Dell XPS 1710 GeForce 7900 Troubles

[glenv]

I have a brand new Dell Laptop XPS 1710

GeForce Go 7900 GS

It came factory set at 1920x1200

I am experiencing many nuances that are not experienced on other machines.

Its as if this video card sees mistakes in web pages that others overlook.

Wordpress blogs are messed up as it throws right hand menus to the bottome of the page.

I create websites and it dispays some text as larger then others on the same page, or at least in a different font, when it is not.

I have experimemted with lowering the screen width and so on but no changes. I would like to get it fixed so I can set it at a more comfortable screen resolution for my eyes. I wear glasses and cannot deal with the 1920 x 1200.

There are other weird screen display issues but I m posting this fairly early and my brain is not working...

Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

[Fabrice Roux]

It's naptime for me... so I have some trouble understanding your issues.

Are you complaining about the small pixel size of your screen? My sight is perfect and I will only trade my 17" 1920x1200 for my desktop 24" 1920x1200. Size matters. :) LCD screens are meant to be used at their native resolution... otherwise your eyes will melt.

It's possible that Dell installed a theme or whatever lame style... restore the default Windows XP theme and the default Windows XP style. (be sure to set the text size to normal)

For your webpage rendering issues be sure that no security setting prevents you from running JavaScript. For instance, I use Firefox extension NoScript that by default forbid JavaScript. This ends up in some websites glitches but improved security. Whenever I need the JavaScript interface I can either temporary or permanently allow JavaScript.

[glenv]

Thanks for your help.

I have made sure I am using the default xp theme. I edit it with no background and no screensaver. FOnts are set to normal.

I believe I have no security issues. Although, I uninstalled Norton that comes with the laptop because it kills system resources. The problems were there though even before the unnstall.

I will give you an example since you are using the same card.

When I view this page:

http://www.warmislands.com/destinations/caribbean/index.htm

in the center you see 3 paragraphs

The top and bottom are in smaller font (Eastern and Western Caaribbean)

The middle - Southern Caribbean is in a larger font.

It also has trouble with pages that have forms. I am attaching an example with this post.

Thanks again

It's naptime for me... so I have some trouble understanding your issues.

Are you complaining about the small pixel size of your screen? My sight is perfect and I will only trade my 17" 1920x1200 for my desktop 24" 1920x1200. Size matters. :) LCD screens are meant to be used at their native resolution... otherwise your eyes will melt.

It's possible that Dell installed a theme or whatever lame style... restore the default Windows XP theme and the default Windows XP style. (be sure to set the text size to normal)

For your webpage rendering issues be sure that no security setting prevents you from running JavaScript. For instance, I use Firefox extension NoScript that by default forbid JavaScript. This ends up in some websites glitches but improved security. Whenever I need the JavaScript interface I can either temporary or permanently allow JavaScript.

[Fabrice Roux]

Assuming it's your pages... One of the reasons behind the size change is probably because your browser is set to large/larger font size. Use CTRL+Mouse wheel to restore the normal value.

The real reason is that the text font size is different between the paragraphs:

<p class='fivespace'><div align='justify'><font size="2">A vacationers dream come true! The Caribbean is, without a doubt, one of the world’s most inspiring destinations. The diversity in cultures, cuisines, language and landscapes adds to the region’s magnetic appeal. Beaches... <a[tab][/tab][tab][/tab]   href='/destinations/caribbean/southern/index.htm'><b>[read more]</b></a></div></p>

<p class='fivespace'><div align='justify'>With famed islands such as Jamaica, the Caymans, and Puerto Rico, the Western Caribbean Islands are truly the place for those who want to enjoy the finer things that tropical island life has to offer.  From green sand beaches in Jamaica to the w... <a[tab][/tab][tab][/tab]   href='/destinations/caribbean/western/index.htm'><b>[read more]</b></a></div></p>

The big difference is the first one has a font size forced (<font size="2">) while the other one is free.

That is where learning to use CSS can become really handy. You set these textblock the class 'myfancycarrabeantextblock' then whenever you change the class attributes they are change throughout your page/website.

ps: as a webdev you should know that you should separate the content from the aspect. (XHTML and CSS)

[glenv]

Setting aside the pages with the text sizes, the primary issues are that forms are blown out as I mentioned before and left the attachment. This is also reflected in certain portions of websites being manipulated / displayed differently than on a standard computer.

This is on other sites I have nothing to do with creating.

My BIOS is 5.71.22.16.13

Assuming it's your pages... One of the reasons behind the size change is probably because your browser is set to large/larger font size. Use CTRL+Mouse wheel to restore the normal value.

The real reason is that the text font size is different between the paragraphs:

<p class='fivespace'><div align='justify'><font size="2">A vacationers dream come true! The Caribbean is, without a doubt, one of the world’s most inspiring destinations. The diversity in cultures, cuisines, language and landscapes adds to the region’s magnetic appeal. Beaches... <a[tab][/tab][tab][/tab]   href='/destinations/caribbean/southern/index.htm'><b>[read more]</b></a></div></p>

<p class='fivespace'><div align='justify'>With famed islands such as Jamaica, the Caymans, and Puerto Rico, the Western Caribbean Islands are truly the place for those who want to enjoy the finer things that tropical island life has to offer.  From green sand beaches in Jamaica to the w... <a[tab][/tab][tab][/tab]   href='/destinations/caribbean/western/index.htm'><b>[read more]</b></a></div></p>

The big difference is the first one has a font size forced (<font size="2">) while the other one is free.

That is where learning to use CSS can become really handy. You set these textblock the class 'myfancycarrabeantextblock' then whenever you change the class attributes they are change throughout your page/website.

ps: as a webdev you should know that you should separate the content from the aspect. (XHTML and CSS)

[glenv]

Here is another attachment. It is what tabs look like on juno.com I use for email. Notice how the tabs are being blown out of where they are supposed to be positioned.

I believe the resolution to this issue is the primary fix.

Does anyone else have any ideas please?

[Fabrice Roux]

Wild question... which browser do you use?

Check if your DPI resolution is at the default 96... Display properties / Advanced / General tab.

[glenv]

Wild question... which browser do you use?

IE 6.0.2

[Fabrice Roux]

###### I added something to my previous post... this is not an IRC chat room... :)

So check the DPI setting for your display.

[glenv]

###### I added something to my previous post... this is not an IRC chat room... :)

So check the DPI setting for your display.

It is set to 120

Edited December 12, 2006 by glenv

[glenv]

Changing the factory set (DELL set) DPI from 120 to 96 has repaired the form issues. Thanks!

[Fabrice Roux]

One more reason to format newly received computer on delivery. My current Dell laptop default install lasted 20 minutes. Barely the time required to check all the internal components.