640x480 resolution corrupted?

[blumeenie]

I have found that my 640x 480 screen resolution is all out of size . It does no longer occupy the whole screen ,it was a long skinny thing , but by manipulating the monitor controls to maximum size one way, i now have a viewable ,but less than half screen size image .All other resolutions are fine .
this all occured when i caught magister?? virus ,and cleaned up the machine as per antivirus instructions .
Now for my question .
I am running Win 98 SE , using a 64mb geoforceII MX200AGP video card,17 inch ADI G700 Monitor , on a year old? machine, Athlon 1gb, 512mb PC133 SDRAM.
I presume i have a corrupt file , where or what file could it be? Would it be a windows 98 file, or a video card driver , and how to fix the problem .
Frank
"Computers are like Airconditioners , they work fine till you open Windows"

[Dani]

It seems like this problem has to do with the refresh rate. Monitors require different refresh rates depending on the resolution you wish to use. Check your monitor's manual (or search for your monitor model on the web) to find the refresh rate for 640x480 resolution.

In windows, go into Display Properties, then the Settings tab, then Advanced, then the Monitor tab where you can change the refresh frequency to a lower value (for a lower resolution).

You said this started happening when you caught a virus? The virus may have left nasty remnants of its existance or even might not be fully destroyed from your system.

[TallCool1]

I have found that my 640x 480 screen resolution is all out of size . It does no longer occupy the whole screen ,it was a long skinny thing , but by manipulating the monitor controls to maximum size one way, i now have a viewable ,but less than half screen size image. All other resolutions are fine.

The default refresh has likely been changed for that one resolution -- it's stored in the Registry. Here's one way to change it:

1. Right-click on the Desktop.
2. Select the Settings tab.
3. Slide the slider to 640 x 480 and click Apply.
4. Click Advanced.
5. Click the Adapter tab.
6. Go to the Refresh rate drop-down menu and try, say, 75 Hz.

Another way to deal with this kind of problem is easier in the long run. Go to http://www.EntechTaiwan.com and download MultiRes.EXE. It's a free utility that, when installed, provides on-the fly resolution and refresh-rate changes.

[laoli]

i once met with the same problem, and i solverd it by adjusting the refresh frequency.

[Tekmaven]

Just to clarify, this is a regular CRT monitor, right?

You aren't using an LCD?

This is important to know, because LCDs can only display their image at one resolution. If you set a resolution lower then the LCD's main resolution, it approximates it by using more then one pixel for a pixel - and also looks horrible (on the LCD's I've seen).