so i have a shitty windows pc. it has a big nice monitor on it though and i like to use it to browse the internets. particularly, my RSS reader and forums.
something happened that made it a horrendous piece of shit. with nothing important on it, i decided to just wipe it. i did a fresh install of windows on it. it was XP pro i put on. it’s almost done with all of the updates to get it to what i assume is its final update of service pack 3.
when i first got the monitor, which is a gateway HD2200 connected with a VGA cable, it worked fine. now with the fresh install, it’s in 8 bit color. i was able to let it go to a higher resolution which looks better, but i still can’t get it out of 8 bit. when it goes to screensaver mode (the default xp pro screensaver), it looks perfect. the monitor looks horrendous though when trying to function on the desktop.
i assume there’s a driver that i need but a google search hasn’t turned anything up that i can tell. any ideas?
in the interest of saving on new threads, you don’t by chance know how i’d find out what driver i have to get for my video card? is there a way to do it without having to take the computer apart?
right click on my computer, click manage then go to device manager.
anything with a yellow question mark needs a driver. after youre done with all the windows updates click on the item with the question mark and have windows connect to the internet to find the driver. it should find them for you with no problems.
follow the link to the drivers/downloads, and select your optiplex model, or enter the dell service tag (clearly marked on a sticker somewhere on the tower, probably the bottom or back).
the links thereafter should be pretty self explanatory to get your display driver.
awesome. the monitor one worked perfect and i’m looking good in 1680 x 1050 goodness. however there were some other ones i noticed while i was in there that i tried to find and windows was unable to locate them. thanks man.