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Acer laptop win 7 outputting colour bars to external monitor. help please.
Apprentice 2 SA
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Acer Travelmate P257
Model N15Q1
Win 7
Intel HD Graphics Control Panel
Tried with multiple monitors. They get vertical colour bars: white, yellow, light blue, green, lilac/purple, red blue, black.
A different laptop does output to the monitor. So there is no issue with the monitor or the connecting cable: the problem is with the laptop.
Using VGA output.
F5 works to give choice of how to output.
Various function button combinations suggeted by google search: none of them help.
Screen resolution control panel shows 1/2 multiple monitor... duplicate desks on 1 & 2
Model N15Q1
Win 7
Intel HD Graphics Control Panel
Tried with multiple monitors. They get vertical colour bars: white, yellow, light blue, green, lilac/purple, red blue, black.
A different laptop does output to the monitor. So there is no issue with the monitor or the connecting cable: the problem is with the laptop.
Using VGA output.
F5 works to give choice of how to output.
Various function button combinations suggeted by google search: none of them help.
Screen resolution control panel shows 1/2 multiple monitor... duplicate desks on 1 & 2
0
Comments
You could then experiment with settings on the external monitor to see if that makes any difference. if not then it sounds like there is a fault with the graphics system in the Acer.
Thanks for the thought. Extend makes no difference.
an unsolvable problem?
Nothing is entirely unsolvable. Trouble is with laptops and similar is that all the systems tend to be integrated onto the motherboard. So to change the graphics you have to swap the entire motherboard rather than just swap out a simple card like you might be able to in a desktop.
Whether it is cost effective to do that is another matter when you factor in the cost of parts, labour charges if you pay someone to do it and so on versus the value of the computer.
OK. Stuff to think about there. Thanks for the help, Chris.
I would try something conservative and standard like 1024 x 768 60 Hz. I know that's not great on a VGA monitor but it's a starting point. Then obviously edge up the refresh to 75 Hz and so on.
You might want to install the *.INF file for the monitor, not strictly necessary, but that will tell Windows what resolutions the Monitor supports.
The HD Graphics Control Panel has facilities for changing this stuff and indeed custom resolutions.
Bear in mind the future is bleak for VGA, the Intel 6xxx CPUs with HD graphics have dropped VGA(Analogue output) completely, they only do HDMI, DisplayPort without additional chips.
I'll have a look at this. Thanks.
Skylake is the most miserable venture yet twixt the behemoths Intel and Microsoft. Funny that they come with a performance boost but with severe restrictions.
If you right click on your desktop you will normally have option to output to.... and settings (rather than F5) , are you using a generic MS video driver or one for the laptop?
As others have said it's more likely the external setting isn't acceptable to the monitor, usually there is an option in the driver to select the resolution and frame refresh rate for the external monitor, although windows usually does a good job of detecting the best settings, but you might want to see what it should be for your monitor.
Also what do you have available in the monitor settings?