Laptop Display too small on boot

[dcslewis]

I have a Dell Studio 1537 laptop that I took apart to change the back because the hinge broke.
When I reassembled it, the display is like 3 inches short on the right including on bootup and there is a white strip along the bottom about 1/3 inch tall.

I believe the laptop thinks I put a standard display on it instead of the widescreen that it has. (It has the same display I started with)
I looked for switches on the motherboard that I may have changed while working on it but could not find any.

There are no options in bios to change the screen size.
It is not a software issue as this starts at bootup, but windows is also displaying short.

How do I get it to display correctly?

 

[zodiac949]

I had a similar problem with my desktop with a 9800GTX+. How I managed to fix it was in my graphics driver control panel. I basically set the resolution to something ridiculously small, like 800x600, and switched it back to native res.

If that doesn't solve the problem, I would honestly think there's a loose connection to the display, you might also try removing the display, and setting it back.

 

[mavroxur]

Sound like either A) the video cable is loose at one end or the other, or B) you damaged the video cable.

 

[dcslewis]

Sound like either A) the video cable is loose at one end or the other, or B) you damaged the video cable.

I ordered a new cable, but the "New" one that came was used and had some broken wires. I did surgery and fixed the wires, but it still displays wrong. What else could be wrong?

 

[mavroxur]

I'm almost positive it's a cable problem. Even if you performed "surgery" on the cable, that's not to say that another one might be broken internally, but the insulation is intact. And those cables are VERY sensitive to impedance mismatches caused by splicing and modifications. What you're describing screams "bad cable".

 

[dcslewis]

Can you confirm for me that these laptops get the display size from the cable?
I know that some sony's have dip switches to select the screen type.

 

[mavroxur]

Almost all modern laptop's LCD panels determine the display resolution from the received signal. If you're missing a data channel or a clock line, the LCD will not scale the signal to the panel properly.

 

[dcslewis]

I have purchased another new cable and it still has the problem. What else could it be?

 

[mavroxur]

There are no dip switches on that laptop (or most modern laptops for that matter) to set display options. Only other thing is that the LCD's driver board was damaged somehow during the removal / reinstallation. Double / triple check your cable connections and make sure though.