Dell 19" flat panel resolution problems

[millerrh]

I've got a Powerbook hooked up to a Dell 1901FP display. The max resolution for this display is 1280 x 1024 when I go into Preferences. However, when this same display is hooked up to a Windows machine, it goes much higher than that. Is there any way I can make it have a higher resolution through my Powebook?

Also, is there some way to make the larger display my main display (with dock and menu bar) rather than having it remain on the laptop?

 

[jeremy.king]

1280x1024 is the max the monitor can support.

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/monitor_1901fp?c=us&l=en&s=gen

 

[Megatron]

I'm not sure what is happening in windows, but for most 19" LCD screens, the native resolution is 1280 x 1024. That would make sense why the powerbook is displaying that resolution.

What did it run on your windows machine?

 

[mkrishnan]

Hmmm... We have one of those here *points to the right about five feet*... Yes, 1280x1024 is definitely the native resolution of a 19" standard AR LCD like the 1901FP.

In Windows, did you actually set the resolution higher, or did you just see that it goes higher? Some versions of windows let you select resolutions based on the video card without taking the monitor into consideration, and will let you assign a resolution the monitor cannot handle. If you were to somehow do anything higher than 1280x1024 on that monitor, it would be fuzzy like things are when you do Exposé on a Mac.

 

[millerrh]

My bad. Sorry about that. I just checked it on my Windows and there are options for it to go larger, but when I try to make them larger I get an error saying "Cannot display This Video Mode"

I don't know why it gives me the option to go larger when it really can't...Microsoft for ya! Thanks for pointing that out guys.

 

[SilentPanda]

Also, is there some way to make the larger display my main display (with dock and menu bar) rather than having it remain on the laptop?

Go in your system preferences and in Display there should be two monitors shown. At the top of one of these screens will be a white strip. Move it to the other screen.

 

[millerrh]

Another quick question for you guys:

I'd like to make the big monitor my main one, and then tuck the little powerbook away (using an external mouse and keyboard). But when I close the powerbook, it falls asleep and the monitor goes blank. Is there any way to turn that off so that I can use the powerbook where the monitor, keyboard, and mouse are all cabled to it and it's closed?

 

[jeremy.king]

Another quick question for you guys:

I'd like to make the big monitor my main one, and then tuck the little powerbook away (using an external mouse and keyboard). But when I close the powerbook, it falls asleep and the monitor goes blank. Is there any way to turn that off so that I can use the powerbook where the monitor, keyboard, and mouse are all cabled to it and it's closed?

Did you try hitting the space bar on the external keyboard after closing it to see if it wakes? I don't own a PB so I don't have a better answer.

 

[slinky0390]

im almost positive you just hit the spacebar to wake it.. i want to get the bluetooth keyboard and mouse and im not sure if the bluetooth keyboard can wake the powerbook from sleep.. im assuming it can but you know what happens when you assume

 

[millerrh]

Yep, hitting the spacebar wakes it up. Works like a charm.

Here's another question for you guys along the same lines though: Is there any way to disable it automatically going to sleep mode when closed? At my work, I have to VPN to log into the network and it will boot me out when it falls asleep, causing at the best an inconvenience to have to log back in, and at worse documents that aren't recoverable unless I reboot. It would be nice to go from meeting to meeting without having to walk around with my Powerbook open.