New monitor drivers

[Adamastor]

Hi

I was installing win98 on an old computer I gave to my girlfriend when I found this problem. It's got a Target monitor but Win98 (and me, the user) weren't able to find a driver. Then win98 installed it as a "standard plug&play monitor". I cannot switch its resolution. It is set on 640x480. If I choose a different driver/manufacturer (randomly) it says it is "not compatible" and I can't change the refresh rate, etc. That leads me to a question:

What can happen if, in the near future, I buy a flamboyant LCD monitor, a superb 17" screen, just to find that it hasn't got win98 drivers? How will windows install it? Will any LCD screen work as a standard monitor, with the standard driver?

I've seen some drivers' .inf files and it doesn't seem very difficult to write a driver. Maybe I could write one for that annoying Target monitor. Anyone has any experience?

Is it possible to find new Windows standard drivers? Maybe installing them (.drv files) from WinME, like 98se2me does?

Thanks for reading this looong post!

[nil]

Hi Adamastor. It's easy enough to create a monitor driver by hand but you'll find it easier still using a utility like Powerstrip.

Although you could make some fairly safe guesses about max resolution/refresh rates to use you're best off sticking to the specs as given on the monitor manufacturers home site - try tracking down that info using the serial/FCC ID number on the monitor if it's been "badge engineered".

All that said, I just found plenty of google hits relating to "Target Monitor" drivers so it's highly likely there's a pre-fab driver out there to suit your needs.

Cheers.

[Andromeda43]

Hmmmmmmm!

I've been working on PC's for over twenty years and to this day, I've never installed a Driver for any monitor.

Windows always figgers that out by itself and I've never seen a problem with it.

I've still not seen one monitor that came with a driver disk, and I've installed hundreds of them.

You just plug them in and they work, up to their own capabilities and those of the attached video card.

Now, video card drivers are a different matter.

Guess I've just missed out on all the fun....wot?

Cheers Mates!

B)

[Adamastor]

Hi!

Then, this is a mistery.

The gfx card is a 3dfx voodoo3 3000 with appropiate drivers, but windows doesn't allow me to change the resolution. It ts set at 640x480. I've created a driver for the monitor using a Microsoft tutorial about creating monitor's inf files but it seems useless.

I thought the standard plug&play monitor driver would allow the user to set 800x600 modes and so on, but it is impossible on this system. The 3dfx utilities say that max.resolution is 1280 but the max.res. of the monitor is 640x480

I also used powerstrip but nothing changed.

On my personal computer, I also never installed a monitor driver and my screen is set at 800x600 with no problem at all

Should I reinstall Windows?

Thanks!

[miko]

try finding PowerStrip 2.78 before you try that,

i used to use it to set custom resolutions and refresh rates on no-name mons ages ago,

i can't remember exactly how though (it was ages ago )

but i know newer versions don't work the same, sorry i can't be of more help.

PS. mind about your refresh rates, to fast will kill man old mon real quick.

[Jlo555]

I just trick windows 98 by scrolling through the list of drivers that windows already has for monitors and selecting some random one. And, for me, it worked. That's the easy way out, but it worked.

[pmshah]

You can try to change the monitor to a default SuperVGA or an XGA which will allow you to change the resolution & refresh rates within limits, but it will certainly be better than your conventional safe mode type 640x480 VGA.

[Adamastor]

Hi and thanks for the replies!

I tried Powerstrip 2.78 and it didn't work, even with custom monitors/resolutions. I'll give it a try later again, anyway.

I also tried some random Windows drivers, but none of them worked. I also used the standard vga 800x600 drivers but it didn't work.

At 640x480, I can switch the refresh rate up to 85Hz, so I suppose it shouldn't be a problem in other modes. The monitor seems to be new (it even has an OSD, so it can't be so old) so I think refresh rates shouldn't be a problem.

The last thing I tried is to search for info about Target International bv. I found this manufacturer MAY be the same as Proview, so I looked for Proview drivers and plan to test them later. Let's see if it works

I'll post the results later. Thank you very much for your help

You can try to change the monitor to a default SuperVGA or an XGA which will allow you to change the resolution & refresh rates within limits, but it will certainly be better than your conventional safe mode type 640x480 VGA.

Yes, this is the most strange issue. Even if I tell Windows to use standard 800x600 resolutions (normal and 85hz drivers) then it refuses to show the 800x600 option in the panel. I can't move the slider to the right. It should work, and I've only installed Windows 98SE, the voodoo3 drivers and directx 9.0c.

[line]

It seems you're unsure whether the problem is caused by software or hardware . There is something you can do to clear it up.

Download ASTRA for DOS and run it in native DOS mode. Go to Information... (Alt+I) > Monitor info.

On a good system, where the data channel between the system and the monitor is functioning, you should get a full listing of the monitor's capabilities as well as supported display modes (e.g. 1024x768 @ 100Hz):

If it works, the problem is with software. That is, something is wrong with your Windows files, drivers or settings, and reinstalling it may help.

If, however, ASTRA complains or fails to retrieve the information, then the problem lies in hardware, and you may want to start swapping components to further isolate it.

[jroc]

Monitor has no drivers...only .inf file..that set basically the 'color profiles'...the Monitors resolution is controlled by the Video Card selection of 'resolution'

[nil]

Monitor has no drivers...only .inf file..that set basically the 'color profiles'...the Monitors resolution is controlled by the Video Card selection of 'resolution'

It's the .icm files that deal with colour profiles jroc - monitor drivers list the resolutions/refresh rates a monitor is capable of, and are used to stop your video card feeding your monitor refresh rates and resolutions it can't handle.

The generic drivers bundled with Windows are designed to suit a wide variety of monitor types/brands but may not be ideal (or safe) for any given monitor. A manufacturer supplied driver generally has settings optimised for a specific family/model of monitor - you may not notice significant differences between the two but using the manufacturer's driver is the safest option and will likely offer the best display results.

I've yet to come across a monitor that I couldn't track down a brand/model specific driver for (and all branded monitors I've purchased in the last 5 years have come with monitor drivers on disk) but if you're still wanting to make a custom driver any recent version of PowerStrip should be able to do it (just keep your tweaking between 60-75Hz and you should be safe). A link for PowerStrip 2.78 is at the bottom left of the PowerStrip page I linked in my first post, and is the appropriate version to get if you intend using it's other features.

I agree with Andromeda and others about the root cause of no 800x600 entry likely being a gfx card driver issue though - try uninstall from Safe Mode and install a later/different version.

Cheers.

[Adamastor]

Hi again!

I downloaded Astra for DOS and tested it on my personal monitor. It showed all kind of info about it, including the different supported modes and refresh rates. Later, I tested it on the Target monitor and NOTHING was recognized properly. The manufacturer, model, spec fields were classified as 'Unknown'. It didn't even show me the supported modes and/or refresh rates. No list of resolutions, etc. So , as you said,maybe the problem is the monitor itself. I assume it is broken then.

Well, I suppose I can't do anything else than changing to a proper monitor. I hope I won't find this problem again

Thanks for your support!