Switch BIOS chip between motherboards?
I just replaced the Dell # 9692D motherboard in my Latitude CPi-A366XT laptop, and the new one works. However, it has the A14 BIOS revision instead of the A15 that my old MB had. Boot up screens look different. And the screen now has a 1-1/2" black band on all 4 sides of the viewable area for some strange reason.
Next to the memory stick compartment on the bottom is a removeable chip, I assume that's the BIOS chip. Since it's the same motherboard model, can I just swap it out and have everything like it was?
Next to the memory stick compartment on the bottom is a removeable chip, I assume that's the BIOS chip. Since it's the same motherboard model, can I just swap it out and have everything like it was?
0
Comments
You almost certainly just need an updated video driver to fix that.
Will that work?
What can I look at in Windows 2000 Pro to get the display to use its full area again?
800 by 600 always filled the screen with the old motherboard.
This laptop had 2 screen options - 12" and 13.3". Mine has the 13.3". The motherboard is supposed to be able to work with either size.
But 800 by 600 won't fill the screen.
I wonder why this is. I've never seen this problem before.
CRT monitors "spray" the image on your screen. When you adjust the resolution it is something analogous to twisting the nozzle on a garden hose; the spray either gets finer or more spread out.
Laptop (and other LCD) screens are somewhat akin to a highway message board in that there are a fixed number of lights arranged in a pattern. What you see on the screen is determined by which lights are turned on and what color they display.
When you run an LCD screen at a non-native resolution your hardware has to fake it. The black border you saw around your screen was the result of your system not even allowing you to do that. It basically told you "Fine, if you only want 800X600 I'll just turn a bunch of the mofo's clear off".