A display device is better known as a monitor. It connects to the video adapter in the computer, receives the output, and displays the results on the screen. A wide number of computers integrate the video adapter in the motherboard, so a physical installation of a video adapter may not even be required. The integrated video usually doesn't provide the best graphics, so companies that use graphics-intensive applications may install an additional video adapter even if there is integrated video in the computer. To configure how graphics are displayed, you can use the Display utility in Control Panel. You can also access this utility by right-clicking the desktop and selecting Properties from the shortcut menu. The Display Properties dialog box opens, as shown in Figure 7.9. Figure 7.9. The Display Properties dialog box provides configuration options for the monitor.
The majority of the tabs in the Display Properties dialog box enable you to select the colors, desktop wallpaper, theme, fonts, and general appearance of the Windows XP GUI. The Settings tab is the home of the monitor configuration. Note that if you have a proprietary device driver for your video adapter, it is possible that there will be additional tabs in the Display Properties dialog box that are specific to the features of the video adapter. The Settings tab, with its typical features, is shown in Figure 7.10. Figure 7.10. You can configure all a video adapter's settings in the Settings tab of the Display utility.
The Settings tab enables you to perform the following:
Just as you can change the display driver, you can also install drivers for the monitor. A Plug and Play monitor should be detected and installed by Windows XP. If you replace a monitor, you should uninstall the old monitor in Device Manager. Then, in Device Manager, click the Action menu and select Scan for hardware changes. When the monitor is detected as the Default Monitor type device driver, the device is probably not Plug and Play or the video adapter it is attached to is not Plug and Play. EXAM ALERT The system configuration utility troubleshoots startup The exam tests you on your knowledge of the System Configuration utility, which you can open by clicking Start, clicking Run, typing msconfig in the Open text box, and pressing Enter. For video-related problems, the System Configuration Utility allows you to edit the Boot.ini file and add the startup parameter /BASEVIDEO. This parameter forces a monitor to show a standard 640x480 VGA 16-color display, which will not be distorted. After you have finished troubleshooting the video problems, you can then remove the /BASEVIDEO parameter from Boot.ini using the System Configuration Utility. You can use the standard video mode on startup by pressing F8 and selecting the option for VGA mode. Monitor settings can cause display problems, obviously. Not so obviously, they can cause performance problems as well. And for a highly sensitive monitor, the wrong settings can actually damage the monitor itself. Table 7.4 explains how to troubleshoot display problems.
Configuring Multiple-Display SupportObjective: Implement, manage, and troubleshoot display devices.
Most people are familiar with the capability to attach an external monitor or projector to a laptop and then see both screens (one on the laptop and the other on the external device) at the same time. This feature is called Dualview because you can view two monitors from the same video adapter. With Windows XP Professional, you can connect up to 10 monitors to a desktop PC and either display the same full screen image on all of them, or stretch the picture across the screens so that each shows a piece of a giant display quilt. Each multiple display can be separately configured for its resolution, color depth, and position. When you have more than one monitor configured, one is always designated as the primary display. By default, it receives all prompts and shortcut windows, plus it runs DirectX applications in full-screen mode. The primary monitor can be any VGA device. Any secondary monitor must utilize an adapter that is either Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) or Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP), plus the monitor must be able to display the GUI without using VGA resources. (Consider the conflict of two VGA devices fighting to use the same set of hardware resources.) Because a video adapter that is integrated into the motherboard is automatically configured to use VGA resources, it must be the primary device. If a VGA-capable PCI adapter is installed and the on-board display does not function, you should disable VGA for any secondary devices. Step by Step 7.4 walks through the process of adding a secondary monitor to a computer.
Using multiple monitors offers an expanded space for business productivity. Users can display separate documents on two different monitors, and even move items between the two. The capability to stretch the screen across the monitors can make working with detailed graphics and complex forms easier. To verify that the secondary monitor has been activated, you should right-click the desktop and select Properties (or open the Display applet in Control Panel), and click the Settings tab. Right-click the monitor and, in the shortcut menu, see whether there is a check mark next to Attached. If not, click Attached to enable the monitor. Each of your monitors can be configured separately for screen size and color depth. In the Settings tab of the Display applet, click the numbered monitor and then adjust the settings as necessary. If you have attempted to configure multiple monitors on your computer and have not been successful, you should check the following:
Installing, Configuring, and Troubleshooting a Video AdapterObjective: Implement, manage, and troubleshoot display devices.
There is little to worry about when you change your display configuration, because all video adapters can use the generic VGA display driver. If you prevent something from working properly when configuring the display driver, Windows XP can revert to the VGA display driver, forcing a 640x480 display with only 16 colors. If Windows XP did not do so, you would have no way to see the settings to fix them. Step by Step 7.5 lists the process for changing the display driver. When you configure multiple monitors and have difficulty extending the desktop across two monitors, you should always check to make sure the display drivers support multiple monitors and are updated to the latest versions.
Exam Alert Windows 2000 video drivers are generally compatible with Windows XP If your computer has been upgraded from Windows 2000 and functions well, but a brand-new computer with exactly the same hardware has display problems, the answer is to try installing the Windows 2000 video driver. |