[Paws]

Hi guys, I want to lower my screen resolution, but I can't do it without stretching it. Currently, the resolution is set at 1280 x 800 (wide screen), but it makes everything on my screen a bit too small, so not everyone with good eye sight can see or read on the computer without moving closer to the screen. I'm using XP Home on a Compaq Presario 15" laptop with a ATI Radeon Xpress 200M. I want to be able to lower the screen resolution to 1024 x (the right proportion), not to 1024 x 768, or any other default/4:3 setting, because it'll just be stretched on my 16:9 wide screen. I've tried using various programs: Powerstrip, ATI Catalyst Control Center (with the latest drivers), Screen Resolution Forcer, and the registry edit method, but none have worked for me. Can anyone help? I've tried contacting ATI, but they haven't been all that helpful. I'm in a real bind, and I'd appreciate any help. Thanks.

[crazy4laptops]

Hi Paws, welcome to the PcWorld forums

so 1280 x 800 makes everything too small....

Are you running vista or xp? Have you tried raising the dpi size to 120?

have you tried 1152 x 864?

[Paws]

Hi crazy4laptops. I appreciate the warm welcome.

I'm running XP Home SP3. I have tried increasing the DPI, but that doesn't enlarge everything, such as icons, folders, pictures, etc. It also enlarges some things too much, ie, title bars. As for the 1152 x 864 res size, when I change to it, it does two things: 1) stretches the screen because it is meant for 4:3 monitors, and not 16:9 wide screens (such as mine), and 2) you have to move the mouse up, down, left and right, to access the entire desktop area, if that makes any sense. Moving the mouse will "scroll" the screen area. It is weird, and you may not understand what I mean, but you need to see it to understand. Either way, the suggestions don't work, but Ithanks for the suggestions.

I'd still prefer a screen resolution of 1024 x (the right proportion, which incidently is 640). So if anyone can help me, please let me know. Thanks.

[Tech4me]

FF might help with ZOOM ....You can enlarge text only so you can read.

[crazy4laptops]

i see what you mean by the scrolling,

do you work at a desk alot? if so, use an external monitor

[matchbox2022]

Well, no matter your os, you should be able to go into the display properties and raise the DPI. Screens will always look stretchy if not at their native resolution, so it has to be at the highest, but you can also increase the size of everything (per pixel) in the display properties of control panel. Then it looks bigger and is crisp.
The other thing you could do would be to turn off monitor scaling,however this would cause the screen to actually take the size of the smaller resolution and not stretch it to fit the whole screen, but you'd be left with black bars on either side. The reason you can't go to higher resolutions is because the lcd doesn't support it, so it extrapolates and makes your desktop bigger, which sounds useful in theory but isn't really. Otherwise you could get an external monitor.

I used to have the exact laptop you had, and I know that the DPI thing works for sure, although I don't know about custom resolutions. You should be able to set a custom 16:9 one that doesn't stretch, but it will still look blurry compared to the native resolution even if you could.
btw.
it's simple math to find out the proper res, it's gonna be 1024 x 576 at 16:9
However you said the resolution right now is at 1280 x 800, which is 16:10
If so the proper res is gonna be 1024 x 640 which is 16:10, so be sure what your aspect ratio is :P. if you don't know just devide the highest res setting by biggest over smallest and divide any aspect ratio by biggest over smallest. If they equal, then that's the aspect ratio.

[matchbox2022]

Btw again the presario I had had a lcd of 16:9