Anders Hesselbom

Windows XP and screen resolution

2010-03-20

I have assembled a PC from old spare parts. The hard drive had an installation of my old Windows XP license that I used with a fairly big screen. The problem that have arisen now, is that my current monitor can’t display the resolution that Windows is set to. The old TFT monitor just gives up when the welcome screen is supposed to show.

Changing the screen display mode in the Windows XP Safe Mode can be done, even if it requires one extra click from doing it in a normal boot. However, that does not change the screen resolution in normal mode. These are the steps if you want to change the resolution on Safe Mode:

1. Right click on the screen, click Properties.

2. From the Settings tab, set the resolution desired. Do not click OK or Apply. Click Advanced instead.

3. Click OK to close the Advanced dialog. Click OK to close the Screen Properties dialog.

This is all forgotten when you reboot in normal mode. The solution is to chose the VGA Mode option from the Windows XP boot menu. That option starts Windows in normal mode, but with the display properties reset back to system default.

Categories: General