Screen Resolution stuck on 800x600 16-bit

Hey everybody,
I know this problem is quite common, yet I can't seem to find the solution. I recently decided to upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7 Ultimate (performed a full, clean installation on a blanked-out drive). The installation went well, but the problems began afterwards. No matter what I tried, and no matter how many times I tried, the screen resolution just won't change. I have a 22" screen (LG 2253) and a GeForce 9500GT graphics card. The screen resolution seems to be stuck on 800x600 and 16-bit, with no options of changing it. I tried installing the drivers Windows Update suggested, installing the latest nVidia drivers, the drivers for my monitor, changing the resolution in the nVidia control panel (forcing a resolution), and even installing a custom driver for my monitor, that I created using Powerstrip. I performed the WEI check, changed the theme, switched cables (from VGA to DVI and vice versa). I literally went through all of the posts on this board, and on others and tried every possible solution.

I'm really frustrated, and I'm starting to lean towards the option of reinstalling Windows XP.

Thanks in advance.

I'm 100% positive that my monitor is plugged into the graphics card. And yup, 800x600 is the only choice in the resolution selection screen.

Almost always this problem occurs because of bad drivers. "Bad Drivers" means that the correct driver is corrupted, installed wrong, or has a conflict with a previous or existing driver.
Most times you can correct the problem by uninstalling and reinstalling the correct drivers.

First, go to the nVidia website and download the most current known good driver. (196.21 or the new 197.13 beta).

Then go to Start > Control Panel > Programs > Uninstall a program. Uninstall all the nVidia Apps (3D, PhysX) first, then uninstall the driver (the Control Panel will go with the driver). You will be asked to restart > restart.

When the puter reboots to the desktop Windows will install it's own generic WDDM1.1 driver and you will be asked to restart again. You must do so in order to install the nVidia Drivers > Restart.

Once back on the desktop:
1. You should now be able to change screen resolution. If you can't you may have a defective video card. W7 uses video very differently than XP, so a defect that did not manifest itself in XP will come up in W7.
2. If you can change the resolution then all is well and you can now install the nVidia drivers from your download.

If you continue to have problems you can then try and use DriverSweeper to remove all traces of any nVidia software from Safe Mode. Look up FROSTMOURNE's tutorial on installing drivers to get instructions on using DriverSweeper:

Installing and updating drivers in 7

Hope that Helps.

foouser said:

Hey everybody,
I know this problem is quite common, yet I can't seem to find the solution. I recently decided to upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7 Ultimate (performed a full, clean installation on a blanked-out drive). The installation went well, but the problems began afterwards. No matter what I tried, and no matter how many times I tried, the screen resolution just won't change. I have a 22" screen (LG 2253) and a GeForce 9500GT graphics card. The screen resolution seems to be stuck on 800x600 and 16-bit, with no options of changing it. I tried installing the drivers Windows Update suggested, installing the latest nVidia drivers, the drivers for my monitor, changing the resolution in the nVidia control panel (forcing a resolution), and even installing a custom driver for my monitor, that I created using Powerstrip. I performed the WEI check, changed the theme, switched cables (from VGA to DVI and vice versa). I literally went through all of the posts on this board, and on others and tried every possible solution.

I'm really frustrated, and I'm starting to lean towards the option of reinstalling Windows XP.

Thanks in advance.

Well annoyingly, like so many others you have not provided enough information in your system specs.

I will give you one pointer as I do not know the make of your card -

In the past I read some makes of Nvidia 9500's (GT etc) require you to update your graphic card bios (provided by the manufacturer) in order for it to work with Win 7!

Have fun!

The manufacturer of my graphics card is Inno3D. Sorry I forgot to mention it. A quick search reveals that there are no BIOS updates for my graphics card, both in the manufacturer site and overall across the web.

Try running the Windows Experience Index if you haven't already. Don't ask me why but I've seen AERO not work if it has never been run. Not sure if it messes up the screen resolution but I know I had to run it after upgrading my video card to get AERO working. My guess is if it doesn't list 3 or better for Graphics AERO is disabled. You've done everything else so it can't hurt to try it. Also is there anything flagged as having a problem in device manager?

foouser said:

... I performed the WEI check...

Already did the Windows Experience Index... plus, everything seems fine in the device manager (nothing with a question mark).

Alright, I found a quirky solution for my problem, although I still have problems...
I tried the Driver Sweeper method, and it didn't really help. One thing I did find out is that when I uninstall my drivers through the Device Manager, momentarily before I restart, I seem to be able to change the resolution to whatever I want (!). After the computer boots up, it then again looks for drivers, installs them and the resolution changes back to 800x600. I also found out that my graphics card runs only on x8 link, while the PCIe slot itself allows a maximum link of x16. I tried changing different configurations in the BIOS, but nothing seems to be helping.

I'm starting to believe that the problem is more hardware related than software, but yet again, as I mentioned above, I'm able to momentarily change my screen resolution to normal.

I'm really lost now, any help would be really appreciated.