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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 -----
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@xxxxxxxxHarry Binswanger
- To:
- 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
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