SP2208WFP Screen Resolution Issues

Did you install the monitor driver?

I had the very same issue you're describing with my new 2007WFP.

I resolved it by installing the monitor driver as per these instructions:

http://www.dellcommunity.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=dim_monitor&thread.id=73988

However, the driver linked to in that thread is for the 2007wfp.

The driver for the SP2208WFP is here:

http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/download.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen&releaseid=R164912&formatcnt=1&libid=0&fileid=221692



After I did that, and restarted my PC, everything lined up properly.

I just did that. It extracted to the folder and I restarted...no change. Any other suggestions, am I doing something wrong? I also manually selected that file and linked it to my display through Windows Display setup controls. No change. Still oversized, although it says its displaying 1680 X 1050...the monitors native res Also, on the monitor's on screen display setup menu, on the bottom it says 2: Digital Input Resolution 1280x1024 60Hz Optimum 1680x1050 60HZ I do not know why it continues to display 1280x1024 (res of my old monitor) when I select 1680x1050 Message Edited by MrKeacher88 on 01-29-2008 03:46 PM

Message Edited by MrKeacher88 on 01-29-2008 03:49 PM

Message Edited by MrKeacher88 on 01-29-2008 03:49 PM

I did update that driver. And hey, your getting me somewhere, it may be me that messed up, good advice nonetheless if it worked for you. I just tried the VGA cable instead of DVI....it displays 1680x1050! But Im gonna try and get it going on the DVI.

Yes I believe I followed all those. I will double check one more time. But I'm gonna take a break for a little and try the DVI later. At least I got the correct res working on VGA. Thank you so much for all the help so far!

My guess is it'll be something really simple... once the right person reads this thread. :p

Again... your note that it works with VGA, but not DVI... exactly the same thing I experienced. lol

I'm trying to think back if there was anything else I monkeyed around with to get mine to work right... I can't think of anything at the moment, but will post if I remember anything.

Oh...just one clarification.

Earlier, in regards to installing the monitors driver... you said "It extracted to the folder and I restarted...no change." and also "I also manually selected that file and linked it to my display through Windows Display setup controls."


But... just to make sure, did you follow the rest of the driver installation instructions at that link I gave?

ie.

Remove old monitor entries from Device Manager

1. Open Device Manager
2. In the View menu, select Show hidden devices.
3. Expand the Monitors section.
4. Right-click each entry and choose 'Uninstall'.
5. The Monitors section is refreshed and should show only 'Default Monitor'.

Update the driver

In Device Manager- Monitors, right click on the Default Monitor and select Update Driver
2. When the Hardware Update Wizard dialog box appears, choose “Install from a list or specific location" and then click NEXT.
3. Check the "Include this location in the search" box.
4. Type the path to the location where the driver files were extracted (C:\DELL\DRIVERS\R113372 [or wherever it extracted to]) or use the browse button to find the location.
5. Click Next- Finish to complete the installation.

Thanks for the response, if I have the DVI plugged in it says "Dell SP2208WFP (Digital)". It says Dell SP2208WFP (Analog) when the VGA is plugged in. And Nvidia control panel seems treats it as a CRT when its hooked up VGA. I'll try a couple of your suggestions when I get home this afternoon.

Hi guys,

Quite a few people have posted this problem on nVidia forums - most seem to think it's a video driver bug. Workarounds involving setting custom resolutions have been suggested.

MrKeacher88,
To see if the monitor driver installed:
Open Device Manager and expand the Monitors section. It should show 'Dell SP2208WFP(Digital)'.

What video driver version do you have?

A couple of other things to try:
In nVidia Control Panel (switch to 'Advanced View') > Display > Change flat panel scaling
- Check 'Use my display's built-in scaling'.

In nVidia Control Panel > Display > Manage custom resolutions
- Uncheck 'Treat as HDTV'.

I'll keep looking for a definitive solution.

I've tried re-installing all drivers, restarting computer and montior etc. Still not working properly. All of the latest drivers installed. ANy other fixes?

I'm having exactly the same issue on a brand new SP2208WFP using DVI (though I'm using Linux/Ubuntu). So far, despite many attempts, trying many different approaches -- and I do have some idea what I'm doing -- I'm unable to make this monitor display larger than 1280x1024 on the DVI line. Any attempt to choose what should be a supported size and refresh rate (specifically 1680x1050 @ 60Hz [or any other Hz I can select]) causes the monitor to go into power save, as if it's receiving no signal at all.

Is it possible that HDCP is interfering on a connection from a computer? Absolutely nothing south of the monitor's DVI connector in my setup is capable of sending HDCP credentials. As I'm not using Windows (and not interested in using Windows outside the context of a VM), I can't take advantage of any magic that may secretly be available in the drivers supplied with this monitor.

I'm using the latest (as far as I can tell) nVidia driver compiled from source, downloaded from nVidia, so I would think it's capable of manipulating the card (which is at least a year or two old -- GeForce4 MX4000 compatible) fully.

Everything worked perfectly on my old Dell 1702FP, both VGA and DVI, and with this monitor, as long as I don't try to exceed 1280x1024. In VGA, I'm fully able to take advantage of 1680x1050@60. But there's no substitute for the clarity of digital, and the main reason I bought this large monitor was to get a resolution above 1280x1024!

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

I'm having the exact same problem.  Everything shows that I'm using 1680x1050 setting but the display is bigger than my monitor.  I tried all the suggestions mentioned above in this thread to no avail.

The monitor works great connection via VGA but I'd like for it to work w/ DVI since that's what my KVM handles.

This is with a Geforce FX 5500 with the latest drivers.

-darrel

Ok, I have *a* working scenario.  For context:

I'm running Ubuntu Gutsy (7.10) with KDE.
I'm using the latest proprietary nVidia driver, which I built myself from the download from the nvidia.com website
I've got a GeForce4 MX4000 clone (Asus V9400-X)

In order to get this to work with DVI, I had to abandon TwinView and any use of the VGA port for this computer.  The VGA port is fed by the output from my KVM, and this monitor is working fine in VGA from a second computer (with an ATI card) through the KVM.  I just like to be able to switch the monitor to VGA and use both computers through the KVM, but if I can't, I can't -- though I haven't yet given up trying alternatives/combinations to possibly resurrect TwinView.

Here's the xorg.conf that's working.  I don't know how much of Device or Screen is absolutely necessary, but it's working, so, for the moment, I'm not gonna tempt fate.  ;-)

# nvidia-xconfig: X configuration file generated by nvidia-xconfig
# nvidia-xconfig:  version 1.0  (buildmeister@builder3)  Tue Jan 22 19:53:46 PST 2008

# xorg.conf (xorg X Window System server configuration file)
#
# This file was generated by dexconf, the Debian X Configuration tool, using
# values from the debconf database.
#
# Edit this file with caution, and see the xorg.conf manual page.
# (Type "man xorg.conf" at the shell prompt.)
#
# This file is automatically updated on xserver-xorg package upgrades *only*
# if it has not been modified since the last upgrade of the xserver-xorg
# package.
#
# If you have edited this file but would like it to be automatically updated
# again, run the following command:
#   sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg
#Section "Extensions"
#    Option        "Composite"    "Enable"
#EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"

    # Uncomment if you have a wacom tablet
    #    InputDevice     "stylus"    "SendCoreEvents"
    #    InputDevice     "cursor"    "SendCoreEvents"
    #    InputDevice     "eraser"    "SendCoreEvents"
    Identifier     "Default Layout"
    Screen      0  "Default Screen" 0 0
    InputDevice    "Generic Keyboard"
    InputDevice    "Configured Mouse"
EndSection

Section "Files"
EndSection

Section "Module"
    Load           "bitmap"
    Load           "ddc"
    Load           "extmod"
    Load           "freetype"
    Load           "int10"
    Load           "vbe"
    Load           "glx"
    Load           "v4l"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier     "Generic Keyboard"
    Driver         "kbd"
    Option         "CoreKeyboard"
    Option         "XkbRules" "xorg"
    Option         "XkbModel" "pc104"
    Option         "XkbLayout" "us"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier     "Configured Mouse"
    Driver         "mouse"
    Option         "CorePointer"
    Option         "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
    Option         "Protocol" "ExplorerPS/2"
    Option         "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
    Option         "Emulate3Buttons" "true"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier     "stylus"
    Driver         "wacom"
    Option         "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"
    Option         "Type" "stylus"
    Option         "ForceDevice" "ISDV4"# Tablet PC ONLY
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier     "eraser"
    Driver         "wacom"
    Option         "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"
    Option         "Type" "eraser"
    Option         "ForceDevice" "ISDV4"# Tablet PC ONLY
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier     "cursor"
    Driver         "wacom"
    Option         "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"
    Option         "Type" "cursor"
    Option         "ForceDevice" "ISDV4"# Tablet PC ONLY
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier     "SP2208WFP"
    VendorName     "DEL"
    ModelName      "SP2208WFP"
    ModeLine       "1680x1050_60" 147.1 1680 1784 1968 2256 1050 1051 1054 1087 -hsync +vsync
    Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "nVidia Corporation NV18 [GeForce4 MX 4000]"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA"
    BoardName      "NVIDIA GeForce4 (generic)"
    Screen          0
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Default Screen"
    Device         "nVidia Corporation NV18 [GeForce4 MX 4000]"
    Monitor        "SP2208WFP"
    DefaultDepth    24
    Option         "NvAGP" "3"
    Option         "UseDisplayDevice" "DFP"
    Option         "NoPowerConnectorCheck" "true"
    Option         "UseEdid" "false"
    Option         "NoBandwidthTest" "true"
    Option         "ExactModeTimingsDVI" "true"
    Option         "ModeValidation" "NoMaxPClkCheck, NoEdidMaxPclkCheck, NoMaxSizeCheck, NoHorizSyncCheck, NoVertRefreshCheck, NoWidthAlignmentCheck, NoDFPNativeResolutionCheck, NoEdidModes, NoXServerModes, NoPredefinedModes"
    Option         "MetaModes" "1680x1050_60"
    SubSection     "Display"
        Virtual     1680 1050
        Depth       24
        Modes      "1680x1050_60"
    EndSubSection
EndSection

###########################################################

Good luck.  If I get any joy getting TwinView working (and I remember this thread is hanging), I'll come back.