LCD Woes

[Zuke]

I feel a bit like an idiot asking tis, but bear with me. I've used mutiple monitors for awhile now, but mainly at work where we really arent allowed to play with them.

I recently got a el'cheapo LCD (Innovatek L7M) - 7.2" STN widescreen. It's ok for my purposes, but I'm having some problems configuring it. For one, Windows won't set it to its native resolution. For two, the picture looks like crap. For three, going fullscreen on any visualization trys to default to my main monitor, and if I DO manage to go fullscreen on the LCD, working in my main desktop kicks it back out.

So, is my picture quality because I'm running it fromt he TV/out (been told you get dodgy picture with that) and could it be improved by using a VGA-RCA adapter (have one laying around here somewhere)? Or is it because it is STN and will always be crap? I can see pictures and visualizations just fine, but not toolbars, text, or . . . pretty much anything with Windows.

Is there anything I can do to get this thing to it's "Native" resolution? All the websites state that this is a 960*234 screen, but that doesn't make much sense to me, and no changes I make (using RivaTuner, PowerStrip, or otherwise) seem to make any difference to how the screen looks.

And finally, how do I get visualizations (Winamp, WMP) to default to that "monitor" without me having to drag them there and resizing them manually?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Matthew]

What graphics card do you have? You can set all the settings (like primary video moniter) in the video card...at least with a nVIDIA card you can.

[Zuke]

Sorry, the one thing I left out.

Nvidia 6600 AGP 256MB

I have tried setting which is the primary and what not, but wouldn't you want the primary to be my monitor? Or is that what is forcing the visualizations to the main monitor and leaving the LCD?

[fishies]

make your LCD the primary. That should do 4 things:
1. Your POST screen will show up on the LCD (looks hella-cool)
2. Force all your apps to open on the LCD for the first time.
3. Run your visualizations
4. Hold your menu bar (unless you move it.)

[Zuke]

Well, my POST currently shows up on both displays as it is. And it might be a matter of taste, but I don't see how it's hella cool in the slightest. But, one of my other problems still exists, and that is I can't read or make sense of Windows or Windows Explorer on the LCD.

I guess I could tell Windows to use my monitor as the Primary, but make the LCD the Primary in the nvidia control applet. I'll give it a go when I get home tonight.

[Matthew]

POST will always show up on both moniters......at least it does for me. Try unpluging your main moniter...that will automaticaly make the card say..hey..everything has to go here...try that.

[fishies]

sorry. my only true experience with multiple monitors is with multiple video cards. I forgot about dual output cards.

On a setup with multiple video cards, the post only shows up on the primary monitor (set in the BIOS - AGP or PCI) That;s why my old rig only posted on the one screen. Interesting...

[Guttenaffe]

Well, windows only will extend your desktop to the multi monitor. You can drag a program to the other monitor and if the majority of the window is inside the other monitor maximizing that program will make it go full screen in that section/part of your desktop. You can't play full screen visitations inside a secondary monitor as far as I know. This is Mostly due to the fact that directX doesn't allow multi monitors when it takes control of the desktop to go full screen.