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Display Adapter?

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by theword

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Hello..
1) I have a standard VGA video card. I cannot adjust the color beyond 16 colors. I thought I used to be able too. Am I limited with this card, or do I need to upgrade to 256 and true color.
2)Also, I switched monitors, and all xxxx broke loose. I fixed it and went back to the old monitor. Tell me about a book or website on diganosing conflicts, and resources and adding and removing hardware.
3) I thought I could just switch monitors without adding and removing the driver...Is that so?
Thanks.......Pat

6 replies

by james r linn

Standard VGA is a fairly old term. "Standard VGA" in 1987 meant 640x480x 16 colours, or 320x240 x 256 colours. Most VGA cards are capable of alot more than that - the main variable is the amount of memory on the card. If you increased the resolution, you probably won't be able to have the same number of colours, unless you already had more video memory than you needed in your previous configuration.

When switching monitors, you have to be aware that some older monitors don't sync automatically like newer ones - you should set your setting to something like 640 x480 and a low refresh rate, then switch monitors.

Then you can try increasing resolution step by step, and then increasing the refresh rate step by step, until you get what you want.

The advantage of having the drivers is that the drivers contain information about the optimal refresh rates and so on - you can manage without.

James

by thechas

There are numerous web sites out there.

Tomshardware
ars-technica
pcpitstop

You can also search the articles at Tech Republic. There are articles and discussions on most every topic.

2 things to check on before you get to worried.
Do you have the latest drivers for your video card?
Do you have the correct driver for the monitor?

Both have to be correct to get the higher resolutions.

Often for older monitors, you can use the Standard type monitor that most closely matches thespecifications of your monitor.

Also, for most newer motherboards, and Windows 98 and newer, you need to install motherboard, or chipset drivers.

A good source to help identify hardware and find drivers is www.driverguide.com
If available, follow the link to the mfg website, and use the driver postings as a last resort.
They also have a basic driver installation guide for drivers.

There are numerous books out to help guide you through the PC support process also.

by theword

I found the problem. It was the driver to the adapter. Windows found it as a standard vga. I used super vga and it works find now.

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