Laptop won't go full screen !!!

unstopabl3 · 09-12-2006, 03:59 AM

Yea my laptop was acting kinda sluggish so i had a clean install after a format. Now i can't get it to go full screen completely while playing anything i.e UTD, movies, clips etc. Mayb you guys should take a look at these shots

You see how theres black bars at the sides of the shots ? That's how my full screen looks like. I have installed the latest ati mobility radeon x1400 drivers and installed all the drivers which came with the laptop. First i thought i had a windows installment issue, i re-installed still the same problem. I am 100% sure i have everything similar to what i had before the first format/reinstall then why won't it work !!! Here are my laptop specs, i hope someone can help me out as i am very frustrated !!!

Computer:
Dell Inspiron 6400
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
OS Service Pack Service Pack 2
DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
Computer Name VXDESIGN-0304B9
User Name VoodooX

Motherboard:
CPU Type Mobile DualCore Intel Pentium M, 1666 MHz (10 x 167)
Motherboard Name Dell MM061
Motherboard Chipset Intel Calistoga i945GM/PM
System Memory 1024 MB (DDR2-533 DDR2 SDRAM)
BIOS Type Phoenix (04/20/06)

Display:
Video Adapter ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 (Omega 3.8.273) (256 MB)
Video Adapter ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 (Omega 3.8.273) (256 MB)
Monitor Generic Television
Monitor Plug and Play Monitor [NoDB]

PC eye · 09-12-2006, 04:30 AM

The problem there may be a simple game setting where the "run in window" option has been enabled or the only thing available with a bad install of the game or players you are running. Windows options for running programs minimized is another thing to look at.

unstopabl3 · 09-12-2006, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PC eye

The problem there may be a simple game setting where the "run in window" option has been enabled or the only thing available with a bad install of the game or players you are running. Windows options for running programs minimized is another thing to look at.

Yes i have tried both, yet no luck. But everything worked fine before the format and re-install, that's the weird part, and i have installed everything similar as before. I did a research of my own and from what i gathered is that the screen is not refreshing properly to change the resolution, why i say that is because before it used to have 1 sec black screen delay whenever i ran a full screen app/game and now there is none. Do you guys think it's a video card problem ? Although i ran the dell diagnostic tests and it says all hardware passed the tests. Is there any utility which can scan my video card or hardware and tell me if it's malfunctioning on not ?

PC eye · 09-13-2006, 12:07 AM

Do you have a Windows installation disk or just the recovery disk that came with the laptop? I've often run into similar problems on desktops were a problem with system files seemed to cause display problems as well as other oddities.

You may have to remove and then reinstall the drivers for the video card itself if something there was damaged. Download the utility to remove the present drivers along with a fresh update would be one thing to try there. If that still fails to see an improvement run the system file checker by typing the "sfc /scannow" command at the Run prompt and press enter.

You will need the I386 folder seen on a full install disk if running XP to repair/replace any system files that may have seen cross links from the game being installed if not something else running on the portable there.

**The_Other_One** · 09-13-2006, 12:14 AM

Unreal seems to just be a problem due to your LCD being widescreen. As for the video player, try another one. I'm not totally sure why it's not stretched out, but wide screen might have somethign to do with it as well...

PC eye · 09-13-2006, 01:08 AM

The support for higher screen resolutions could be missing from the card's own capablility as well as the game's. If the game only goes upto 1024 or 1280 max but your monitor is normally set with a hgher resolution that can also cause display problems.

With a wide screen that would another thing to look into. For the most part laptop video cards lack the high end support for gaming that you will find in use with desktop systems. The high resolution wide screen monitors generally need the support seen with new model desktop type video cards. Ask The_Other_One on this. He works with laptops.

Hairy_Lee · 09-14-2006, 06:17 AM

i have seen this problem at work several times, if it is like this on the desktop and at boot its a problem with the mainboard in the system not detecting the LCD panel properly. If its only on games its a software/driver/config issue

PC eye · 09-14-2006, 06:43 AM

It actually looks more like a software related problem where everything is locked into a windowed mode. You could try totally removing the video drivers and software if looking over display settings and advanced settings doesn't turn up anything set wrong.

A clean reinstallation of the drivers and display software may correct this with the default settings alone. Every once in awhile you see a bad driver mess thiings up a little.

09-12-2006, 03:59 AM	#1 (permalink)
unstopabl3 New Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 5	Laptop won't go full screen !!! Yea my laptop was acting kinda sluggish so i had a clean install after a format. Now i can't get it to go full screen completely while playing anything i.e UTD, movies, clips etc. Mayb you guys should take a look at these shots You see how theres black bars at the sides of the shots ? That's how my full screen looks like. I have installed the latest ati mobility radeon x1400 drivers and installed all the drivers which came with the laptop. First i thought i had a windows installment issue, i re-installed still the same problem. I am 100% sure i have everything similar to what i had before the first format/reinstall then why won't it work !!! Here are my laptop specs, i hope someone can help me out as i am very frustrated !!! Computer: Dell Inspiron 6400 Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition OS Service Pack Service Pack 2 DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c) Computer Name VXDESIGN-0304B9 User Name VoodooX Motherboard: CPU Type Mobile DualCore Intel Pentium M, 1666 MHz (10 x 167) Motherboard Name Dell MM061 Motherboard Chipset Intel Calistoga i945GM/PM System Memory 1024 MB (DDR2-533 DDR2 SDRAM) BIOS Type Phoenix (04/20/06) Display: Video Adapter ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 (Omega 3.8.273) (256 MB) Video Adapter ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 (Omega 3.8.273) (256 MB) Monitor Generic Television Monitor Plug and Play Monitor [NoDB]

09-13-2006, 12:14 AM	#5 (permalink)
The_Other_One Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Lexington, NC Age: 23 Posts: 12,368	Unreal seems to just be a problem due to your LCD being widescreen. As for the video player, try another one. I'm not totally sure why it's not stretched out, but wide screen might have somethign to do with it as well... __________________ Desktop * Athlon X2 4200 \| 2G RAM \| 160G HD \| 7600GT Laptop1 * C2D T5550 \| 3G RAM \| 120G HD \| Intel x3100 Laptop2 * C2D T5250 \| 2G RAM \| 160G HD \| Intel x3100

09-14-2006, 06:17 AM	#7 (permalink)
Hairy_Lee VIP Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Plymouth, UK Age: 25 Posts: 2,553	i have seen this problem at work several times, if it is like this on the desktop and at boot its a problem with the mainboard in the system not detecting the LCD panel properly. If its only on games its a software/driver/config issue __________________ Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 EVGA nForce 650i Ultra mainboard EVGA 7950 GT KO SC 512Mb w/ Zalman VF-900Cu 2Gb of OCZ GOLD XTC SPECIAL OPS Eition Notebook - Acer Aspire 9300 - Turion TL-60/ 2 Gb RAM/ Geforce Go 7600 128 Dedicated (400 Mb turbocache)

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09-12-2006, 04:30 AM	#2 (permalink)
PC eye Diamond Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Inside a pc Posts: 19,730	The problem there may be a simple game setting where the "run in window" option has been enabled or the only thing available with a bad install of the game or players you are running. Windows options for running programs minimized is another thing to look at.

09-13-2006, 12:07 AM	#4 (permalink)
PC eye Diamond Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Inside a pc Posts: 19,730	Do you have a Windows installation disk or just the recovery disk that came with the laptop? I've often run into similar problems on desktops were a problem with system files seemed to cause display problems as well as other oddities. You may have to remove and then reinstall the drivers for the video card itself if something there was damaged. Download the utility to remove the present drivers along with a fresh update would be one thing to try there. If that still fails to see an improvement run the system file checker by typing the "sfc /scannow" command at the Run prompt and press enter. You will need the I386 folder seen on a full install disk if running XP to repair/replace any system files that may have seen cross links from the game being installed if not something else running on the portable there.

09-13-2006, 01:08 AM	#6 (permalink)
PC eye Diamond Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Inside a pc Posts: 19,730	The support for higher screen resolutions could be missing from the card's own capablility as well as the game's. If the game only goes upto 1024 or 1280 max but your monitor is normally set with a hgher resolution that can also cause display problems. With a wide screen that would another thing to look into. For the most part laptop video cards lack the high end support for gaming that you will find in use with desktop systems. The high resolution wide screen monitors generally need the support seen with new model desktop type video cards. Ask The_Other_One on this. He works with laptops.

09-14-2006, 06:43 AM	#8 (permalink)
PC eye Diamond Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Inside a pc Posts: 19,730	It actually looks more like a software related problem where everything is locked into a windowed mode. You could try totally removing the video drivers and software if looking over display settings and advanced settings doesn't turn up anything set wrong. A clean reinstallation of the drivers and display software may correct this with the default settings alone. Every once in awhile you see a bad driver mess thiings up a little.