Re: New monitor/bad resolution

[Harry Binswanger hb@xxxxxxxx]

Leslie,



Okay, ME is sufficiently different from XP that these suggested ways of
doing it aren't helpful.



--Harry



Harry,

I sent out my last email
(the one saying I'm going for a new computer) before I saw your last two
about trying to solve the monitor problem. But I did try this: 


 

"From the "Display" control panel I
clicked on the "Settings" tab >> Advanced >>
Adapter >> Properties >> "Driver" tab >>
Update Driver. This solved the problem."

 

Problem is, after
"Adapter," my prompts/tabs are completely different from the
Properties/Driver tab/Update Driver sequence. I did follow what prompts I
had, but they led nowhere. 

 

Same with trying Flash's
step 1 and step 2. I simply can't find anywhere in my system the tabs he
suggests following (Option, Font, Layout, Color). Mine reads:
"MS-Dos Editor," then: Program, Font, Memory, Screen,
Misc.

 

Whether it's the hardware
or software, my system just isn't up to speed. That's why it seems the
best thing to do is to buy a cheap, new or used, computer. And so your
question about if anyone's run Xy on a Netbook is pretty pertinent.


 

 

----- Original Message -----
From: mailto:hb@xxxxxxxx
To:
xywrite@xxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, December 30, 2008 3:08 PM
Subject: Re: New monitor/bad resolution




Leslie,




Reading the subsequent messages, clearly the first thing to try is updating the driver:




Quoting from the site Ralph found:




"From the "Display" control panel I clicked on the "Settings" tab >> Advanced >> Adapter >> Properties >> "Driver" tab >> Update Driver. This solved the problem."




That guy's Dell was the Dimension 2400, and you say yours is the 1400, so it may not work--but worth a try.




Sorry that ME doesn't have Clear Type, but if you don't want to spend a few hundred for a new (or used) computer, see what things look like once you update the driver and set it to the required resolution.








Harry,
 
Starting with your last question below: How does my basic C:prompt (MS-DOS) box look? It doesn't look like Flash's screenshot, which is: "Xy3+" Properties, then across the top: Option, Font, Layout, Color. Mine reads: "MS-Dos Editor," then: Program, Font, Memory, Screen, Misc. No matter which way I enter Xy/DOS, the Properties box looks the same. 
I'm not following you. I simply meant: is the type in the DOS box as blurry and bad as the XyWrite type?




Likewise, I'm not able to find Lucinda Console anywhere or, for that matter, Clear Type, 





As I said in my previous post, "It's in Display Properties/Appearance/Effects. "




That is not a directory location, it is a sequence of steps within Display Properties--which you've already seen, since you've tried setting resolutions.








But after reading your comment below, I'm convinced you're absolutely right: Since I can't get the "native"1400 x 900 pixel resolution that Dell's CD instructions cited, this monitor just isn't going to work for me, no matter how much I tinker w/ it.
 
So, given my system's apparent limitations (no Lucinda, no Clear Type, etc.), and its specs (a Millennium with Xywrite III Plus, Version 3.56), what should I look for in a new monitor? I did try each of the resolutions and they were all worse than the best one I can get: 1280x800. Should I look for a monitor that lists one of the resolutions that I do have? (The full list in order: 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1152x864, 1280x800, 1280x1024) 
Yes, but first try Lucida Console--it's there on your machine. Just keep trying to follow Flash's screenshots.




I would prefer an LCD (more desk space and less radiation than a CRT--though maybe that's no longer true?) If anyone can recommend a specific model to try, that'd be great. Especially if you find it works on an ME.
Wait till you can give Lucida (not Lucinda) Console a try. Again, launch Xy. If necessary, use alt-Enter to get Xy running in a window on your desktop, not full screen. Right click on the Title Bar (which runs across the extreme top of the Xy window). Choose Properties, then choose Font. You should see Lucida Console as the top choice in a little white field. Select it, and choose a type size. (I use 16pt). Ok it, and choose either of the options that then pop up (Apply to this window only vs. all  of this title)--it makes little difference which you choose. Then how does the type look with Lucida?




If they no longer make monitors that jibe with the ME's available resolutions,
Resolution has nothing to do with ME. ME is software. Available resolutions is determined by hardware--specifically your graphics adapter.




 then will the graphic adaptor make everything look normal? You said, Harry, "if I want to spring for it." How many hundreds are we talking about?
I'm having a hard time finding them on the web. I find lots of graphics cards, but they either don't say what res they support or they don't include 1440 x 900 (I think its 1440 not 1400).




Here's another tack: does your *monitor* allow you to adjust to make it not widescreen? I know TVs generally allow you to have the two black edges without the extra wide picture. Check your monitor manual and any buttons on the monitor itself.








Thank you all,
Leslie
 
----- Original Message -----
From: mailto:hb@xxxxxxxx
To: xywrite@xxxxxxxx
Sent: Monday, December 29, 2008 12:13 AM
Subject: Re: New monitor/bad resolution




Leslie,




It sounds like your problem is that you can't set the new monitor to its "native" (preferred) resolution. I've seen the phenomenon before--fat letters, thin letters, blurry letters. It goes away if you get the right resolution. Try lots of different resolution settings under Display Properties/Settings. If it really needs 1400 x 900 and you can't get, or don't want to spring for, a graphic adapter for your Dell that will supply 1400 x 900, then don't use this monitor.




Wrong resolution is no doubt the basic cause of your problem. But in addition, if you get that solved, there are tweaks:




1. Turn on Clear Type. It's in Display Properties/Appearance/Effects. It will improve everything, Windows and Dos alike. But it's like a 30% improvement--noticeable, welcome, but not on the level of getting the resolution right.




2. If you are running Xy in a Window, I strongly advise using Lucida Console. Follow Flash's screenshots, "Step 1" and "Step 2."




How does the regular C: prompt (MS-DOS) box look on your system?




Otherwise, using Tame would raise Xy up to whatever imperfect level your windows programs have.
Harry Binswanger
hb@xxxxxxxx




Harry Binswanger

hb@xxxxxxxx





Harry Binswanger
hb@xxxxxxxx