Monitor Resolution Problem - Cab Unplayable - Please Help!

[javeryh]

My monitor (Happ Vision Pro 19" Shelf Mount VGA/SVGA Monitor [49-1337-VP2LG]) is no longer displaying anything (other than an "out of range" message).  It started when I changed the resolution of the GUI (MaLa with a gamelauncher skin) to something my monitor obviously cannot handle (I was just messing with random settings to try and get the games to display properly). 

Now when I reboot the computer I see the initial "Windows XP" boot up logo with the bar underneath but by the time I hear the chimes the monitor is already displaying the "out of range" message).  I set MaLa to be launched upon boot up (big mistake I guess).   How do I get the picture back to displaying Windows?  I can't change any settings or do anything until I resolve this issue!!  HELP!!!

[gokun]

I'm not really up on these emulators, but can you boot windows into safe mode?

[tikbalang]

press F8 to get into boot options. do this quickly several time before, during, after the windows startup logo, just to be sure. choose safemode with legacy vga/video mode. make your changes then reboot normally.

[CathalDublin]

[javeryh]

OK, after finally getting some free time to mess around I tried booting in safe mode.  When I hit F8 I was presented with 3 options, two of which were "boot from DVD" and "boot from CD" so I picked the first one which was "boot from [random bunch of letters and numbers]" - it didn't work.

Next, I tracked down a computer monitor and plugged it in and made all of the changes back to the way it was when it was working, swapped monitors, booted up and it still didn't work.  I don't know what else to do.

Is there something fundamental I'm missing?  What resolutions does my monitor support?  On the Happ page it just says 640x480 for resolution.  Is that all it supports?  Under Display in XP I only have 2 resolutions to choose from: 1280x1024 or 800x600.  There is no 640x480 choice.  Could this be what is causing the "out of range" error?  That doesn't explain why it was working one day and not the next though - How do I tell XP to display at 640x480?  I'm willing to try anything at this point.

Thanks!   

[ahofle]

How do I tell XP to display at 640x480?  I'm willing to try anything at this point.

Right click on your desktop and select properties.  Go to the settings tab and click the 'advanced' button.  Click the 'adapter' tab and press the 'list all modes' button.  You should see the 640x480 modes there.

Your monitor probably requires a jumper to run at 800x600 (ie it doesn't autosync).  But I'm just guessing on that.  Maybe try downloading a manual for it?

[Terminatedrone]

Sometimes if you mess up the resolution bad enough the computer will default to a really low resolution and 16 color mode. There are complicated methods to getting the VGA drivers back (in the system.ini I believe), but the easiest way to fix it is to install a new videocard, install the drivers, then put the videocard you want back in, and reinstall its drivers.

This has worked for me both times I did what you've done.

[javeryh]

How do I tell XP to display at 640x480?  I'm willing to try anything at this point.

Right click on your desktop and select properties.  Go to the settings tab and click the 'advanced' button.  Click the 'adapter' tab and press the 'list all modes' button.  You should see the 640x480 modes there.

Your monitor probably requires a jumper to run at 800x600 (ie it doesn't autosync).  But I'm just guessing on that.  Maybe try downloading a manual for it?

This did the trick!  I can use XP on my monitor again.  I need to figure out how to avoid this in the future though.  I still have my original problem too - the front end looks totally fine but when I launch a game everything is extremely pixelated and unplayable.  Any more ideas??   

[ahofle]

You'll need to force MAME to 640x480 for all games.