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BarbaRosa

(2,684 posts)
Sun Feb 10, 2019, 04:12 PM Feb 2019

Windows 10 question re: screen resolution

Unknown to me the electrical outlet my computer (laptop) was plugged in to went bad. As a result the battery drained down to where the battery saver enacted and went into safe mode.

I plugged into another outlet and the battery began charging as normal.

But now I can't get the screen resolution back to normal from the enlarged safe mode.

9 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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PeeJ52

(1,588 posts)
2. Make sure your monitor is recognized as a plug and play monitor in device manager.
Sun Feb 10, 2019, 04:17 PM
Feb 2019

It might have reverted to generic non plug and play monitor. The easiest fix would probably be to delete the monitor in device manager, reboot, and let it be discovered again, hopefully as plug and play....

 

bitterross

(4,066 posts)
6. Just to clear up what I think you meant a little.
Sun Feb 10, 2019, 05:35 PM
Feb 2019

If the monitor is a "generic PNP" in the settings it needs to be re-installed/recognized with the specific driver for the specific monitor. This is especially important on laptops.

I work with these things all day as Tier 2 tech. Laptop monitors in the device manager really do need to be installed with the proper driver. This should already be installed on the machine and your suggestion to delete it in the Device Manager and reboot is a good one. You can also, delete, click on Action and "Scan for hardware changes" most of the time. This saves time if your machine is slow to reboot. Like a lot of them I work on.

This used to not matter so much for desktops and external monitors on laptop docking stations. GenericPNP worked for the most part on almost all monitors. Windows 10, though, does seem to not work very well if you don't have the actual driver specific to the monitor installed.

Bottom line now days. Make sure the monitor driver that is installed matches your monitor. Go the manufacturer's web site to get it if you have to.

 

PeeJ52

(1,588 posts)
8. Yeah.. usually for people that don't know much about drivers, I find my suggestion the easiest...
Sun Feb 10, 2019, 05:56 PM
Feb 2019

I've seen that a some where a power glitch and safe mode will mess the monitor driver up and reset it to generic pnp. Windows 10 is so good about finding it's own drivers, I've found just deleting the wrong device in device manager and letting it get recognized again upon reboot is easiest for someone without much skill level. Some times you have to "show hidden devices" from the "View" menu though and delete them when they show there too if it gets problematic.

 

mr_lebowski

(33,643 posts)
3. Are you IN Safe Mode (per the labels at top/bottom screen on boot)?
Sun Feb 10, 2019, 04:19 PM
Feb 2019

If NOT, you can try right-clicking empty desktop and choosing 'Display Settings' to adjust the resolution.

If you are in safe mode, hit Windows button + R, then type msconfig and hit Enter

Check that on the first tab you're NOT on the middle option, and on the second tab, Safe Boot is unchecked. If either are that way, fix them, then reboot.

If you're still not good after that, lemme know. Unless you know how to reinstall the Driver for your Display Adapter, in which case, do that.

BarbaRosa

(2,684 posts)
4. Well, now I'm not so sure I am in safe mode.
Sun Feb 10, 2019, 04:32 PM
Feb 2019

When I reboot everything is normal up to a point and then it goes in to large res. I've gone to display settings and they are as they should be.

 

mr_lebowski

(33,643 posts)
5. You can still check msconfig as I instructed above ...
Sun Feb 10, 2019, 05:15 PM
Feb 2019

If there's no issue on either tab as I mentioned, next thing I'd do is:
1) RIGHT click your Start Icon
2) Choose Device Manager
3) Open Display Adapters
4) Right Click what pops up under, it'll be something with either Intel, AMD, or nVidia, or maybe Radeon. If you have 2 things, choose the the one that matches the processor on your Laptop (either AMD or Intel, and it may say "Integrated Graphics&quot . Then Choose Uninstall Device (don't delete the driver), then reboot.

Hopefully this reinstalls your video driver and fixes. If not, things get complicated but I have other ideas. Do you have a photo sharing site you use where you could share screenshots (I can tell you how to take them) will be my next question.

Response to BarbaRosa (Original post)

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