Topic: [REQ] Set Lowest Possible Video Mode

All too often the video driver will choose the highest possible mode, something like 1900x1600 @ 105Hz making it impossible to complete setup with a monitor that reports capabilities that it doesn't actually have. The lowest possible video mode should be chosen. Let the user choose a higher mode later.

Re: [REQ] Set Lowest Possible Video Mode

I'm not sure what you're requesting.
If you have a monitor that reports unacceptable resolution/refresh settings as "acceptable", then you have a broken monitor.

You can specify a lower setting in your unattended WINNT.SIF file (example):

[Display]
Xresolution=1024
Yresolution=768
BitsPerPel=32

Windows will use that resolution regardless of what the drivers are saying.

Read BEFORE you post.  HWID tool   DriverPacks Tutorial   DONATE!
http://driverpacks.net/userbar/admin-1.png
Not all heroes wear capes, some wear Kevlar!

Re: [REQ] Set Lowest Possible Video Mode

also note that windows will run in 640 x 480 mode unless you tweak something.
once setup is finished a dialog box will come up and report that your screen resolution is too low and if clicked will attempt to set it to 800 x 600

these things all being true  -  We have no clue what you are refering to.

driverpacks in no way will set your screen res or refresh nor do we have plans to add that feature.

PS it is a lot easier to help you if you actually give us some information about what you did and how you did it
hwids - at te very least what video card it is and what monitor you have.
base (and version)
packs (including versions) used
how the problem can be reproduced
what other programs you are running (RVM, Hfslip, nLite, WPI)
ect...

I am also not aware of any OEM or reference video driver or monitor drivers that will by default select the highest setting available.

{confused} and quite certain your problem lies elsewhere - maybe the settings in winntsif Mr_smartepants refered to are set wrong (possably by you with nLite) or WPI can do this (also requireing you to set it that way) or perhaps some other program you are useing.

windows and all video and monitor drivers default to 640x480 and then suggest that this is to low and that 800x600 or better is recomended. and even then you must click on a dialog to acheive the higher setting.

IE the request you made is already the default - and is not now - and will not in the future be affected by DriverPacks

severach wrote:

The lowest possible video mode should be chosen. Let the user choose a higher mode later.

That is the way things are now... we know of no exception to this (unless ther is user intervention or some third party software is used)
If you can cite an exception to this then i belive you are alone in experiencing it. If you need help then you need to give a LOT more detail.

DP BartPE Tutorial   DP_BASE Tutorial   HWID's Tool     Read BEFORE you post    UserBars!
http://driverpacks.net/userbar/admin-1.png
The DriverPacks, the DP_Base program, and Support Forum are FREE!.

Re: [REQ] Set Lowest Possible Video Mode

When the Windows Installer selects a fully functional Microsoft video driver, XP starts in 640x480 on the first boot then asks to be raised to 800x600. A downloaded video driver automatically bumps the resolution above 640x480 without asking on reboot. The automatically selected resolution may be 800x600, 1024x768, or higher, but not necessarily the highest mode because there are too many monitor and card combinations that report impossibly high values. The refresh rate is usually the highest reported for tube monitors or the lowest reported for LCD monitors. ATI, nVidia, and Intel installers all work this way and must work this way to minimize complaints that the driver didn't solve the bad resolution and colors problem and it's handy because it's one less setting that needs to be twiddled. I can't remember any driver brand that does not bump the resolution without asking if the previous was 640x480 or unknown.

Question: If the Windows Installer selects a Driverpacks video driver which are exactly the same as the drivers we download, does XP automatically start in a mode higher than 640x480 or does it start in 640x480 and ask to be raised?

The video problems on the first boot means that a Driverpacks video driver does not start at 640x480 and ask to be raised. Since the drivers are unmodified from the download distribution it is no surprise that they automatically bump the resolution above 640x480 even when they are installed by the Windows Installer supplied by DriverPacks. If you happen to have a bad monitor you'll only see "unsupported mode" until you use F8-VGA mode.

Microsoft must have thought that broken monitors were common enough that they hacked all the video drivers they supply to block the mode bump on boot to ensure they boot at 640x480, then ask the user to raise it to 800x600. My broken monitor which isn't broken is Compaq 15" LCD cycled out of use by a large corporate buyer, which should make it obvious why Microsoft is so careful switching away from 640x480 even though any monitor used with XP should support 800x600. Since Microsoft doesn't write the drivers but instead gets them from the OEMs, there must be an INF setting that blocks this automatic resolution bump. To make Driverpacks video drivers as reliable as the Microsoft video drivers this hack needs to be duplicated.

WINNT.SIF is a good idea and might work for the above but there's a place where it won't work. The resolution for the Windows Installer may be locked but the refresh rate is not. I installed onto a Compaq laptop and when the DriverPacks video driver was installed the refresh rate was bumped to the max. The screen became fuzzy but was still readable for the remainder of the install. The first boot chose a higher resolution which had a more appropriate refresh. Other installs may not be so lucky and WINNT.SIF won't help here because it was never expected that any video driver available to the Windows Installer would up and change the refresh rate without being asked to.

The block resolution change on boot setting needs to be found and applied. Any video brand that Microsoft has ever included should have the setting ready and waiting. Brands that Microsoft have not badgered into compliance may not have a setting available.

Re: [REQ] Set Lowest Possible Video Mode

Hello and Thank you so much for taking the time to provide the details leading to your request.
We are always open to new ideas and ways to improve the driverpacks. 

There are a number of free programs available for setting display resolutions. 
One such program is included with WPI. "Reschange.exe" 
Others can be found with a Google Search. 

Any of these programs can be called from runonceexe or guirunonce. 

If we were to consider providing someone else's software to reset screen resolution;
we would need to get permission from that provider to redistribute it
and also burden us with support of the software.

If a driver incorrectly sets the monitor resolution
that would be an issue that should be taken up with the drivers provider. 

If we implemented this "feature" it would certainly cause more problems than it solved

What you wish to accomplish is quite easy to do without it being an included feature of the driverpacks.
and I personally believe is beyond the scope of what we do - which is to slipstream the drivers.

DP BartPE Tutorial   DP_BASE Tutorial   HWID's Tool     Read BEFORE you post    UserBars!
http://driverpacks.net/userbar/admin-1.png
The DriverPacks, the DP_Base program, and Support Forum are FREE!.