The X41 cannot do 1920x1200 on external LCDs

[optas]

I have spent the last two days failing to get my X41 to drive my Dell 24" LCD (2405FPW) at its native resolution of 1920x1200.

I am making the claim in the subject line based on:

1. X41 has Intel's 82915GM chipset.
2. The "Max Panel Display Resolution" info for 82915GM at

http://indigo.intel.com/compare_cpu/sho ... ture=en-US

To me this seems like a genuine hardware issue that cannot be addressed by a (video) BIOS/driver update and/or registry hack.

Please, please, please prove me wrong

[tvi55]

I have no problems with a resolution of 2048x1536 on an TFT display. This is in-line with the specifications for the X41.

[optas]

Can you please, please, please tell me your exact setup? That is:

0, Operating system
1. Chipset (presumbaly 82915GM and no other video card).
2. Monitor
3. Connection
4. Any registry/video bios hacks

IBM today (on escalated support) told me that indeed, the X41 cannot go above 1600x1200.

I would love it if they are wrong. As I said, when I hook up my X41 to a Dell 2405FPW I can't go above 1600x1200.

Thanks
dimitris

[tvi55]

Can you please, please, please tell me your exact setup?

0. Operating system
- Windows XP Pro SP2
1. Chipset (presumbaly 82915GM and no other video card).
- Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900, no other card
(chipset according to http://tinyurl.com/cj4ec There you can find also the supported max resolution)
2. Monitor
- IBM T210 (already a couple of years old)
3. Connection
- VGA-Cable
4. Any registry/video bios hacks
- none

[optas]

Thanks so much for replying!

This is really remarkable. From what you say, my Dell monitor should "just work" when plugged in, as you seem to be able to drive a strictly higher resolution on an LCD with VGA using "the same" machine.

That is, our setups except for the monitor are identical:

-- Same chipset (I verified that all X41s have the 82915GM).
-- Same connection (VGA).

BTW I assumed that you are running XP. If yes, can you send your driver versions for the display and for the chipset? Just in case.

I have 6.14.10.4391 for the video driver and 6.0.0.1013 for the rest of the chipset (Device Manager/System Devices/Any of the Intel components).

Finally, are you using a driver for the monitor (.inf file), or is it just the default "plug and play" driver?

Again, thanks very much,
dimitris

[tvi55]

This is really remarkable. From what you say, my Dell monitor should "just work" when plugged in, as you seem to be able to drive a strictly higher resolution on an LCD with VGA using "the same" machine.

Yes, resolution on my TFT is highter than yours, but it has the aspect ratio 4:3. Your TFT has a 16:10 wide screen aspect ratio, which may be the cause of the problems you have (= that this is not supported by the X41 graphics).

BTW I assumed that you are running XP. If yes, can you send your driver versions for the display and for the chipset? Just in case.

I have 6.14.10.4391 for the video driver and 6.0.0.1013 for the rest of the chipset (Device Manager/System Devices/Any of the Intel components).

Yes, XP as mentioned earlier. The drivers are of same level than yours.

Finally, are you using a driver for the monitor (.inf file), or is it just the default "plug and play" driver?

I could not get the inf-files installed, so I simply use the monitor in plug-and-play mode.

[optas]

Thanks again. Much appreciated.

The video card in the X41 (Intel 82915 chipset / GMA 900) can definitely do "all kinds of resolutions", as witnessed for example by this post in which the author is using the X41's video card to drive simultaneously a 1400×1050 internal laptop panel + a Dell 2405FPW 24" at 1920×1200:

http://rdo.homelinux.org/ubuntu-linux-o ... tude-d610/

Unfortunately, it's on a Dell D610, under Linux. So, the culprit is the video driver/bios, both of which in our case our "owned" by IBM.

The root of the problem seems to be that Intel (unlike ATI/Nvidia) does not provide support for user-defined custom resolutions. Instead, in principle, the video card driver asks the video bios for a list of supported resolutions and takes it from there. As far as I understand, that's pretty much the only thing the video bios does nowadays, i.e., serve as a repository for the video card specs.

In order to support custom resolutions, the Linux guys (per the posting above) do the following. As soon as the video bios get shadowed in RAM (for faster access), they go and modify it so that it reports the resolutions that they want to get out of the video card. Then they fireup the video driver which obliges and provides the desired resolutions.

I am sufficiently desparate (I love both the X41 and the Dell 24" monitor) that I installed Linux to see what resolutions are reported by our video bios by default. As far as I could see, 1600x1200 was there, 1920x1440 was there, but no 1920x1200. Moreover, interestingly, I did NOT see your resolution, i.e., 2048x1536.

This leads me to believe that the IBM-provided video driver for XP actually disregards the video bios and simply supports whatever resolutions IBM has chosen. This is further supported by my little tryout of the powerstrip utility from which I only got: ..., 1600x1200, 2048x1536. That is, no 1920x1440 which is in the video bios.

So, there we are: our hardware can do it and 16:9 monitors are becoming increasingly popular. Yet our video driver "can't be bothered".

I can understand IBM's need to "draw the line" somewhere in terms of what resolutions they support. But the marginal effort per supported resolution is so small and the X41s price so high ($2500 in my case) that asking IBM to support the "top 10" external monitor resolutions seems only fair.

No?

Thanks again,
dimitris

[Thinkhead]

There may be a nice work-around for you If you have another computer next to your T41. You could use the 2nd PC as an relay together with the software http://www.maxivista.com

It installs a virtual video card which is capable of up 2560x1600 pixels.

So, install Maxivista server on the T41, the viewer program on the other PC where you also connect the Dell and you are out of trouble.

[optas]

Unfortunately, the maxivista won't do the trick for me. My whole point in buying a light laptop was so that it could be my only computer which I could carry back and forth between home and work each day.

Still trying to get either Intel or IBM to do something about the driver...

[tsammyc]

This is a common problem in the Home Theater PC community where there are displays of odd resolutions. I use Entech's Powerstrip to generate custom resolutions for my projector. You can download a trial version and then set up a custom Dell resolution for your X41. It works for virtually all video chipsets, but I'm not sure if the Intel 82915 is supported. I have a Dell 2405FPW on my desk at the office, but haven't tried with my X40 and Powerstrip. If you can't get the trial version to work, I'll try next week. Powerstrip is at the following URL.

http://entechtaiwan.net/util/ps.shtm

[spirou197]

I have spent the last two days failing to get my X41 to drive my Dell 24" LCD (2405FPW) at its native resolution of 1920x1200.

I am making the claim in the subject line based on:

1. X41 has Intel's 82915GM chipset.
2. The "Max Panel Display Resolution" info for 82915GM at

http://indigo.intel.com/compare_cpu/sho ... ture=en-US

To me this seems like a genuine hardware issue that cannot be addressed by a (video) BIOS/driver update and/or registry hack.

Please, please, please prove me wrong

The standard Intel drivers are limited to resolutions reported by the machines' VBIOS. The Thinkpads are very restrictive when it comes to supported resolutions wider than 4:3.

However, Intel also supplies a driver kit for embedded applications Windows XP or Linux, the IEGD:

http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scripts ... 0&lang=eng
(make sure you get the whole link. or google "intel iegd driver")

Installing these on my X40 gave me several (wide) resolutions that the standard drivers did not support, for example 1280x720 and 1280x768.

This driver kit also includes utilities to create settings files for virtually any resolution. This, however, is not the easiest thing to do - it's meant for developers. If someone has the time/patience to figure out how to configure these drivers to support 1360 x 768 on an external lcd, I would be very grateful...

[spirou197]

This is a common problem in the Home Theater PC community where there are displays of odd resolutions. I use Entech's Powerstrip to generate custom resolutions for my projector. You can download a trial version and then set up a custom Dell resolution for your X41. It works for virtually all video chipsets, but I'm not sure if the Intel 82915 is supported. I have a Dell 2405FPW on my desk at the office, but haven't tried with my X40 and Powerstrip. If you can't get the trial version to work, I'll try next week. Powerstrip is at the following URL.

http://entechtaiwan.net/util/ps.shtm

Powerstrip cannot do much about resolutions for machines using Intel graphic chipsets, like the Thinkpad X4x, since the Intel standard drivers do not support custom resolutions. (see my response above in this thread). This topic has been discussed in the Powerstrip forums, for those interested). However, it's very useful for fine-trimming timing for the resolutions that are supported.

[daba]

I have spent the last two days failing to get my X41 to drive my Dell 24" LCD (2405FPW) at its native resolution of 1920x1200.

I am making the claim in the subject line based on:

1. X41 has Intel's 82915GM chipset.
2. The "Max Panel Display Resolution" info for 82915GM at

http://indigo.intel.com/compare_cpu/sho ... ture=en-US

To me this seems like a genuine hardware issue that cannot be addressed by a (video) BIOS/driver update and/or registry hack.

Please, please, please prove me wrong

The standard Intel drivers are limited to resolutions reported by the machines' VBIOS. The Thinkpads are very restrictive when it comes to supported resolutions wider than 4:3.

However, Intel also supplies a driver kit for embedded applications Windows XP or Linux, the IEGD:

http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scripts ... 0&lang=eng
(make sure you get the whole link. or google "intel iegd driver")

Installing these on my X40 gave me several (wide) resolutions that the standard drivers did not support, for example 1280x720 and 1280x768.

This driver kit also includes utilities to create settings files for virtually any resolution. This, however, is not the easiest thing to do - it's meant for developers. If someone has the time/patience to figure out how to configure these drivers to support 1360 x 768 on an external lcd, I would be very grateful...

Everytime I try to install this I get an error message "All components are not installed correctly. Please try installing again" What's the deal here?

[spirou197]

Everytime I try to install this I get an error message "All components are not installed correctly. Please try installing again" What's the deal here?

Don't know why (probably has something to do with differences between XP and XP embedded, but i'm just guessing), but I got the same result when using the setup program. I had to manually install the driver. After that, everything worked fine (you can use the applications included with the driver directly, without installing them once you have the driver in place.

[Rune B]

The issue about the IEGD driver to install, is that you cannot have any previous installed drivers, on your system, as you install this new driver..
My problem is though that, when i uninstall my driver it automatically rolls back to the first installed intel driver, which i cannot uninstall, it simply doesn't uninstall correctly.. Is says so, but at next reboot its there again..

[EDIT]
I have now tried to install the driver manually, as i startup the computer, i'll get nothing but a black screen after the windows logo, in fail-safe i see that this driver is NOT a mobile?? How can it be that someone can use this and others not?? My common sense says that it has to be a mobile driver, as the powermanager won't work elseway..

[madcow]

I manage to get IEGD 5.1 installed and manage to drive the 24 inch dell monitor. But the laptop monitor is back. The only way to turn on the laptop monitor is to use the IEGDGU which is found in the Utilities folder inside the IEGD folder when you unzip. Once IEGDU is open, go to Display, and click on Clone. You should see that both the external monitor and the laptop monitor are on.

[madcow]

Ok, doesn't work as well after reboot. I'm giving up.