This monitor has too many desktops!

[Zedtom]

My friend just got a new computer with Windows XP. He hooked it up to an old Compudyne, (KDS), monitor last night. It boots and posts to a normal screen, but when windows opens, there are three desktops. You can't close two and maximize the third. I'm talking three separate screens!

Incidentally, this computer was sent UPS- do they scan packages with X-Rays? I was thinking the CPU heatsink got loose or a memory stick got loosened.

Anyway, I told him to try someone elses monitor, or buy a new or refurbed one.

Does anybody got a idea what's wrong? He's in another state so I can't check it out.

 

[bwass24]

Hi...

Sounds to me like the scan frequency of the monitor is wrong for the current output of the video card. If it's a really old monitor the problem is most likey that the monitor can only support standard VGA resolution (640x480). You can test this by setting the desktop resolution to 640x480 and see if the monitor then displays correctly. If it does, try increasing the resolution to 800x600 and see what happens. Keep increasing the setting and at one point the monitor will no longer display correctly because it cannot support the timing presented to it from the vid card. Go back one setting and it should work fine, although with limited desktop space.

A better solution would be to buy a really cheap, but newer monitor. A decent used 17" hi-res capable CRT monitor can be had for $25 on ebay.

 

[Zedtom]

Thanks bwass24.

My friend is at work, but I'll talk to him later. Expensive computer+cheap monitor=trouble.

 

[Zedtom]

Yes!
I just got off the phone with my friend in Seattle. We reset the refresh rate to 60 Hz-and voila...
He's all fixed!