| Author |
Message |
Desert Tripper
Guest
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 Posted:
Fri Nov 11, 2005 6:05 am Post subject:
Dell Latitude video presentation is larger than the display! |
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(Also posted on Dell support forum)
Hello! I recently purchased a Latitude C800 from eBay - great price,
but issues with the display. I had to cannibalize a high-voltage
supply from a second, broken display included with the system to get
the backlight to work. It came preloaded with a 2000 installation that
had some adware I couldn't remove with ANYTHING so I zapped it and
threw XP on it. The kind people at the Tech Support Guy Web forum are
helping me purge my system of that adware crap, which fed me a popup
ad 5-6 times a minute!.
Now I am up and running, but with an irritating problem: The
presentation on the builtin display is somewhat larger than the LCD
panel, causing part of the screen to run off the bottom and right of
the panel. Everything at the bottom and right sides is impossible to
see - which, irritatingly, includes the Taskbar and scroll bars on a
maximized window. I have a feeling it is not a Windows or driver issue
as the BIOS setup screens show up the same way. Also, when I use Fn-F7
to blow up the tiny presentation when it's in VGA mode, it goes beyond
the screen like it does in the driver-supported modes. Can't find
settings in the BIOS to change anything video related. I attempted to
update the BIOS but the utility won't let me without a battery (I
don't have a battery yet for the computer.) Tweaking the
Dell-supplied ATI Mobility drivers gives me different resolutions, but
all with the same problem.
Could it be that there is improper "mating" between a (probably)
replaced LCD panel and the system? The panel itself is virtually
flawless, so I would like not to have to shell out anything extra
that's panel related at the moment. Could it be some type of thing
that was hardcoded when the laptop was manufactured?
I would greatly appreciate any suggestions!
Thanks, Doug
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Doug the Desert Tripper - Exploring Southern Cal deserts and the Net since '94
www.geocities.com/destrip
destrip at sonic dot net
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Notan
Guest
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| Posted:
Fri Nov 11, 2005 6:12 am Post subject:
Re: Dell Latitude video presentation is larger than the disp |
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Desert Tripper wrote:
| Quote: |
(Also posted on Dell support forum)
snip
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Have you tried something as simple as changing the screen resolution?
Notan |
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Desert Tripper
Guest
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| Posted:
Fri Nov 11, 2005 6:39 am Post subject:
Re: Dell Latitude video presentation is larger than the disp |
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Yes. The resolution changes, but the overall size of the presentation
stays the same (as if it were made for a monitor that's 18" instead of
15".)
On Thu, 10 Nov 2005 17:12:40 -0700, Notan <notan@ddress.com> wrote:
| Quote: | Desert Tripper wrote:
(Also posted on Dell support forum)
snip
Have you tried something as simple as changing the screen resolution?
Notan
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Doug the Desert Tripper - Exploring Southern Cal deserts and the Net since '94
www.geocities.com/destrip
destrip at sonic dot net
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Quaoar
Guest
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| Posted:
Fri Nov 11, 2005 8:01 pm Post subject:
Re: Dell Latitude video presentation is larger than the disp |
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"Desert Tripper" <destrip@NO-SPAMsonic.net> wrote in message
news:pum7n1p7n8o6fdg6hh67h0sg9v0845tk0a@4ax.com...
| Quote: | (Also posted on Dell support forum)
Hello! I recently purchased a Latitude C800 from eBay - great price,
but issues with the display. I had to cannibalize a high-voltage
supply from a second, broken display included with the system to get
the backlight to work. It came preloaded with a 2000 installation that
had some adware I couldn't remove with ANYTHING so I zapped it and
threw XP on it. The kind people at the Tech Support Guy Web forum are
helping me purge my system of that adware crap, which fed me a popup
ad 5-6 times a minute!.
Now I am up and running, but with an irritating problem: The
presentation on the builtin display is somewhat larger than the LCD
panel, causing part of the screen to run off the bottom and right of
the panel. Everything at the bottom and right sides is impossible to
see - which, irritatingly, includes the Taskbar and scroll bars on a
maximized window. I have a feeling it is not a Windows or driver issue
as the BIOS setup screens show up the same way. Also, when I use Fn-F7
to blow up the tiny presentation when it's in VGA mode, it goes beyond
the screen like it does in the driver-supported modes. Can't find
settings in the BIOS to change anything video related. I attempted to
update the BIOS but the utility won't let me without a battery (I
don't have a battery yet for the computer.) Tweaking the
Dell-supplied ATI Mobility drivers gives me different resolutions, but
all with the same problem.
Could it be that there is improper "mating" between a (probably)
replaced LCD panel and the system? The panel itself is virtually
flawless, so I would like not to have to shell out anything extra
that's panel related at the moment. Could it be some type of thing
that was hardcoded when the laptop was manufactured?
I would greatly appreciate any suggestions!
Thanks, Doug
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Doug the Desert Tripper - Exploring Southern Cal deserts and the Net
since '94
www.geocities.com/destrip
destrip at sonic dot net
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
.
|
You will notice a set of DIP switches somewhere on the mainboard. These
are used to set up different LCD panels that might be used in
manufacturing. Since there are at least eight switches (1-256 as
binary), it is possible, I suppose, to do a round of testing on the
effect of switch positions on the LCD setup, but if you can find a
service manual you *might* get some idea of which panels are used and
the switch positions required for those panels.
The default resolution of the panel is a one to one mapping of pixels.
The fact that the display overflows suggests that the original panel was
say 1280x1024 and was replaced with one at 1024x768, thus the overflow
of the display at the right and bottom. If Dell offers the same
mainboard with different panel resolutions, then the DIP switch setting
*might* be simply a difference of one, two, three - plus or minus - in
the binary number represented on the switch as it is currently set. You
might try it to see. Simple sometimes actually works!
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