External monitor not widescreen; laptop is

Hi-

I've got a Compaq Presario x1000 and I'm trying to use a Dell external
flat panel monitor with it. The laptop is widescreen, the external flat
panel isn't. All is well except that I can't see the whole screen left
and right on the external. If I move my mouse to the edge, it pans and
I can see it. I've messed with monitor settings in the CP to no avail.
Any suggestions?

Rich

 

Your laptop's horizontal resolution is greater than that of your
flat panel monitor. To avoid the 'panning', you might set your
laptop resolution to match the external monitor. This will result
in your laptop display losing some on the sides. If you want
both displays at full resolution, you might investigate a separate
video card for your external monitor. This can also provide two
separate 'desktops'

lee

 

more on multi monitor:

http://www.realtimesoft.com/multimon/guide/laptops.asp

 

Thanks Lee. I figured that might work. I was trying to avoid having to
do that, wanting more of a "plug and play solution." But it works fine,
and I'll typically only do it once a day when the laptop comes home, so
its not a big deal. Thanks for the help.

Rich Owings
http://gpstracklog.typepad.com