How to change screen resolution, font size, or icon size.

Changing screen resolution on the Windows NT

Click the Start menu button and then select Settings, Control Panel.
In the Control Panel window double-click the Display icon.
Select the Settings tab.
In the " Desktop area" box is a slider that moves between "Less" and "More." Write down the current settings in case you need to restore them.
Put the mouse pointer on the slider and hold down the left mouse button. Drag the mouse pointer left or right to select the resolution you want.

Moving the slider toward "Less" will mean that things on your desktop will be bigger so less will fit on the desktop. Moving the slider toward "More" will mean that things on your desktop will be smaller so more will fit on the desktop.
Note: If the slider bar will not move to the resolution you want it may be because either the video card or the monitor is not capable of displaying that resolution.

Click on T est. A "Testing Mode" message box will pop up. Click OK and wait.

You should see a multicolored screen with arrows along the edges. The arrows are supposed to be at the edge of your screen. The test screen will go away on its own.
Remember that settings that work well with one display unit (such as an external monitor) may not work well with another display unit. If you have problems see document 39018 — How to troubleshoot monitor problems (Boot into VGA mode).

When the test screen goes away the "Testing Mode" message box will ask "Did you see the test bitmap properly?".
If the test bitmap looked correct to you select Yes otherwise select No.
If you wish to keep the selected screen setting click Apply. If you do not wish to keep the selected screen setting either repeat steps 5-7 to select a different resolution or click on Cancel.
You should see a message that Windows will attempt to resize the desktop to the new resolution will appear. Click OK.
If the resolution changed correctly, click Yes to keep the settings. If the resolution did not change correctly, wait 15 seconds and Windows will restore the original resolution.
Click OK to exit the Display Properties.

Your screen resolution should now be changed as you have chosen.

Changing screen resolution settings on Windows 2000

Click the Start menu button and then select Settings, Control Panel.
In the Control Panel window double-click the Display icon.
Select the Settings tab.
In the " Desktop area" box is a slider that moves between "Less" and "More." Write down the current settings in case you need to restore them.
Put the mouse pointer on the slider and hold down the left mouse button. Drag the mouse pointer left or right to select the resolution you want.

Moving the slider toward "Less" will mean that things on your desktop will be bigger so less will fit on the desktop. Moving the slider toward "More" will mean that things on your desktop will be smaller so more will fit on the desktop.
NOTE: If the slider bar will not move to the resolution you want it may be because either the video card or the monitor is not capable of displaying that resolution. Click here for more information.
Remember that settings that work well with one display unit (such as an external monitor) may not work well with another display unit. If you have problems see document 39018 — How to troubleshoot monitor problems (Boot into VGA mode).

Click Apply. A window will open allowing you to either test the new setting, or cancel the change. Select OK.
When the test screen goes away the message box will ask whether you want to keep the new settings".
If the test looked good to you select Yes otherwise select No. If the resolution did not change correctly, wait 15 seconds and Windows will restore the original resolution.
Click OK to exit the Display Properties.

Your screen resolution should now be changed as you have chosen.

To change screen refresh:

Note: Whatever setting you choose may affect all displays you use with your machine. Ideally you should check the documentation for your monitor or display panel for acceptable refresh rates. If you are already having problems you may need to boot into VGA mode in order to make the changes. See Eureka! document 69022 — How to boot into VGA mode

Select your operating system:

Changing screen refresh rate on the Windows NT

Click the Start menu button and then select Settings, Control Panel.
In the Control Panel window double-click the Display icon.
Select the Settings tab.
In the R efresh Frequency area click the down arrow to select a new refresh rate. In most cases that will be 60 Hertz.
Click on T est. A "Testing Mode" message box will pop up. Click OK and wait.

You should see a multicolored screen with arrows along the edges. The arrows are supposed to be at the edge of your screen. The test screen will go away on its own.
Remember that settings that work well with one display unit (such as an external monitor) may not work well with another display unit. If you have problems see document 39018 — How to troubleshoot monitor problems (Boot into VGA mode).

When the test screen goes away the "Testing Mode" message box will ask "Did you see the test bitmap properly?".
If the test bitmap looked correct to you select Yes otherwise select No.
If you wish to keep the selected screen setting click Apply. If you do not wish to keep the selected screen setting either repeat steps 5-7 to select a different resolution or click on Cancel.
You should see a message that Windows will attempt to resize the desktop to the new resolution will appear. Click OK.
If the resolution changed correctly, click Yes to keep the settings. If the resolution did not change correctly, wait 15 seconds and Windows will restore the original resolution.
Click OK to exit the Display Properties.

Your screen resolution should now be changed as you have chosen.

Changing screen refresh rate on Windows 2000

Click the Start menu button and then select Settings, Control Panel.
In the Control Panel window double-click the Display icon.
Select the Settings tab.
Click on the Advanced ... button
Click on the Monitor tab.
Under Monitor Settings click in the Refresh Frequency box. In most cases you should select 60 Hertz.

Remember that settings that work well with one display unit (such as an external monitor) may not work well with another display unit. If you have problems see document 39018 — How to troubleshoot monitor problems (Boot into VGA mode).

Click Apply, then OK.
Click OK to exit the Display Properties.

Your screen refresh rate should now be changed as you have chosen.

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Modify what resolution you can choose.

If the slider bar will not move to the resolution you want it may be because either the video card or the monitor is not capable of displaying that resolution. If you know that the display or monitor you want to use can display the required resolution try these steps:

Shut down and Power off the machine.
On a laptop.

Disconnect any external monitors or displays.
Reboot and ensure the internal panel displays correctly.
Shut down and Power off the machine. Now your driver states will have been changed and are more likley to refresh correctly on reboot.

Reconnect the display or monitor you want to use. Reboot and log in.
Click the Start menu button and then select Settings, Control Panel.
In the Control Panel window double-click the Display icon.
Select the Settings tab.
In the " Desktop area" select the Advanced button.
Click on the Monitor tab.
Under :Monitor Settings uncheck the box "Hide modes that this monitor cannot display"
Click Apply.
Click OK to exit the Display Properties.

You should now have a wider range of screen resolution choices. Be careful. Some will merely cause the machine to display a small screen with a big black border, or a screen so large you have to scroll to see it all. But it can also cause the display to become unuseable. If you have problems see document 39018 — How to troubleshoot monitor problems (Boot into VGA mode).

Font Size

This affects the size of all text appearing on screen. A bigger font takes up more room so boxes, menus, buttons and other text related objects will also take up more room leaving less room on the desktop. Increasing font size does not increase the size of graphics related items such as tool bars and icons.

The font size you select is the Windows default. Any screens, menus, pop-up boxes etc in any application that use the Windows default will be affected by changes made here. The reverse is also true. If an application sets its own font sizes (e.g. Lotus Notes) making changes here will not affect the appearance of that application. There may be some instances where selecting a different font size may impair performance. It may, for example, cause a window or menu to write off the screen. If the window lacks scroll bars you may not be able to get to form blanks to fill them out.

Select your operating system:

Font Size (Windows NT4)

Click the Start menu button and then select Settings and then Control Panel.
In the Control Panel window double-click the Display icon.
Select the Settings tab.
In the " Font size" field click on the down arrow to display the font sizes available. Select either a larger or smaller font.
- You may get a message "Changes in the system font will only take effect after the fonts have been installed and Windows has been restarted." Click OK.
Click Apply.
- You may get a message "Change system font. You have selected a new system font size. Are you sure you want to change the system font size and install new fonts.?"
  
  Click Yes
You may get a message

Required files are already installed on your hard disk. Setup can use these existing files, or Setup can recopy them from our original Windows CD-ROM or from a network share. Would you like to skip file copying and use the existing files? (If you click NO, you will be prompted to insert your Windows CD-ROM or to supply an alternate location where the needed files may be found.)

Click Yes.
If you don't get the above message navigate to P:\build\NTfiles\I386 when prompted for file location.

Click OK to exit the Display Properties window.

Font Size (Windows 2000):

Click the Start menu button and then select Settings and then Control Panel.
In the Control Panel window double-click the Display icon.
Select the Settings tab, then the Advanced... button.
In the " Font size" field click on the down arrow to display the font sizes available. Select either a larger or smaller font.

You may get a message "Changes in the system font will only take effect after the fonts have been installed and Windows has been restarted." Click OK.

Click Apply.

You may get a message "Change system font. You have selected a new system font size. Are you sure you want to change the system font size and install new fonts.?"

Click Yes

You may get a message

Required files are already installed on your hard disk. Setup can use these existing files, or Setup can recopy them from our original Windows CD-ROM or from a network share. Would you like to skip file copying and use the existing files? (If you click NO, you will be prompted to insert your Windows CD-ROM or to supply an alternate location where the needed files may be found.)

Click Yes.
If you don't get the above message navigate to P:\build\W2kfiles\I386 when prompted for file location.

Click OK to exit the Display Properties window.

Icon Size:

This affects just the size of the icons. It, therefore, does not change the size of open windows or other items on the desktop.

1. Click the Start menu button and then select Settings, Control Panel. Double-click the Display icon.
Select the " Plus!" tab (Windows NT) or Effects tab (Windows 2000).
If the box next to " Use large icons" has no check mark you can choose larger icons by clicking in that box. If the box already has a check mark you can click in the box to unselect it and get smaller icons.
Click Apply.
Click OK to exit the Display Properties window.

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Color Palette:

Changing your color palette affects the appearance of graphic images by changing the number of colors used to display the image. It does not change the size of the images, but images shown with more colors may be more clear than those with fewer colors. Changing the number of colors changes image quality. Reducing the number of colors can sometimes improve machine speed, but the images may be coarser and less well defined. Increasing the number of colors can improve the appearance of graphic images, but may impair machine performance.

Select your operating system: