HDMI output not supported?

Hi, I recently bought a T.V. from a relative. First attempt to connect my laptop to it through HDMI, my laptop screen goes black and the T.V. reads "Not supported". I unplugged the HDMI, the laptop screen remained black and could only be fixed with a hard reboot.
No progress has been made, however I've started to pinpoint where the issue lies by testing some things out:

I have had my friend plug his laptop into the T.V, that worked fine, so the only possible issue with the T.V. is simply outdated compatibilities, yet a newer laptop should be able to display something that an older t.v. could recognize.
I have tried using win+p a few times to change the display mode before connecting the HDMI cable into the laptop.
I have tried my laptop on my friends monitor, it worked immediately without having to change any settings.
I believe the main issue is in the way my laptop is sending display info to the T.V, possibly the resolution or screen refresh rate? However, it is incredibly difficult for me to troubleshoot this without any help from someone with experience in this field as my screen goes entirely black as soon as I connect the HDMI cable.

I've done some googling, people seem to have similar problems but I've yet to find an answer that works for me.

TVeblen said:

Get a hold of your freind's laptop and check his display settings:

Right click desktop > Screen Resolution : note his Resolution setting, then
Click Advanced Settings > Monitor Tab : note his Screen Refresh Rate & Colors

Now go into your laptop and see if you have the same settings.

I did this, our settings differ. Problem is, I don't know how I can possibly output the same settings he was setting, my laptop does not allow those resolutions without 3rd-party software, which upon brief inspection appears to be somewhat of a risk to use.

1600x900 is my current setting, 60hertz refresh (only option is 60hz)
Other resolutions could be:
1280x768, 1280x700, 1024x768, 1024x600, 800x600

His is 1366x768, 60hertz.

Should I go ahead and try to find a safe third-party application that would allow me to just display using those same settings? Or is there a better way / fix?

TV: Is that "Peter Bishop" as an Observer in your Avatar?

I had a Gateway 17" laptop, it had an HDMI output. But I could not get it to work. The Laptop was made for Vista so there were no drivers for the video card made for Windows 7. I downloaded the Vista drivers, and extracted them with WinRAR, and installed them manually - Then they worked. I ignored all of the error messages about "Wong OS" - The drivers went right in, after rebooting, got an HDMI signal no sweat.

Are you using an actual HDMI output, or a DVI to HDMI cable, usually those work. You can't go from SVGA to HDMI though. Most TVs have at least one HDMI input and one SVGA input, if your video output is SVGA you have to use the SVGA input on the TV.

But when you plug in the HDMI cable, the output should immediately show on the TV. SO I think it is, Need the drivers for it, because mine did squat as well until I put them in.