I have a problem with using new monitors. I have a Compaq Presario 5240, which I like to use because it's got great games on it that I need DOS to run, which is fine since it uses Windows 98, and I don't know why this is happening, but I've tried two new monitors with it and had a problem with the display on both, and this problem with the display will occur even while in pure DOS without Windows even running in the background. I have it set so that it boots up into DOS so that I start there and if I want to go to Windows I just simply type "win" and push enter. Anyway, my point is that this means it's not just some problem with Windows. The first new monitor I bought was called a Mag Innovision, whatever that is, but for some reason the display didn't look right on it. I mean on the left and right sides and a little on the up and down, instead of being nice and straight on all sides to make a perfect square, which is what the case was when I used the Compaq Presario MV500 monitor that came with this computer, it was a little wavy and goofy-looking. I tried adjusting all the different settings on that monitor in an attempt to fix the display and make it look right, and I got it to look a lot better than it did when I first turned it on, but there was still no way I could get it to look anywhere near right. Anyway, so I returned that one and decided to just order a brand-new one on the phone from Compaq, 'cause I figured then it would be new and also it's a Compaq, so I figured that would mean it would be really compatible with my Compaq computer, even though I didn't think that really matters. Anyway, I got the new Compaq monitor recently, which is a Compaq FS7600 flat-screen CRT seventeen-inch monitor, and it is brand new, but the picture isn't right on it either. It looks a lot better than the other one did, but even after fooling around with all the controls on this monitor to try to fix the picture, I still can't do anything to get it to look totally straight on all four sides like was the case with the old MV500 monitor that came with the computer. I don't know if this has anything to do with it or not, but the old MV500 monitor that came with the computer was a fifteen-inch monitor with a thirteen-inch viewable area, if I remember the specs exactly, and both the Mag Innovision thing and the new Compaq FS7600 monitors that I've tried are seventeen-inch monitors with a sixteen-inch viewable area. I don't know if maybe the picture can get a little distorted if you use a monitor that's bigger than the one that came with the computer and was intended to be used with it. It doesn't seem like that should matter, though, since I would think that no matter how big a monitor you use with a computer is, it should stretch the picture out totally evenly regardless. Oh, and by the way, speaking of stretching the picture out evenly, I should also mention that both of the new monitors I've tried have been regular CRTs, not widescreens, and of course the old MV500 that came with the computer wasn't a widescreen either but just a regular CRT, which is what I want since I like and trust CRTs more than any other type of monitor out there nowadays.
Oh, and I also even tried downloading the software drivers for this new Compaq FS7600 monitor, as I was told to do by Compaq techs over the phone, but after I downloaded and installed those drivers for that monitor and even restarted the computer, it still didn't change anything. I mean, I can get the picture to look a lot better than it did with that Mag Innovision thing, but it still doesn't look as nice and straight on the four sides as it did with the old MV500. I have to replace that old monitor, though, 'cause it's like five years old or older and its display is darkening, and on dark scenes, it tends to be so dark that you can't see anything. The up and down sides of the new Compaq monitor seem to be fine, but the left and right sides are a little off and not totally straight like they should be. I'm not the type of person who can just ignore something like this either, especially when you consider the fact that I paid more than a hundred and fifty dollars for this new monitor. It really drives me crazy when trying to play games on it. In addition to adjusting the controls on the monitor itself, I also tried adjusting all the different video controls within the software of the computer on the controls panel's display controls, but nothing fixes the problem. I asked a Compaq tech over the phone if it could be that computer's video card, which is an AGP Rage LTP Pro or something like that, that isn't agreeing with these newer monitors, but he said that that wouldn't really matter and that they should be working anyway. He was unable to tell me what the problem was, however, and was just as lost with this as I am.
If anyone knows how I can fix this problem, *please* let me know. This is really driving me crazy. ...Sorry this ended up being so long. I guess that's it, though.
