T60 external monitor resolution going AWOL (SOLVED, I think)

[aviography]

(Have searched and did not come across this scenario)

I have a T60 (Type 87445BU with the ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 video card and ATI Catalyst driver) that I use with an external Viewsonic 21" display with native resolution of 1400x1050 as an extended display, the connection is through the standard SVGA cable as there is no DVI output from the T60.

Most of the time I am able to run the Viewsonic at 1400x1050 and the quality is awesome, however the odd times the T60 will loose track of this resolution by itself, in fact the resolution selection list when right click on the desktop and then select "properties" then select "settings" then select monitor 2 will go from 1280x1024 to 1440x900 skipping over the 1400x1050, usually this problem goes away by itself after a few cycles of standby and wake-up, so I've just been liveing with it for the past few years.

However I've been stuck without the 1400x1050 resolution now for several days, no amount of standby-wakeup or power down/up have made the 1400x1050 setting return, I've been forced to use 1600x1200 setting to maintain aspect ratio but the video resolution quality is obviously not the greates...........

Has anyone encountered this issue? Any thoughts or ideas as to what may be happeneing or how I might abe able to resolve this? Is this a T60 issue or Viewsonic issue?

Thanks in advance

[D|g|ta|]

Hi,

Can you post the OS you're using?

I know my t60p wouldnt allow me to go higher resolutions when i was using windows 7 i pulled a ghost image and ran xp allowing me to manually set a 1900x1200 (on a dynex) LCD as secondary monitor.

[aviography]

The OS is XP Pro SP3, this problem existed from the beginning in 2005 when I first bought the T60, I actually bought the T60 because my previous ThinkPad, a T42 with beautiful LCD at native 1400x1050 resolution, could not output to the second monitor at the same native 1400x1050 resolution, it was only capable of a lower 1024x768 (IIRC) for projector use.

[aviography]

Further info:

- I decided to disconnect the AC power and video cable from the VG2021M display last night, not that it should make a difference but I wanted to eliminate that as a variable. It didn't make any difference this morning when I plugged it back to the T60, still no 1400x1050 resolution in the selection list.

- I then decided to connect the same monitor to the X201 running Windows 7 Pro 64 bit, there was no problem seeing and selecting the 1400x1050 resolution!

- Reconnecting the monitor back to the T60 and a couple of cycles of standby/wake-up made no difference, still can't see the 1400x1050 setting in between the 1280x1024 and 1440x900 choices

I guess this clears the Viewsonic monitor and narrows and points the issue at something with the T60......

[dr_st]

Reinstall / update video drivers?

[aviography]

Went throuhg the "update driver" option in video setting interface, no difference, so I totally uninstalled the Catalyst driver and went to the Lenovo support site to download the video driver for T60 under Windows XP 32 bit, went through the install process but still no luck, no matter where or how I looked for this, there is just no selction for 1400x1050 when I know this resolution worked about 90% of the time over the last 5 years..........

The million dollar question is how could this be a problem only some of the times before but all the time now??

BTW, this link http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-62722 indicates the ATI Mobility Radeon x1400 which my T60 has should have been able to display 1400x1050, so at least no one can say it was figment of my imagination that I have been working with 1400x1050 for quite some time.

[aviography]

So, after all the driver update/uninstall/re-install with no difference in outcomes, the 1400x1050 resolution setting decided to return today all by itself, I had not done anything different or did anything with the driver for a day now, yet it magically reappeared today even though I checked multiple times yesterday in an attempt to "find" the 1400x1050 setting.

The screen resolution was left at 1600x1200 yesterday because it gave me the right aspect ratio, but small fonts, and it just automatically went to 1400x1050 when I woke up the T60 from standby after I got home.

This is just crazy!

[RealBlackStuff]

Must be a seasonal thing
After all, Spring just started, and your TP was probably hibernating (as in 'winter sleep')

[aviography]

Must be a seasonal thing
After all, Spring just started, and your TP was probably hibernating (as in 'winter sleep')

Seasonal change? If it were only that predicable!

I came home today, woke up the computer as I almost dare not do a full power down anymore unless I have to in fear of loosing the 1400x1050 resolution, and nearly screamed when the resolution on the external display flashed up as 1400x1050 then immediately switched to 1600x1200 all by itself!

Cursing and swearing I pulled up the display property and was very relieved when I saw the 1400x1050 is still an option in the list of resolutions.

This time anyway, who knows when (or why/how) this resolution will go AWOL on me again!

[aviography]

The resolution messed up again by itself a few days ago and would not come back to the correct one, then it occured to me the one thing I had never thought of doing until today is to fully power down then remove the battery pack and power cord, and just left the laptop alone for 1/2 hour while I made dinner.

Wouldn't you know it, the laptop powered up to the correct 1400x1050 resolution the first time.

I'm not going to mess with it, if it ever loose track of the resolution, I will know what to do right away!

[aviography]

Another quick update, the resolution went AWOL again today, so the T60 was powered down, battery and power cord removed, reconnected, and powered up, it went back to the proper resoltuion on the first go.

Can't believe this problem exists.

Can't believe it took 5 years for me to figure out how to "solve" this problem.

[Harryc]

Does the Viewsonic LCD have a DVI input? Yes? Get an Advanced minidock ...
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=95520

[aviography]

Harry,

Thanks for the heads-up, yes the Viewsonic does have a DVI input, however I am a bit torn with what to do now since there seems to be a free workaround at this time that looks very promising, and I also might be upgrading this T60 to something newer/faster relatively soon.

As well it seems whatever is messing up is likely internal to the T60 which requires a full power down to overcome, will a DVI output through mini-dock guaranteed to overcome this problem?

[Harryc]

will a DVI output through mini-dock guaranteed to overcome this problem?

Guarantee from who...me?

[aviography]

Guarantee from who...me?

I was hoping so!

Ok, I guess I'll have to think about it, too bad as I will be in the US on business next week, this would have been easy to bring back home under my duty/tax free exemption!

[aviography]

Well, sad to report what I thought was finally a patch has now proven to be not 100% successful, the resolution went to 1200x1600 again today, and two consecutive cycles of power down and remove both power cord and battery did not bring the resolution back to 1400x1050.

Oh well, I guess I'll just have to live with this strange behaviour.............

[RealBlackStuff]

Did you ever try another monitor?
Or another laptop on your monitor?

[dr_st]

The situation you describe is very strange.

You say that the monitor's native resolution is 1400x1050 (SXGA+), and this is what is shown on the Viewsonic website.

However you say that from some reason it defaults to 1600x1200 (UXGA).

This itself is a very rare behavior from an LCD. Typically, an LCD's native resolution is its maximum. Whenever the computer detects the LCD it will in most cases not allow the user to set any resolution above the maximum/native, and in some cases most of the lower resolutions will be disabled as well.

Assuming that your monitor's native is really SXGA+ (i.e. it has 1400x1050 physical pixels), and it still supports UXGA, then it sounds to me like it implements a "downscale" feature, whereas the monitor receives a higher resolution and automatically interpolates it to its native. I've heard of a few LCDs doing that, but really really few.

If the above is correct, then for this feature to be useful, the LCD has to somehow report to the computer that it is capable of the higher resolution. What may happen here (this is just a guess), is that your monitor reports its maximum resolution as UXGA, and the driver/operating system therefore default to UXGA, assuming that maximum=native=recommended).

And if the above is correct, then coupled with the fact that the SXGA+ resolution is considered in many cases weird and non-standard, some drivers may choose not to display it even as an option, which leads to you being unable to select it. This still does not explain why it sometimes works and sometimes doesn't, but I've already seen stranger software quirks than that.

So what can be done? Every modern video card driver allows you to define custom resolutions. I don't remember where exactly this feature is in the ATI driver/software on your T60 (can look later), but it should be there. Once you define it once, it should stay always available.

[RealBlackStuff]

The T60 has 15.4in 1680x1050 (widescreen).
IMHO that's what's causing the problem.
He wants 4:3 (standard) on an external monitor.

[aviography]

Did you ever try another monitor?
Or another laptop on your monitor?

Not yet with the T60 with another monitor as 1400x1050 LCD are not easy to find these days, plus I would like to keep using this Viewsonic since it actually has great color and sharp resolution.

I have connected my X201 (native of 1200x800 resolution IIRC) to the Viewsonic a couple of times, and the combination worked perfectly as I see and can select the 1400x1050 externl display resolution without any issues at all, this is the occasional problem with the T60, most times I can see/select the 1400x1050 external display resolution, but other times, like now, the option is simply not in the list of available resolutions!

The T60 has 15.4in 1680x1050 (widescreen).
IMHO that's what's causing the problem.
He wants 4:3 (standard) on an external monitor.

This should not and have not been a problem most of the times, just some of the times, which is why it is so frustrating, I wouldn't have minded if there is a known hard incompatibility between the T60 and the Viewsonic, but that's not the case, the combination does work properly some of the times, just not all the time.

[aviography]

The situation you describe is very strange.

You say that the monitor's native resolution is 1400x1050 (SXGA+), and this is what is shown on the Viewsonic website.

However you say that from some reason it defaults to 1600x1200 (UXGA).

This itself is a very rare behavior from an LCD. Typically, an LCD's native resolution is its maximum. Whenever the computer detects the LCD it will in most cases not allow the user to set any resolution above the maximum/native, and in some cases most of the lower resolutions will be disabled as well.

Oh you don't have to convince me it's strange, I totally agree!

Assuming that your monitor's native is really SXGA+ (i.e. it has 1400x1050 physical pixels), and it still supports UXGA, then it sounds to me like it implements a "downscale" feature, whereas the monitor receives a higher resolution and automatically interpolates it to its native. I've heard of a few LCDs doing that, but really really few.

If the above is correct, then for this feature to be useful, the LCD has to somehow report to the computer that it is capable of the higher resolution. What may happen here (this is just a guess), is that your monitor reports its maximum resolution as UXGA, and the driver/operating system therefore default to UXGA, assuming that maximum=native=recommended).

I can freely select any higher or lower resolution at will, but just not 1400x1050 becaue that selection is simply not available in the pull-down list of the Display Property then Settings page...........

And if the above is correct, then coupled with the fact that the SXGA+ resolution is considered in many cases weird and non-standard, some drivers may choose not to display it even as an option, which leads to you being unable to select it. This still does not explain why it sometimes works and sometimes doesn't, but I've already seen stranger software quirks than that.

You are right, the "only some of the times" aspect of the problem is the killer.

So what can be done? Every modern video card driver allows you to define custom resolutions. I don't remember where exactly this feature is in the ATI driver/software on your T60 (can look later), but it should be there. Once you define it once, it should stay always available.

It would be very much appreciated if you could shed some light on the exact steps to do this, I'm willing to try just about anyting now! So thanks in advance.

[dr_st]

It would be very much appreciated if you could shed some light on the exact steps to do this, I'm willing to try just about anyting now! So thanks in advance.

Well, apparently in the current ATI drivers it's not as simple, but I found these instructions which tell you how to change a simple register entry to do so:
http://www.ehow.com/how_7649449_add-cus ... n-ati.html
I just tested these and managed to add a custom resolution to my T60 that previously did not exist in the list.

[aviography]

dr_st,

Thank you very much for the link, it worked!!!

I had cold reset the T60 twice prior to performing this edit, both times the resolution came up at 1600x1200 and the 1400x1050 setting was not availabe from the display property selection as it is often the case.

The T60 displayed the correct 1400x1050 resolution at the first power up after the registry edit and WITHOUT removing the battery or the power cord.

This may have been the magic solution I have been looking for a long time.

It was also interesting to note that the registry setting screen showed 6 resolutions at 1200x800, 1200x768, 1280x1024 each one with 60 Hz and 75 Hz refresh rates, but no 1680x1050 setting of the T60 native resolution. I entered 1400x1050 at 75 Hz.

Once again, thanks very much for finding this relative new information posted in Dec. 2010.

[dr_st]

Great to hear that it worked!

It was also interesting to note that the registry setting screen showed 6 resolutions at 1200x800, 1200x768, 1280x1024 each one with 60 Hz and 75 Hz refresh rates, but no 1680x1050 setting of the T60 native resolution. I entered 1400x1050 at 75 Hz.

My understanding is that the list only shows the non-standard modes. 1680x1050 will be considered standard since it is the native resolution of the primary LCD.

In any case, I would recommend using 60Hz instead of 75Hz, since the LCD's refresh is probably 60Hz anyways. But you can just specify 00 00 and it should make all refresh rates available. These are small matters, however - the important thing is that you got it to work. Hope it stays that way.

[aviography]

In any case, I would recommend using 60Hz instead of 75Hz, since the LCD's refresh is probably 60Hz anyways. But you can just specify 00 00 and it should make all refresh rates available. These are small matters, however - the important thing is that you got it to work. Hope it stays that way.

Well Sir, you just saved the day again for me, the monitor had been working flawlessly since May, and then suddenly it would not display past about an inch in from all four edges of the screen, i.e. I get the "full" screen but it is only displayed in the center 80% of the actual available display area.

I tried everything I can think of and was about to make this post to "rant" again, that is until I saw your comment about the 60Hz refresh rate in your last post, so I decided to give it try.

Guess what? It fixed it instantly!! I guess I never paid attention to the refresh rate before and somehow it got changed without me doing anything, and there is nobody else using this computer!

This has been an interesting problem, however thank you again for saving the day not only once, but TWICE!!

[aviography]

Well, maybe I spoke to soon, the gremlin is back, I can't see the 60Hz refresh rate option in the "normal" Setting mode to fix it as I did just recently, and when I go into Catalyst, I can use the "force" mode to make the second output to be 60Hz, but the 1400x1050 option is not in the list unless I am using 75Hz refresh rate.....

I think I'm going to get a new Thinkpad, but not for a couple of months until I finish some courses I'm taking now.......

What a pain this is.

[Troels]

The VGA cable your use to connect the monitor to the T60, does it appear like one of the pins are missing (pin 9) ?
If so, the monitor cannot report its list of supported (extended) resolutions correctly to windows - pin 9 is the power supply to the EEPROM storing an EDID that reports which timings the monitor support. If nothing is reported, Windows would (likely) just assume you have some sort of plug- and play VESA compatible monitor, which doesn't contain any "standard" timing to use for a SXGA+ display (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VESA_BIOS_Extensions under "Modes Defined By VESA".)
The cable would work well for CRTs, where the power supply for the EEPROM is usually sourced from the internal power supply.

EDIT: Other than finding a proper cable, maybe you should give PowerStrip a try ( http://entechtaiwan.com/util/ps.shtm ). Lots of possibility to customize everything.

[aviography]

It's an OEM cable that came with the Viewsonic display, all pins are there in the high-density d-sub connectors at both ends of the cable. The problem I had before was intermittenly the 1400x1050 resolution would not be on the list, that was fixed 6 months ago with the steps in the link dr_st provided, then I had the refresh rate issue now.

Why? Why? Why? This is enough to make a grown man cry!!

I really hate to get rid of this computer since it's been working just fine for some 6 years now!

EDIT: Remembered one thing I hadn't tried this time and it worked....., I selected disabling the desktop from spanning across to the external monitor, applied and saved it, then re-enabling spanning desktop to the external monitor, the external monitor screen flickered once and the image is now properly displayed on the external monitor, 1400x1050 and fills the screen properly.

[pianowizard]

SXGA+ is an unusual resolution for external monitors and I am not surprised that you are having problems.

Sell this monitor and get one with a non-SXGA+ resolution. Used ones on Craigslist or eBay are often very cheap. Through Craigslist, I got my 20" 1600x1200 NEC LCD (with a PVA panel!) for $40, and my 17" 1280x1024 Acer for $20.

[aviography]

Thanks for the comment, in a way I wished I could just get rid of the monitor, but it has great color based on what I see on screen and what my Photoshopped digital prints come out at a commercial lab, plus the resolution problem does not occur very often at all, I will have no isssues for months at a time even though I use the screen every night, the problem is very occasional but often very frustrating when it does occur.

I've learned to deal with it.