Screen Resolution - Display Settings

How to Change the Screen Resolution in Windows 7​

   Information

This will show you how to change the screen resolution in Windows 7 with the recommended native settings based on the monitor size.

   Note

The screen resolution setting determines how much information is displayed on the display screen. It is measured horizontally and vertically in pixels. At lower screen resolutions, such as 640 x 480, fewer items will fit on the screen, but they will be larger. At higher resolutions, such as 1600 x 1200, more items will fit on the screen but they will be smaller. The resolution options will vary with each computer based on the video card device, monitor size, and video & monitor drivers. If the screen looks distorted or fuzzy, then you may have an incorrect screen resolution size set for your monitor.

   Warning

• Windows 7 does not allow for each user to have their own screen resolution. Changing the screen resolution in one user account will change it for all user accounts on the computer.
• Make sure the Color Depth (Colors) is set to True Color (32 bit) to help have the best picture.

Here's How:

1. Do step 2 or 3 below for you would like to open the Screen Resolution window.

2. Right click on a empty space on the desktop and click on Screen Resolution. (See screenshot below)

A) Go to step 4.

OR

3. Open the Control Panel (icons view), and click on the Display icon. Next, click on the Change display settings link in the left pane. (see screenshot below)

A) Go to step 4.

4. Select the monitor Display you want to change the screen resolution for. (See screenshot below step 5B)
NOTE: You will only be able to select a different display if you have more than one monitor connected.

5. To Change only the Screen Resolution
A) Select an available screen Resolution. (See screenshot below step 5B)
NOTE: The native resolution will have (Recommended) next to it. See the tables below for common native screen resolutions of monitors based on their screen size.

Monitor Size	Native Resolution
14-15 inch	1024x768
17-19 inch	1280x1024
20-23 inch	1600x1200
24 + inch	1900x1200
17-18 inch Widescreen	1280x800
19 inch Widescreen	1440x900
20-23 inch Widescreen	1680x1050
24-29 inch Widescreen	1920x1080 to 1920x1200
30 + inch Widescreen	1920x1080 to 2560x1600

Laptop Screen Size	Native Resolution
13-15 inch	1400x1050
13-15 inch Widescreen	1280x800
17 inch Widescreen	1680x1050
Tablet screen	1366x768

B) Click on the Apply button. (See screenshot below)


C) Click on Keep changes to apply the screen resolution. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: Click on Revert to not accept the screen resolution from step 5A, and to select another screen resolution.


D) Go to step 6.[/INDENT]

6. To Select from a List of All Display ModesA) Click on the Advanced settings link. (See screenshot below step 5B)

B) Click on the Adapter tab, and on the List All Modes button. (See screenshot below)

C) Select the display mode with the screen resolution, color depth, and screen refresh rate that you want to use, and click on OK. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: It is recommended to use a native screen resolution with a True Color (32-bit) color depth.

D) Click on OK. (See screenshot below step 6B)

E) Click on Yes to confirm the change. (See screenshot below)


7. When finished, click on OK. (See screenshot below step 5B)


That's it,
Shawn Brink

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Create a Windows 7 Screen Resolution Shortcut
• How to Change the Screen Refresh Rate in Windows 7
• How to Change the Color Bit Depth in Windows 7
• How to Change the Display DPI Size in Windows 7
• How to Open and Use Display Color Calibration in Windows 7
• How to Force DVI or HDMI Resolutions and Refresh Rates in Windows 7
• How to Change the Main Display in Windows 7
• How to Create a Custom Screen Refresh Rate with NVIDIA Control Panel in Windows
• Enable or Disable Changing "DPI" and "Screen Resolution" Display Settings in Windows 7 and Windows 8
• How to Add or Remove "Screen resolution" from Desktop Context Menu in Windows

 

[enco]

My monitor requires a 1600x900 setting, but I do not have that resolution shown in the list. My graphics card is ATI Radeon 4300/4500, and display monitor is Acer V203H (20").

 

[stormy13]

enco, welcome to the forums.

Looking at that you haven't installed the drivers for your video card. Before pointing you to the driver, need to know whether your card is PCI-E or AGP.

Would also help if you filled in your system specs,

http://www.sevenforums.com/profile.php?do=extra

If unsure what everything is this should help,

Speccy - System Information - Free Download

 

[enco]

Now i filled in my system specs I looked in the box that came with the graphics card and my graphics card is the ATI Radeon HD 4350 (PCI-E)

 

[stormy13]

Latest driver for your card,

http://www.sevenforums.com/graphic-cards/1810-latest-ati-catalyst-driver-windows-7-a.html

Once that is installed, hopefully the proper resolutions will show up.

 

[enco]

I have installed, but again no such resolution. is there still some way to fix the resolution?

 

[Brink]

Hello Enco,

Have you installed your monitor driver as well? Here is the link below for it from Acer. Usually a monitor will work just fine with the generic drivers that Windows 7 uses by default, but sometimes (best to) you will need to install the drivers specific to that monitor for it's best operation.

(Select your V series monitor V203H, and Windows 7 32-bit for the OS)
Service & Support


Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[enco]

when i want to install monitor driver, i go to option 'update driver', select folder with my Acer driver and it says:'Windows has determined the driver software for your device is up to date'! What now to do?? Can i uninstall monitor driver? i'm not sure if it work when uninstall it... whit my logic, monitor wont display picture when there is no driver...

 

[Brink]

Windows 7 may have already installed your latest monitor driver through Windows Update then.

I noticed in your screenshot that is has (default VGA monitor) selected in the blue bar. Do you have another option in the drop down box to select your Acer V203H monitor? If you open Device Manager (devmgmt.msc) and expand Monitors, do you have the Acer V203H monitor listed?


When you right click on the deskop and click on Screen resolution, do you still only have the same options without the 1600x900? What does it show as your display there?

 

[enco]

In ATI CCC there is no 1600x900 resolution, same as in Screen Resolution, and in combo box list is only Default VGA Monitor. In device manager is only Generic Non-PnP Monitor, no ACER. How to add monitor in device manager? Maybe that will help.

 

[Brink]

Using the drivers above, see if you may be able to "update" (Driver tab) the driver from within Device Manager. I would try the "Search automatically..." option to see if it may be able to find it for you. If not, then try the "Browse my computer...." option to then select the downloaded drivers to use to update with.

 

[enco]

Ok, now i solved problem with Acer diver (browse my comp... -> Let me pick a list... -> Have Disk, and selected folder where is Acer driver) BUT BUT BUT!!! THERE IS NO RESOLUTION 1600*900! What now???

 

[rohanseth8]

For enco

Ok, now i solved problem with Acer diver (browse my comp... -> Let me pick a list... -> Have Disk, and selected folder where is Acer driver) BUT BUT BUT!!! THERE IS NO RESOLUTION 1600*900! What now???

Hey enco i might have a solution for you my friend..
1) Right click on the desktop and open up the graphic card control panel(in my case its nvidia control panel).
2) Now look on the left side and select the "Change resolution" option.. now i know you cant find your resolution there because neither could I.
3) So now you will see a lot of resolution options but not the one you want so look down for an option saying "Customize".
4) Now another windows open up...Now look down again and you will find an option named "Create Custom Resolution", click on it.
5) Now you have the horozontal pixels, vertical pixels and stuff like that which you can fill up as you require.
6) Once you have filled all the information click "test" and when the test is over and the particular resolution is fitting your screen like a charm you will find that resolution on top of all those resolutions that you never wanted under the topic "custom".

I hope this helped you.

 

[schyte]

hello there, I am a new member here......
I want to ask you something.....
how can in my laptop has no display setting?

 

[Brink]

Hello Schyte, and welcome to Seven Forums.

It should. Could you post a screenshot of what you see when you right click on a empty space of your desktop, and when you click on Screen Resolution?

 

[Infinite]

Hi Brink, I am trying to fix someone's computer and did a Clean Install to repair registry, files and probably viruses however now the resolution is incorrect and I am unsure which one is the correct resolution, I do not know the monitor size (in inch) and am unaware which graphic card it has, would I need to manually go through each one to test, and if that doesn't help, try updating the Graphics?

 

[Brink]

Hello Infinite,

You'll need to at least know what graphics card or chip it has to be able to install the latest driver for it. You can look under "Display adapters" in Device Manager to help determine this though.

For the monitor size, you can measure the screen diagonally to know how many inches it is.

 

[Infinite]

I tried installing the driver ATI Radeon Xpress X1200 according to DevMgmt, the resolution is still default but it was from AMD AutoDetect which did detect it correctly, it did not work (I even tried in Compatibly Mode for Vista SP2 because that's what this is for I think).

Edit, the monitor is 1366x768 I think, but that's not in the list


It also skips a range of resolutions from List all modes.

The screenshot looks different because I saved the Screenshot, transferred to USB and went to my actual computer which has the normal resolution to actually edit/upload it. Strange

 

[Brink]

Do you know what brand and model # the monitor is? There should be a sticker or plate on the back somewhere indicating what it is.

What type of connection are you using?

 

[Infinite]

The monitor is an N19W (I am unaware of the brand - maybe AOC), a Google brings up very little results so it must be old or something.

AOC N19W 19" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black (5017416268509) | eBay
http://www.amazon.co.uk/AOC-N19W-19-LCD-Monitor/dp/B000Q9IXIG

This is it but the one I am using is a different colour.

I am using a VGA to VGA connection using only one monitor.

 

[Brink]

It looks like it should be set to 1440x900, but it's not listed for you. Do you have any monitor drivers for it?

How does it look at 1280x1024 or 1600x1200?