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External Monitor Changing Resolution on its own - Edited

W530/W540/W541/W550 Series
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Geophyte1
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Posts: 96
Joined: Wed Mar 03, 2010 3:36 pm
Location: Rockdale, Texas

External Monitor Changing Resolution on its own - Edited

#1 Post by Geophyte1 » Sat Aug 27, 2016 7:14 pm

Is there a way to enter a screen resolution that does not appear in the choices list for resolution. That is, enter a custon resolution? I need 1980 X 1200 and only 1980 X 1080 appears in the list.
It is so strange to me that at times the 1980 X 1200 choice is present ????

Just looking for reasons or guidance as to why this is happening.
This is a problem that comes and goes apparently without my input.
I've had the W541 since June 2015 but did not start using it as my everyday computer until early 2016 and that is probably when I first connected it to my Samsung 25.5" monitor/TV and noticed that the Samsung monitor was projecting a lower resolution than the computer display. I fiddled with it for a while and then it just started projecting the correct resolution that was set on the computer display and has until last night. I normally run 1920 X 1200.

I used my computer all day yesterday and left it on through the evening, as I usually do, but when I came to close it down for the night it was doing the lower resolution thing on the attached monitor. This time I noticed that the resolution had reset to 1680 X 1050 at least on the attached moniter. I normally work with the laptop display closed but when I opened it the attached monitor now went back to the correct resolution, 1920 X 1200, and when I closed the display again the attached monitor reverted to the lower resolution. I just shut it down for the night.

This morning after bootup everything works as it should. Both monitors are projecting at the same resolution again even when the display is closed on the laptop.

I bought two of the Samsung monitors in 2009 and used them, not at the same time, on my W700ds until I switched to the W541 where they have worked perfectly except for the changing resolution.
With the W541, when I boot up the computer the attached monitor always projects the lower resolution at the login screen but goes to the higher resolution when it logs in. With the W700ds it projected the correct or 1920 X 1200 resolution at the bootup login screen.

Part of the problem may be that the W541 display has a maximum resolution of 2880 X 1620 and the Samsumg monitor has a maximum resolution of 1900 X 1200. With the W700ds the maximum resolution for the laptop display is 1920 X 1200. I used the W700ds with the Samsung monitor set at 1920 X 1200 for about 7 years with no visible problems. I have the resolution on the W541 set to 1920 X 1200 and that works great except for when it doesn't:)

Thanks,
Regards,

Geophyte1
Thinkpad W700ds 2757-CTO, T-400 2767AT6, W541 20EFCTO1WW

Geophyte1
Freshman Member
Posts: 96
Joined: Wed Mar 03, 2010 3:36 pm
Location: Rockdale, Texas

Re: External Monitor Changing Resolution on its own - Edited

#2 Post by Geophyte1 » Fri Apr 28, 2017 12:59 pm

Just a small update to this post. I noticed about a month ago that the screen resolution on the external monitor was now 1980 X 1200. I do not know how it reset itself but I'm glad it did:)
Regards,

Geophyte1
Thinkpad W700ds 2757-CTO, T-400 2767AT6, W541 20EFCTO1WW

MikalE
ThinkPadder
ThinkPadder
Posts: 1451
Joined: Sun Sep 13, 2015 9:51 pm
Location: Marissa, Illinois

Re: External Monitor Changing Resolution on its own - Edited

#3 Post by MikalE » Fri Apr 28, 2017 6:26 pm

One of my flight simulator computers that ran the instrument displays had two video cards installed. One card ran a 12" POS monitor in portrait mode for the triple engine stack display (B727). There was no monitor resolution listed for this monitor but the option was there to enter a custom resolution that worked very well.

The point of this is, if you don't have a alternate video card in the computer, you likely won't be able to enter a custom resolution on an Intel graphic chip.

Image
A31p P-IV 2Ghz, 2MB, 2653-R6U
T500 T9600 2055-BE9
T510 i5 4384-DV7
T510 i7 4349-A64
T520 i7QM 4242-4UU Highly Modified
T16 i7 1260P 21BV000SUS

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