Resolution limited to 640 x 480 Vista Bugs and Problems Discuss Resolution limited to 640 x 480 in the Windows Vista forums; I just installed Vista Home Premium and am unable to increase the resolution of the display. It shows 640 x 480 only, and if I try any of the listed ...

[TonyC]

I just installed Vista Home Premium and am unable to increase the resolution of the display. It shows 640 x 480 only, and if I try any of the listed modes in the adavanced area, they area all lacking resolution. Why is this doing this? Is my graphics card needing to be replaced? The driver is updated and the device manager states it is working properly...help!

[Znod]

Welcome Tony. The issue could be your card. Did you run the Vista Upgrade advisor on your machine? Please give us more details about your machine and card.

[TonyC]

Thanks for the welcome! I was unable to run the Update Advisor before upgrading, as I had a few problems with XP that were giving me fits, and thats why I decided to install Vista. My computer is a Dimension 2400, Pentium 4, 766 RAM, 80gig HD, and the video card is Standard VGA Graphics Adapter.

[Znod]

You are very welcome Tony. I don't think your card should be the problem--at least if it was OK on XP. I suggest that you go to the Dell website and look for all the driver updates for your machine you can find. Give a preference to Vista drivers whether beta or not. And, update any XP drivers you can if Vista drivers are not available.

[TonyC]

Thanks for the help Znod!

Well, I was able to update the driver for my graphics, and can now view everything correctly, but am still unable to run Aero, and my score for graphics is still a 1. Also, I was able to update my audio driver, but now can only hear 2 of my 5 speakers. The subwoofer and surround speakers are mute. I am also unable to access the setting to set my audio to surround.

On a good note, last night I was unable to access my printer, but was finally able to reinstall the driver this morning.

Any other suggestions?

[stefan9]

Have you rerun the vista expierence index after installing the new gfx drivers??

[TonyC]

Yes, I ran it after I update the drivers and reinstalled the printer driver, and still have some low scores:

Processor: 3.2 (Same)
RAM: 3.7 (Same)
Graphics: 1.9 (up from 1.0)
Gaming Graphics: 1.0 (Same)
Primary Hard Drive: 5.0 (Same)

[felix8406]

Your PC must meet these minimum specs to run Aero

• 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor¹).
• 1 GB RAM.
• Support for DirectX 9 graphics with a WDDM driver, 128 MB of graphics memory (minimum)², Pixel Shader 2.0 and 32 bits per pixel.
• 40 GB of hard drive capacity with 15 GB free space.
• DVD-ROM Drive³.
• Audio output capability.
• Internet access capability

So you'll need to upgrade your RAM and graphics card as well, but that does not guarantee that your system will run Aero. Your performance index will increase for sure though

[TonyC]

Thanks for the info...

I have now:

Pentium 4, 2.19ghz, 512k processor
766MB RAM
Creative SB Live! Series (WDM)
75g Hard Drive w/39g free
DVD D: drive
DVD RW E: drive
Audio output capability
Internet access capability

RAM I can upgrade no problem. In your opinion, what would be the best replacement graphics card set up for this system? I definately want my surround back and do not know the specs on the Creative SB Live.

[Znod]

Originally Posted by TonyC

Thanks for the help Znod!

Well, I was able to update the driver for my graphics, and can now view everything correctly, but am still unable to run Aero, and my score for graphics is still a 1. Also, I was able to update my audio driver, but now can only hear 2 of my 5 speakers. The subwoofer and surround speakers are mute. I am also unable to access the setting to set my audio to surround.

On a good note, last night I was unable to access my printer, but was finally able to reinstall the driver this morning.

Any other suggestions?

Good deal. I am glad my suggestion worked for the resolution issue.