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12586
Screen Res in Windows 7
Hi,
I recently aquired a copy of Windows 7 Pro.
I'm using a Dell Dimension 4600i, it's pretty old. I ran the compatability program to see if Windows 7 would work on it, it said it would but i would not be able to use the Microsoft 'Aero' features? Because of my crappy graphics card (Standard VGA graphics adaptor)
So i've managed to install Windows 7, but am stuck with this resolution;
Is this because of my graphics card? If so could anybody recommend a new one to get and where to get it from?
Is it because i need to update my drivers? If so could anybody help me with this?
Or is it to do with my actual monitor?
Many thanks
Philip_Yip
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16K Posts
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October 4th, 2012 15:00
It is the Video Drivers you need to manually install the XP ones. Download http://ftp.dell.com/video/R106458.EXE and attempt to install it (it will say incompatible OS).
Press [Windows] and [Pause|Break].
Next select device manager to the far left.
Hopefully it should look something like mine.
Go to Display Adapters
Right click the generic display adaptor and select update driver software
Next select browse my computer for driver software
navigate to C:Dell\Drivers where R106458. Let it install the driver.
You should now be able to change the screen resolution but are recommended to install a graphics card. The 3450 PCI 512 MB graphics card will work as it is listed on Dell Parts and Upgrades. However I would look at the cards recommended in this thread here which are likely to be better (and cheaper). Someone installed the nVidia GeForce 210 1 GB PCI Express Graphics card for example. You may also want to make a new post on the Desktop General Hardware forum to ask for up to date recommendations on hardware upgrades.
J1MM3R
3 Posts
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October 3rd, 2012 15:00
Thanks for your quick reply, if i were to purchase a
VisionTEK
3450 PCI 512MB DMS59 SFF DDR2 Dual Monitor SFF-Short video card, it would be compatable with my Dell Dimension 4600i?
DELL-Priyanka_S
671 Posts
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October 3rd, 2012 15:00
Hi,
Unfortunately the drivers for Windows 7 are not available for this system.
Updated video cards are available for this system however, they are tried and tested only for Windows XP and Vista and not Windows 7.
You can check the link below for further reference:
http://dell.to/Vw84Gm
Please reply for further queries.
Thanks and Regards
Priyanka S
#iworkfordell
speedstep
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October 5th, 2012 09:00
You need to upgrade to a newer Video Card. And in some cases use Windows Vista Drivers because WIN7 Drivers do not exist. This is the case for many Radeon 9XXX series. The 4600 would need a minimum Geforce 6200 AGP card with 128 Megs of ram or more. Personally I would upgrade to a newer Machine like an Optiplex GX620 Tower which does support Windows 7 in basic mode and in AERO mode with the addition of a Radeon HD6400 PCI-E card.
The Geforce 6200 card would be $30 to $60 and a new computer like a GX620 would be $99 to $249 depending on how much ram etc. You can even buy them with Windows 7 Pre installed from Amazon or Microcenter etc.
EVGA 512-A8-N403-LR e-GeForce 6200 512MB DDR2 AGP...
Buy Used Computers | PCRetro.com - DELL Optiplex GX620 P4(HT ...
Dell Optiplex GX755 Desktop Computer Off Lease...
J1MM3R
3 Posts
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October 5th, 2012 09:00
Natakuc4,
Thank you so much, that was a perfectly laid out guide and it worked brilliantly.
I had been searching the web for driver updates but could not find any that were compatible with my computer. I will start looking for a new video card to buy, i'm not really looking to use this computer for gaming or anything so the rest of the hardware should be ok.
Thanks again!