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I just got a Samsung SyncMaster 205BW for my Compaq Presario 2218RS laptop.
I plugged it in and it looks great sometimes, but most of the times there are these lines constantly going through the screen! I figured it was something to do with the refresh rate. I have it set to 1680 x 1050 @ 60Hz. I changed the resolution to all kinds of different things with different refresh rates but the problem remained.
I restarted my computer and noticed that it didn't do this while the computer was booting up--only once it got into Windows.
I tried the monitor on a different computer. This computer has an old video card so I couldn't try it on 1680 x 1050, but regardless of that, there were no lines.
Because of this, I'm convinced that the problem is with my laptop's video. I have the latest version of the driver (Intel 82852 / 82855 GM/GME) and yet it's still doing this. I searched on Intel's site to no avail.
Any ideas?
That is a fairly high resolution. Possibly you might need to dedicate more system memory to the video, or decrease color depth. I am using the same exact monitor at 1600 x 900 @60Hz/ 32bit color/ digital. However, my onboard is using 256MB of system memory.
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Thank you very much for your tip! I didn't even think about video RAM.
I'm still having trouble, though. My BIOS says that I have 736 MB of system memory and 32 MB of video memory (768 total). However, Windows says I have 736 MB of system memory and 64 MB of video memory (800 total). I'm not sure why.
I don't know how to allocate more of my system memory to video. I am completely willing to do it, I just need to know how. I couldn't do it in the BIOS and I can't figure out how to do it in Windows, either. I've googled a lot of different things but still can't find an answer.
What should I do?
Thanks again for the reply!
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I should be in the BIOS. You may need to tunnel a little further into the BIOS screens. Do you know what MBoard and/or BIOS you have. The BIOS brand and version should show up during the POST screens at startup.
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Unfortunately my BIOS doesn't have a whole lot to it. It's "Hewlett-Packard F.16 (3 Aug 2005)". I'm not sure what the motherboard is, but my laptop is a Compaq Presario 2218RS. You can see specs here:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...
Is there no way to allocate more system memory for video RAM right from Windows?
Thanks for your continued help!
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Below is a link to a PDF of your reference guide. It appears you may be able to highlight the word "auto" and toggle to a manual setting. 64MB may be the highest setting allowed.
UMA Video Memory
Sets the video memory size allocated from total installed memory (RAM).
Autohttp://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...
Compaq Presario 2200 Notebook PC – Reference Guide
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Thanks for the link. I saw what you were talking about in the PDF.
My BIOS is nothing like the one in the PDF. At the top of the screen in my BIOS, it says "PhoenixBIOS". Also, there is only one section of the BIOS that shows anything about the video RAM, and it says "32 MB" and there is absolutely no way to change it. It's just informational.
I got the latest BIOS from HP's web site. Do you think there's a way for me to get a different BIOS for my laptop?
I love this monitor but it's just so sad that there are these horrible lines.
Thanks again!
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Also, for what it's worth, I have a CRT monitor I use on my laptop at work. I have it set to 1600 x 1200 (not sure what the refresh rate is) and there are no lines. 1600 x 1200 isn't the same as 1680 x 1050, but it's close enough to where the lines should theoretically be there if it's the large resolution that's causing it.
Perhaps the lines aren't there because CRT is different than LCD. I don't know much about electronics.
Anyway, just thought I'd throw that out there if it helps any.
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The graphics driver may be corrupted. Try downloading the correct driver and even if it the same exact version as the one install update it anyway. 32MB isn't much RAM to run high resolutions & color depth. Try reducing the color depth from 32bit to 16bit.
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I tried both of those things to no avail. I e-mailed Compaq about this and this is part of the instructions they provided:
-------------------------
2. When the Red Compaq Logo opens, press the F1 key. Entering Setup
should appear on the screen.
3. When BIOS Setup screen opens, use the RIGHT ARROW key to select the
Advanced option.
4. Use the DOWN ARROW key to select either VGA RAM Size or On-Board
Video Memory. Only one will be available depending on the
Presario being used. Press the ENTER key.
5. Use the DOWN ARROW key to select the desired amount of memory that
is listed. Press the ENTER key after making a selection.-------------------------
However, the logo is white, not red, and to get into the BIOS it's the F10 key, not the F1 key. Also, once inside the BIOS there is nowhere to change the video memory. This leads me to believe that the BIOS described in the instructions is NOT the same BIOS as the one that I have on my computer (which is what I got from their web site).
I'm not sure what to do. I can only hope Compaq responds with a working solution.
Thanks so much for all your help! I don't think I would've considered the video memory had you not mentioned it, so you were a big help!
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As I stated above in response #8 you can migigate the memory requirements by lowering the color depth. In the same screens used to change the resolution there is a setting called color quality. If currently at 32 bit try lowering to 16 bit. IMO you won't really notice a difference and it may solve the problem. Also, My sons bought this monitor for me at christmas. I was still running Win98/2000 at that time but mostly 98. In Win98 I couldn't run the native resolution as it wasn't available and ran a much lower wide screen resolution. The picture still looked really great. I guess what I am saying is that if the resolution and color depth are the problem due to small memory, try other settings. This monitor is fantastic and looks great no matter what the settings.
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