I know its a f***ing old crappy monitor, but till I get a new one, I have to use it. And my eyes are starting to hurt.  
 
I tried changing the refresh rate, I tried Default Monitor Driver, I tried Plug & Play Monitor driver, I tried the official FS7600 monitor, I tried the compaq customer support, none worked.
 
Only one thing worked. I tried a Sony Triniton 200ES Monitor on the PC to see if its the graphics card. Worked perfectly. When I put the Compaq back, the refresh rate was 85hz just like it was set when I was using the Sony.  
 
Unfortunately, it didnt stay that way. As soon as I restarted the PC, the refresh rate went back to 60Hz. I tried imposing the 200ES drivers, didn't work. It says 85Hz, but I see 60Hz in the monitor menu. and unfortunately with naked eye as well. I wish I couldn't tell the differece...ARRRGGHH this is driving me nuts!
 
Please, Please, Please, Please, Please, help. If I keep using this POS like this for another day I'll need eyeglasses for the rest of my life.
 
Sorry I wasn't sure were I am supposed to post this so if any moderator sees this just move it to the right section and send me a link. thanks.

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"Hate is baggage. Life's too short to be pissed off all the time."

So what it wont let you change the refresh in windows ?
 As in right click on desktop-properties-settings-advanced-monitor-dropdown menu to set res.
  mactronix

Yes it does let me; in other words the gfx card is sending out 85Hz signals. The stupid monitor just doesnt get it. idk wtf to do.  
 
and please, stop talking about that right click properties refresh rate thing...I'm sick of hearing it. It questions the existence of my brain.

 
I dont think that last bit was called for.  
 
What resolution are you running at?  
 
Your monitor will only do 60hz at 1280x1024, and 85hz at 1024x768 if its the monitor listed here :-
 
http://www.buy.com/prod/hp-presari [...] 55106.html
 
http://www.amazon.com/Hewlett-Pack [...] B0007D7WOW
 
http://www.productshub.com/HP-FS7600/
 
If you want 85hz you will have to run at 1024x768.

My monitor is the same way that dtq has explained.  It has a max resolution of 1280x1024.  When you use that resolution, though, you can only get a refresh rate of 60hz.  Any other (lower) resolution, and I can choose I think up to 85 hz or maybe even higher.  Lower your resolution, OP (as well as chill out a little).

Yes, please chill out.  Either buy or steal yourself a new monitor if it's that big of a deal.  
 
Seriously, people make the excuse that they don't have the cash to spend on fixing/getting a new part.  If it were that big of a problem for you, you would FIND a way.  Since you wish to be frugal and attempt every duct tape solution you can find, please use a little more self control when soliciting help from a FREE online forum.

oh...sorry. I get mad pretty fast, which isn't anyone's fault but me. Thanks for pointing that out.
 
Guys, don't you think a person who can tell the refresh rate just by looking at a monitor has a basic idea of monitors and how they perform? Yes I know that it cant do more than 60Hz on 1280x1024. I'm running at 1024x768, so I have to expect it a higher refresh rate.  
 
It IS a big deal, and I DO have the cash to buy a better one. But I'm afraid its not that simple. First of all, I'm saving up my money to buy a car. Second, I dont have time for researching and finding the best monitor for the price, because if I was supposed to buy a new one, I'd make sure it wouldnt become a pain in the ass later on. and third, I'm actually curious about the solution to this. Maybe some day I get to fix someone else's monitor, who knows. and 4th, I KNOW there is a way, as I said, the other monitor made this one work (see posts above) so this one doesn't have a hardware problem, its only a software problem which has got to be resolvable.  
 
once again sorry for losing my control. I guess I better take some anger management classes lol
 
thanks guys I'll appreciate your help.

 
Part of the problem is that we DONT know what you do and dont know about PC's and when someone we dont know comes here asking for help you always start with the basics. Not every one who comes here is an IT professional, although some are.
 
Have you had the monitor working at the correct refresh rate without plugging the other monitor in first in the past? if so it might be worth trying a system restore.
 
Are you familiar with registry editing and the hexadecimal number system? If you are you could try manually editing the registry and setting the refresh rate in there? The refresh rate and resolution etc are stored in hexadecimal within the registry. I wouldnt recommend that route unless you are comfortable with tinkering with the registry.
 
It might be some form of driver clash causing a problem windows xp can have huge issues with old versions of drivers still being present despite new ones being installed, graphics card drivers are a classic for that and driver cleaner helps, cant remember off the top of my head whether that can do monitor drivers as well. Just uninstalling the driver in safe mode isnt always enough to clean it out properly . Chasing a device through the registry can be a PITA and not always guaranteed to find all the right references to properly uninstall a device, sometimes a fresh windows install is the only way to get things working right .

Ok, here's the main problem here:

I hope that its easier to find the solution by seeing these.

As you can see, I've even tried forcing the 200ES drivers, which didn't work either.

Windows is doing its job right. The monitor is fine. the problem is that it just doesnt "obey" windows correctly. Sony 200ES did, that's why it worked fine.

I am not sure if it would make a difference, but have you tried reinstalling your GPU drivers?