Dell laptop screen resolution stuck at 1280x1024

ChezJ · May 23, 2009, 05:03 AM

I have a Dell Latitude D610 laptop with the built-in ATI Mobility Radeon x300 graphics card. I use it with a docking station and a Dell Flat Panel that rotates 90 degrees.

After installing Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3), the monitor rotation feature died and I learned from this forum that this was quite common. (Thanks!) Because Dell hasn't updated its ATI drivers since time immemorial, I had to use the Mobility Modder to install ATI Catalyst Control Center. (Thanks again!)

I only figured out how to do this recently, so the version I installed was 9.3 from March 2009. After nearly a year of no monitor rotation, I am thrilled to have that feature back again.

Ok, here is the problem... and it is minor, but annoying.

My built-in laptop screen is capable of 1400x1050 resolution, but it is stuck at 1280x1050 in panning mode. If I switch from panning mode to full screen, it uses the whole screen, but stretches the pixels from 1280x1050 or whatever other resolution is selected. The result is a blurry mess.

1400x1050 does not show up in any list of resolution modes. If I switch to 1360x1024 (which is smaller than 1400x1050), the screen remains in 1280x1024 mode and simply pans left and right to achieve the 1360 pixel width -- WTF?

If I click "Notebook Panel Properties" in CCC, it says "Maximum reported resolution: 1280x1024" and only offers a choice between "Full Screen" (blurry stretch mode) and "Centered" (panning mode).

If I go into the Display control panel of XP and click "List All Modes" on the Adaptor tab, the list jumps from 1360x1024 to 1440x900. I guess this means the ATI driver simply does not support 1400x1050 resolution. Am I correct? The ATI website does talk about not supporting custom laptop configurations.

So, I'm not sure what options I have here. Is there a way to hack some driver to change the "reported" resolution to the correct figure? Should I try the Omega drivers to force the resolution I want? I notice that those have not been updated in over a year, so they probably don't take into account the SP3 changes that broke monitor rotation. I'd much rather keep my rotation than achieve full laptop resolution. But, if the Omega drivers don't have the SP3 problem, it would certainly be better to downgrade so I could gain the ability force the 1400x1050 resolution.

I just don't want to go through all the rigamarole of deinstalling CCC and installing Omega if it will all be for naught and I have to uninstall Omega and reinstall CCC.

Has anyone out there been able to get proper monitor rotation with SP3 using the Omega drivers?

ChezJ

rabsp · Sep 7, 2009, 01:38 AM

I decided to change my desk around last week and found that the rotation no longer worked, and to cut a long story short ended up here too.

I however have fixed it.

You will need to download a couple of driver sets.

6-5-mobile_xp_dd_ccc_enu_32468.exe, This was the first driver update I installed, it was newer than the version I was running and had the ATI panel so I thought it would fix the problem, but had the same SP3 bug.

I then downloaded 9-8_legacy_xp32-64_dd_ccc.exe , this is the latest version, but as a lot of us have found, limits the laptop screen to 1280 x 1024, which look poor.

After installing you should have two sets of folders under the ATI folder.

From
C:\Program Files\ATI\Support\6-5-mobile_xp_dd_ccc_enu_32468\Driver\XP_INF

I took CX_32468.cat & CX_32468.inf

I put them in:
C:\Program Files\ATI\Support\9-8_legacy_xp32-64_dd_ccc\Driver\XP_INF

I backed up CX_85695.cat & CX_85695.inf, just to be on the safe side.

I renamed CX_32468.cat as CX_85695.cat and CX_32468.inf as CX_85695.inf

I manually updated the driver for the card and pointed it at C:\Program Files\ATI\Support\9-8_legacy_xp32-64_dd_ccc\Driver\XP_INF\CX_85695.inf

This install gets to a point where it cannot find a .dll, I don't remember the name but it is in C:\Program Files\ATI\Support\6-5-mobile_xp_dd_ccc_enu_32468\Driver\XP_INF\B_32846, so point it there.

This is the .dll that has the 1400 x 1050 resolution.

Then the update will finish and you will have all resolutions and an external monitor that rotates 90°

Ron

May 23, 2009, 05:03 AM	#1
ChezJ DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 1 Rep Power: 0	Dell laptop screen resolution stuck at 1280x1024 I have a Dell Latitude D610 laptop with the built-in ATI Mobility Radeon x300 graphics card. I use it with a docking station and a Dell Flat Panel that rotates 90 degrees. After installing Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3), the monitor rotation feature died and I learned from this forum that this was quite common. (Thanks!) Because Dell hasn't updated its ATI drivers since time immemorial, I had to use the Mobility Modder to install ATI Catalyst Control Center. (Thanks again!) I only figured out how to do this recently, so the version I installed was 9.3 from March 2009. After nearly a year of no monitor rotation, I am thrilled to have that feature back again. Ok, here is the problem... and it is minor, but annoying. My built-in laptop screen is capable of 1400x1050 resolution, but it is stuck at 1280x1050 in panning mode. If I switch from panning mode to full screen, it uses the whole screen, but stretches the pixels from 1280x1050 or whatever other resolution is selected. The result is a blurry mess. 1400x1050 does not show up in any list of resolution modes. If I switch to 1360x1024 (which is smaller than 1400x1050), the screen remains in 1280x1024 mode and simply pans left and right to achieve the 1360 pixel width -- WTF? If I click "Notebook Panel Properties" in CCC, it says "Maximum reported resolution: 1280x1024" and only offers a choice between "Full Screen" (blurry stretch mode) and "Centered" (panning mode). If I go into the Display control panel of XP and click "List All Modes" on the Adaptor tab, the list jumps from 1360x1024 to 1440x900. I guess this means the ATI driver simply does not support 1400x1050 resolution. Am I correct? The ATI website does talk about not supporting custom laptop configurations. So, I'm not sure what options I have here. Is there a way to hack some driver to change the "reported" resolution to the correct figure? Should I try the Omega drivers to force the resolution I want? I notice that those have not been updated in over a year, so they probably don't take into account the SP3 changes that broke monitor rotation. I'd much rather keep my rotation than achieve full laptop resolution. But, if the Omega drivers don't have the SP3 problem, it would certainly be better to downgrade so I could gain the ability force the 1400x1050 resolution. I just don't want to go through all the rigamarole of deinstalling CCC and installing Omega if it will all be for naught and I have to uninstall Omega and reinstall CCC. Has anyone out there been able to get proper monitor rotation with SP3 using the Omega drivers? ChezJ

Sep 7, 2009, 01:38 AM	#2
rabsp DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Melbourne Australia Posts: 1 Rep Power: 0	Re: Dell laptop screen resolution stuck at 1280x1024 I decided to change my desk around last week and found that the rotation no longer worked, and to cut a long story short ended up here too. I however have fixed it. You will need to download a couple of driver sets. 6-5-mobile_xp_dd_ccc_enu_32468.exe, This was the first driver update I installed, it was newer than the version I was running and had the ATI panel so I thought it would fix the problem, but had the same SP3 bug. I then downloaded 9-8_legacy_xp32-64_dd_ccc.exe , this is the latest version, but as a lot of us have found, limits the laptop screen to 1280 x 1024, which look poor. After installing you should have two sets of folders under the ATI folder. From C:\Program Files\ATI\Support\6-5-mobile_xp_dd_ccc_enu_32468\Driver\XP_INF I took CX_32468.cat & CX_32468.inf I put them in: C:\Program Files\ATI\Support\9-8_legacy_xp32-64_dd_ccc\Driver\XP_INF I backed up CX_85695.cat & CX_85695.inf, just to be on the safe side. I renamed CX_32468.cat as CX_85695.cat and CX_32468.inf as CX_85695.inf I manually updated the driver for the card and pointed it at C:\Program Files\ATI\Support\9-8_legacy_xp32-64_dd_ccc\Driver\XP_INF\CX_85695.inf This install gets to a point where it cannot find a .dll, I don't remember the name but it is in C:\Program Files\ATI\Support\6-5-mobile_xp_dd_ccc_enu_32468\Driver\XP_INF\B_32846, so point it there. This is the .dll that has the 1400 x 1050 resolution. Then the update will finish and you will have all resolutions and an external monitor that rotates 90° Ron