Can I find a better video driver?
Tim
Southwest PA Icrontian
I just got a Dell Latitude CPi-A366XT laptop. I put XP Home on it. It currently has 64 MB memory, but will be upgraded to 256 MB as soon as my new memory sticks get here in a couple days.
The video display doesn't show letters very clearly, I wonder if there's a better video driver for this computer?
It has BIOS revision A15, and the video controller is a NeoMagic 2200 with 2.5 MB memory.
The video display doesn't show letters very clearly, I wonder if there's a better video driver for this computer?
It has BIOS revision A15, and the video controller is a NeoMagic 2200 with 2.5 MB memory.
0
Comments
May be worth a shot.
http://www-1.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=0&q1=256av&uid=psg1MIGR-4Q2KLZ&loc=en_US&cs=utf-8&cc=us&lang=en
I'll look around for it.
you can check it out here
http://www.microsoft.com/typography/cleartype/tuner/1.htm
Right click on desktop
Select APPEARANCE tab
Select EFFECTS button
Put check mark in the box beside "Use following method to smooth edges.."
Select CLEARTYPE from the possibilities available in the menu
Click on the OK button
AND, if you do so and then enable CLASSIC mode, you might get to do it AGAIN as the mode switch might turn it off as you shift. Also, refresh rates, horizontal and vertical, being a tib too high for monitor can fuzz things some. Cleartype uses edge sharpening\thickening which is essentially reverse AA around character edges. This give broader character edges and a monitor that is slightly overset for refresh might give better fonts but have slightly fuzzy pictures with certain graphics or motion media types. IF you have both fonts and graphics looking a bit fuzzy, then also look at refresh rates. Since you just got the box, if you talk to Dell tech support they might be able to walk you through any automatic adjustment modes your monitor or LCD panel has also if that was shipped to you with your new computer. I have seen a Dell box come in where as part of install it was necessary to let the LCD auto-resync after Windows was up, turned out the LCD was an upgrade option purchase made as part of the bundle and that it had been synced to a different box and video card. It worked, but I had to play with settings and let it auto-adjust also first as it was mis-set for box it was shipped with and the BOX in question was set for the LCD that comes as base stock default with that model. Whether LCD or monitor, look at monitor settings first, then if need be change video adapter driver AND then finesync monitor to new driver. I HAVE seen even laptop LCD displays with minimal on-screen, also, hooked to the display control circuitry and not the video adapter drivers. With a lappie you also get into the bugaboo of DUAL mode graphics stuck in wrong mode due to a keyboard switch mispress, but that I will leave for elsewhere or elsewhen(It gives some wild effects that can include fuzziness).
BUT, if LCD or monitor has an auto-sync option in onscreen display, see if it can fine-tune first, and if not try the factory defaults button and see what that does (many LCD and some monitor onscreens have one or both, the first causes it to essentially actively DDC2 and talk with card and do fine refresh calibration negotiation, I have seen refresh changes after an auto-adjust and also sharpness calibration to new settings).
Try monitor first, then card or chip drivers. And I would even look at tech support for monitor or LCD and see if there is a new inf file for monitor before changing video adapter drivers. IT IS possible wrong or corrupt inf file for your monitor or LCD got loaded also. That inf file has specs for modes that the monitor should be able to handle.
Here's why:
LCDs and monitors can be newer or older than the base video technology in your computer. If the display is newer, it can have abilities the drivers and video adapter do not have, and if the box is newer the adapter can have abilities that are not available in the display device. With a refurb system and a refurb laptop, it is possible that a monitor and display adapter or LCd and embedded video chip end up slightly mismatched. You will then get fuzz of graphics, both fonts and motion video in games if the inf file is wrong for monitor with a desktop or tower system or the video chip embedded in the case of a laptop does not have an inf file with it or avilable for the display panel stuck into the laptop. ALSO, if you have a situation where someone bought a system sans OS and stuck XP into it, you might well have a problem with the wrong inf file being present-- for a home system, workstation, or laptop.
That said, I will say that if this Cpi series is an old latitude laptop, probably Dell has somewhere a custom inf file for the display that was OEM to the laptop. XP might not like it at all. AND, the older displays did better with TrueType Type 1 than they did with non-existent ClearType. IF it is JUST text that is bad, be aware that where a laptop is concerned the inf table might be included with the chip driver for that OEM's chip driver. So, it is possble to take another OEM's chip driver and get a real mess under those circumstances. I know Dell used Cpi for about 6 years and it was a while back that they did. There are a lot of refurbs out there that have had newer OS's stuck into them that never got the OEM inf file for the display on the laptop, and some that have gotten panel R&R's with AVAILABLE panels.
For myself, the only way I will buy a major OEM refurb (of a laptop) is from the OEM itself where I know the dang thing has been mfr refurbed. For Latitude Cpi series Dells I almost always end up using a TrueType Type 1 font like Arial and NOT Tahoma, and turning ClearType off if someone wants me to stick XP on it. I also know IBM tends to include inf files with the chip drivers for embedded chip machines, and for laptops often the inf file intended for the OEM display included with the laptop is included in the chip driver pack. Over half the folks I know of or know directly that installed an IBM VIDEO driver pack on another OEM's laptop ended up with a Windows reload. They got a mashed up mess.
With a desktop, this problem is less of an issue, but if this is a laptop, you do not want to try another OEM's video driver pack unless you first have everything you want backed up. You can get a nice black screen or cursor on black screen if the LCD decides it is too far out of range on a laptop. Oh, Windows LOADS, you get no display. I've seen similar things happen when a same-chip driver pack for a laptop is stuck on a desktop from another OEM. Because of the silly inf file. So, driver from anohtr OEM is last thing I woudl do, trying TrueType edge and fonts for all teh fonts settigns instead of Tahoma, possibly switching to Classic mode (designed for simpler displays and older boxes) would be second, and if you have any kind of on-screen that would be third. Then a driver from same OEM for Widnwos 2000 would be worth a try, then possibly another OEM's driver after a full backup to removable media of ANYTHING you want.
Yes, I work video bus problems OUTSIDE-IN if I get to driver or inf layers of Windows video versus refresh issues. I do so because half the time I can solve the issue with either monitor or LCD tweaks or Windows settings (refresh rate finesyncs usually, and XP has this nice little feature of being able to show available settings for refresh with a button click deep in the advanced area of most video driver panes, sometimes for both monitor or LCD from inf file AND from video adapter compat info (on seperate panes usually)). The other half of the time I end up changing display used or video chip or card used. In the case of a laptop this is not doable. In the case of a desktop or tower system this is many times the best choice to really fix. BUT, I also do it interactively and always end up with a field call to user due to fine-tuning issues becasue everyonje sees different.
90% of the time this ends up being user education an fine tuning custom to user or user interaction on site time, to fine tune. But I am willing to experiment and get things working right.
Ironic humour, to lighten things up-- sweat and intraocular implants plus glasses leave me using eye moisturizer and cleaning glasses EVERY time I come in from helping get yard and house here recovered from hurricane Charley, or every 20-25 minutes while outside. so, I get up early, work while it is cool as much as possible outside. AND every time I am tempted to play with video settings, I first clean glasses. That fixes fuzzy display 95% of the time for me.... Sheesh! <GRIN> Yes, there is a REAL point to this parable-kinda thing.... IS part of it the eyes??? Yup, almost always I get users who see different than I do. Both as to edges and as to color or lack thereof.