I change monitors and run windows update. I'm no Vista master by any means. I'm more into hardware, but I try to help. And like I said before, I don't know what it actually downloads. Just thought it might help in keeping the resolution set?

ChrisJust66 · Oct 10, 2008

Dwarf said:
Hi RaIo,

Having read through this thread, I am a bit perplexed as to why you are having this problem. There are a couple of possibilities. Firstly, make sure that the monitor cable is securely fitted at both ends. Try using the other socket on the graphics card. You could also try a different cable to eliminate the possibility of a faulty cable (not only do signals travel from your PC to the monitor to tell it what to display, but signals also travel in the reverse direction to tell your PC what the capabilities of the monitor are, particularly as regards signal timing). Another possibility is a corrupted driver for your graphics card. To resolve this, you need to uninstall the driver by following this Tutorial: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/165382-device-manager-roll-back-driver.html. You should restart your PC after each roll back, and note that you may need to repeat this procedure a few times (until the 'Roll Back Driver' button is grayed out (see the 2nd image in section 7 of the Tutorial). Next, download and SAVE a copy of the latest graphics driver: GeForce Release 178. I recommend this procedure for both graphics and audio drivers. ALWAYS download them and save them to your hard drive BEFORE running the installation routine - NEVER try to install them whilst you are downloading them.

Another thing you could try is to uninstall the drivers and use driver cleaner pro to wipe the rest out. It works for my when I have weird video problems.

RaIo · Oct 10, 2008

Well, after a bit of playing around (rolling back drivers and reinstalling latest driver, trying other plug on the GFX card and so on), I'm now getting this. At least it's recognizing my monitor.

Any idea what's going on?

I'm an administrator, by the way. :|

Fumz · Oct 11, 2008

This would not be the first time Windows Update automatically/silently updated the wrong driver. You'd think Microsoft, by now, would have learned their lesson with the nVidia SATA driver fiasco they caused by updating nVidia chipsets with the wrong SATA driver, but I guess not?

As I said before, Windows Update only knows to update those drivers which vendors provide. Windows Update does not find drivers; drivers find Windows Update. If the driver is bad, and if you use Windows Update to update drivers, then you'll have to wait for Philips to issue Windows Update a new/better driver... and since monitor drivers aren't updated very often, if at all, you could be waiting a looooong time if you're waiting for Philips or Microsoft to fix the problem. Your best option is to do it yourself.

The first thing you should do is turn off automatic updates. You know this aspect of Windows Update isn't working for you... stop... because it's not going to suddenly get it right.

Secondly, you didn't answer the question about how exactly you "calibrated" your monitor. Did you do it manually or use a software tool?

Third, I don't recognize the screenshot as Vista or Windows Update related. Are you using a third party tool to update your drivers?

I've tried looking around for a Philips 220CW Vista driver, but have been having a very hard time even locating that model. When I search for it here, I get zero results: Philips - LCD - CRT - Monitors - PC products If you could throw a link up that would be great (and I don't mean a link to where you purchased it).

Go into the device manager and uninstall the monitor's driver. Make sure Windows Update is off, reboot and let Vista install its own driver and then see if you're still having resolution problems? Then I'd put the Philips CD in... don't install anything... just look and see if there's a Vista 64-bit driver. There probably won't be, but it might link to the vendor's site where you can find the correct 64-bit driver. This may not work because the Philips site isn't playing very nice with us? If you cannot find a Philips 220CW driver that specifically states it's for 64-bit Vista, then at least for the time being, your best bet is to stick with Vista's default driver.

Play around and see if you still have the same problems. If not, then I'd stick with the Vista default driver. Sure, it would be nice if you had a Philips driver for your Philips monitor, but to be honest, Vista's default drivers are pretty good too.

This all assumes that you have not installed any third party tools to calibrate or to update your drivers.

RaIo · Oct 11, 2008

Fumz said:
Secondly, you didn't answer the question about how exactly you "calibrated" your monitor. Did you do it manually or use a software tool?

The first time, it was done using the tool that came with the monitor's CD. Second time, manually. I might try and format my HD and re-install everything again except for anything monitor related.

Fumz said:
Third, I don't recognize the screenshot as Vista or Windows Update related. Are you using a third party tool to update your drivers?

No, that appears after clicking on the Update driver button after accessing the monitor from the device manager.

Fumz said:
I've tried looking around for a Philips 220CW Vista driver, but have been having a very hard time even locating that model. When I search for it here, I get zero results: Philips - LCD - CRT - Monitors - PC products If you could throw a link up that would be great (and I don't mean a link to where you purchased it).

That site changed recently, it doesn't look like it's listed, but you can still search for it: click here.

Will reformat and see what's going to happen...

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