Strange 'scrolling' issue on 21" at 2048x1536

[Sobek]

Hey guys, odd (though not too annoying/important) problem.

I picked up this Dell P1130 21" screen about 2 weeks ago, and finally got around to hooking it up to test it and such on my system (using a similar Sony branded screen normally). Now, being a Dell branded screen, the drivers for it limit it to a max resolution of 1880x1440, when I know it's more than capable of doing 2048x1536 @ 75hz (80 on some models). So I 'upgraded' the driver to the driver for the Sony GDM-F520, which although is capable of doing all the same resolutions at slightly higher refresh rates, isn't a problem because I force only those refresh rates I want via ATT (Ati Tray Tools). The strange thing is, that if I set my desktop to 2048x1536, the screen enters this sort of 'scrolling' mode, in which I get just the topleft 1280x1024 sized section of my screen, and have to move the mouse to the edges of my screen to allow me to scroll over to see what's being hidden offscreen. The OSD shows it's running at 2048x1536 @ 75hz, so it's definitely handled the resolution switch just fine, only it's doing this silly scrolling.

My question is, does anyone know what this is, or why it's done it exactly? Also, would it potentially be possible to make a screen enter this same scrolling mode, just at an insanely high resolution? (for instance, switch to 2048x1536, only have the scrolling area be 5000x4000...or whatever the correct amount would be).

Just curious, thanks! :smile:

*edit* Forgot to add, this scrolling effect does not happen at any other resolutions, nor does it happen at all on my normal Sony branded screen. But that could easily just be because of the drivers it's using.

 

[Davros]

looks like a virtual desktop

 

[Pete]

Could be your video card drivers holding you back, but it's strange that the monitor itself thinks it's outputting 20x15.

Have you tried just editing the Dell's .inf directly to support 20x15 at its native refresh, or maybe using another .inf that mirrors its exact specs?

 

[mrcorbo]

Hey guys, odd (though not too annoying/important) problem.

I picked up this Dell P1130 21" screen about 2 weeks ago, and finally got around to hooking it up to test it and such on my system (using a similar Sony branded screen normally). Now, being a Dell branded screen, the drivers for it limit it to a max resolution of 1880x1440, when I know it's more than capable of doing 2048x1536 @ 75hz (80 on some models). So I 'upgraded' the driver to the driver for the Sony GDM-F520, which although is capable of doing all the same resolutions at slightly higher refresh rates, isn't a problem because I force only those refresh rates I want via ATT (Ati Tray Tools). The strange thing is, that if I set my desktop to 2048x1536, the screen enters this sort of 'scrolling' mode, in which I get just the topleft 1280x1024 sized section of my screen, and have to move the mouse to the edges of my screen to allow me to scroll over to see what's being hidden offscreen. The OSD shows it's running at 2048x1536 @ 75hz, so it's definitely handled the resolution switch just fine, only it's doing this silly scrolling.

My question is, does anyone know what this is, or why it's done it exactly? Also, would it potentially be possible to make a screen enter this same scrolling mode, just at an insanely high resolution? (for instance, switch to 2048x1536, only have the scrolling area be 5000x4000...or whatever the correct amount would be).

Just curious, thanks! :smile:

*edit* Forgot to add, this scrolling effect does not happen at any other resolutions, nor does it happen at all on my normal Sony branded screen. But that could easily just be because of the drivers it's using.

Have you checked in CCC to see what it shows under your monitor properties as the highest supported resolution of your monitor?

Under Monitor Properties:Monitor Attributes uncheck Use EDID data or driver defaults and use the dropdowns to select the maximum resolution and refresh rate you want for your monitor. This has fixed the issue your describing for me in the past.

 

[Sobek]

I actually don't use CCC, just the standlone video drivers and ATI Tray Tools. The resolution/refresh rate is definitely supported, I know that much...it does the same at 60hz too. I should probably ad, this is Windows XP, tried Catalyst 6.12/7.2/7.3 - all the same result, running a single x1900xt now (I don't recall this ever happening when I had Crossfire installed, but that was during the mid 6.x Catalysts). I've just tried completely cleaning off all of my drivers twice over using DCpro/Safe Mode, and reinstalling using the Catalyst 6.11's to see if this was merely an issue with drivers after that...no go, same results. Even wierder? I switched back to my G520P (my usual screen, though i've just acquired an FW900 ), and what do you know...it's happening on that screen to!

Oddly enough, games running at 2048x1536 exhibit slightly different behaviour...I tried Half Life 2 at 2048x1536 @ 75hz (on the P1130 this is), and the screen was partially hidden like on the desktop, and locked (ie; I couldn't simply move the mouse and scroll it a bit), but it was definitely cutting off a small amount from the right and bottom sides of the screen (though nowhere near as much as it does on the desktop).

I'm at a loss as to why it would do this.

Have you tried just editing the Dell's .inf directly to support 20x15 at its native refresh, or maybe using another .inf that mirrors its exact specs?

I checked the INF bundle, but it doesn't look like I can directly edit anything that would alter the supported resolutions. There's the INF file, which contains absolutely nothing in regards to supported resolutions, along with a .CAT and .PNF file. The PNF file is the largest so I asusme it contains all the critical information, though I have no way of accessing it.

 

[Pete]

I had the same thing happen to me with this ancient nForce 2 IGP. Newer drivers seemed to be more cautious with the monitor, almost like trying to stop me from breaking it, and forced higher resolutions (that my monitor supports) into virtual desktops. Rolling back to an older driver restored full desktop res.

You might have to install ATI's CCC to fiddle with the monitor's settings, like mrcorbo said. As for editing the .inf, I seem to remember suggestions to that effect back when Powerstrip was the easiest way to add custom resolutions (like 1440*900). Googling might help you there, but that's a last option, as it's probably something of a PITA.

 

[Sobek]

Yeah, probably not worth the effort. Primarily the only reason I even use that resolution is to take large screenshots of games...but since it's not so bad in 3d mode i'm not inclined to give it any more thought. I just find the way it acts on the desktop to be very odd. I think i'll just deal with it for now...

Thanks for the help guys, it's appreciated :smile: