I can't get 1600x900 resolution on my external monitor with my new T400

[davidleigh]

@kubird144 - thanks for the fix!  Great idea - now works perfectly for my T61 with Mobile Intel 965 Chipset and my new Samsung 2033 SW-Plus.  FYI - I also stopped at Step #3.

@Mark_Lenovo - you can add another 20 or so users here (with T61 and T500s) who have new monitors and fuzzy screens.  They all believe it's a bug if that adds any weight to getting a quick fix.

[winerock]

You can add another person to your frustrated list. I just got a new x200 tablet with Windows 7 preinstalled. When I extend my desktop to a 1600x900 external monitor, the highest resolution I'm offered in the resolution choices is 1440x900, which frankly looks pretty awful, oddly squished and fuzzy, plus I'm getting really bad overscan. Moreover, I'm having trouble finding even basic options in the new "user-friendly" Windows 7 Control Panel, including how to fix the overscan. Honestly, I'm intimidated by the work around, especially with Windows 7, but it sounds like my only option. Any volunteers to walk me through it?

[BrianL]

Add another user to the list.  When I was shopping for the systems the last problem I expected was an issue with the monitor resolution.  Simply ridiculous.  I've done the DTDCalc thing, and the image is still a bit fuzzy even after switching from DVI to VGA and using "Auto Adjust."  We've got a bunch of Dell P2010h 1600x900 displays.  On my desktops without the BIOS block on that resolution, they're gorgeous.

Thanks for the tips and the tools,
Brian

[bananaman]

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winerock wrote:

You can add another person to your frustrated list. I just got a new x200 tablet with Windows 7 preinstalled. When I extend my desktop to a 1600x900 external monitor, the highest resolution I'm offered in the resolution choices is 1440x900, which frankly looks pretty awful, oddly squished and fuzzy, plus I'm getting really bad overscan. Moreover, I'm having trouble finding even basic options in the new "user-friendly" Windows 7 Control Panel, including how to fix the overscan. Honestly, I'm intimidated by the work around, especially with Windows 7, but it sounds like my only option. Any volunteers to walk me through it?

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BIOS 3.11 fixes this for the X200 Tablet (released December 1st).

[harryc]

X200 BIOS released 12/2 -

BIOS ID (6DETnnWW)

Version 3.11
BIOS: 3.11 / ECP: 1.06

• (New) Added support for 1600x900 screen resolution on the external display.
• (New) Improved the speed control of cooling fan.
• (Fix) Fixed an issue where the IP address might not be allocated from the HPM (Hardware Password Manager) server with DHCP.
• (Fix) Fixed an issue where boot might take longer on the computer with a Wireless WAN adapter.
• (Fix) Fixed an issue where the computer might hang when the battery was low.

Personally I am looking for a T500 BIOS for this issue.

[harryc]

X61/s BIOS released 11/4 -

Version 7NETC1WW (2.21)
BIOS: 2.21 / ECP: 1.03

• (New) Added support for 1600x900 screen resolution on the external monitor.
• (New) Updated the Computrace part in the BIOS.

[BrianL]

That's nice for my X200 machines.  I hope they release a similar update for the T500 soon.

[bananaman]

RocketDude just found that there is a new BIOS for for the T400s, which among other things, adds external 1600x900 support.

T500 soon!

[harryc]

Add X301 to the list of those machines needing 1600x900 external LCD support. I just got a new X301 and there is no 1600x900 LCD selection while using a displayport to DVI cable to my external Samsung 2033SW.

[radix]

I'm posting this for whoever was not successful to find a solution for earlier models.

In case you still have the problem, try using Powerstrip: http://www.entechtaiwan.com/util/ps.shtm

Make sure after you install and run it for the first time, you click OK to the question about hardware detection. Then go to Display Profiles > Configure > Advanced Timing Options > Custom Resolutions. Here you can either select E-EDID so the application will read native resolutions directly from the display EDID information or you can work with defining your own resolution.

Installing also the latest BIOS update would be a good idea, because the native 1600x900 resolution might not be allowed by the previous BIOS, even if Powerstrip tries to set it.

I have a T61 with NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M adapter and the above worked for me.

Note the DTDCalculator registry hack, mentioned earlier in this thread, only works for Intel graphic cards, not NVIDIA.