Screen Resolution Stuck!

[Drachen]

Hello everyone!

I recently purchased a new computer. The specs are as follows:

AMD Athlon x4 965 3.4 Ghz (Quad)
Galaxy GeForce GTX 560 Ti (wired to monitor via Dual-Link DVI-D cable)
Kingston HyperX 8 GB Memory
Acer P205H Monitor
DirectX 11

The issue I am having occurs in a few of the games that I play. What happens is on some of those games is that the game, while set to my native resolution of 1600x900, is forced into 1280x960. I don't know why but any setting higher than 1280x960 will force my resolution into 1280x960. If I were to go under 1280x960 to a lower resolution such as 1280x720, the resolution becomes 1280x720 as it should. I am 100% I have all of my settings correct. On everything, the Nvidia Graphics Control Panel, my Windows Screen Resolution window, and the game settings, they all are set to 1600x900, refresh rate 60hz, and aspect ratio widescreen or 16:9. This really confuses me! What makes it worse is it only occurs on certain games and not all.

I believe the issue, or a contributing issue is DirectX 11. What makes me believe this is Saints Row The Third gives you the option to use DirectX 9 or DirectX 10&11. When I select DirectX9, I can be in 1600x900 with no issue whatsoever. When I select DirectX 10&11, the issue occurs and my resolution is forced into 1280x960.

This can also affect Windows. I was messing around with the resolution creator, and I made a 1600x900 preset with a 59hz refresh rate instead of 60hz. When I switched to the 59hz, it looked normal yet the problematic games were still forced into 1280x960. When I tried back to switch to my normal 1600x900 with a refresh rate of 60hz, I was stunned to find out that even Windows was forced into 1280x960! I retreated back to my 59hz refresh rate and now I'm stuck there.

If any more information needs to be presented or current information clarified, let me know! I'm really angry about this.

Games Listed where I have an issue:
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Star Wars: The Old Republic
Saints Row: The Third (in DirectX 10 & 11)

Black Ops has been reinstalled and Saints Row: The Third was a fresh install. I don't think a reinstall will help.

I know now it can affect Windows itself.

Additional Information: On my previous computer, this issue did not occur at all. I was also using the same monitor on the last computer.

My video card drivers are also all up to date.

 

[Scott_D_Bowen]

Reboot in Safe Mode.
Uninstall your Display Adapter Drivers and related software (eg: PhysX).

Reboot normally.
Reinstall your Display Adapter Drivers.
Calibrate/Auto-tune your monitor.

Let us know if it helps.

 

[Drachen]

In safe mode, I was able to uninstall everything BUT the PhysX Software because it said I couldn't uninstall it during safe mode.

Edit: I also kept having issues uninstalling everything, as when I would install the driver I would have to restart, then when I logged back in Windows would start reinstalling the driver!

I'm going to reinstall them now, however. Everything was uninstalled at least once.

 

[Drachen]

As an update, I uninstalled all Nvidia Drivers and Software and reinstalled them. The issue still persists.

Also I am unable to auto config my monitor as the option is grayed out. I don't know why, as it wasn't on my old PC.

 

[hedwar2011]

You may still have some remnant files from the nVidia drivers lingering in your computer.

Go HERE and download this utility and do it again and be sure to run this after you uninstall it so that you can remove all the junk files left behind.

If that doesn't help, it could possibly be your GPU. Was this video card in your older system as well?

 

[Drachen]

You may still have some remnant files from the nVidia drivers lingering in your computer.

Go HERE and download this utility and do it again and be sure to run this after you uninstall it so that you can remove all the junk files left behind.

If that doesn't help, it could possibly be your GPU. Was this video card in your older system as well?

I uninstalled all my drivers again and am in safe mode. I'm trying to run the program that you gave me but it can't find a file it needs; MSCOMCTL.OCX

It asks me whether or not I want to download it from the NFR website, and when I click yes nothing happens. I even tried redownloading and reinstalling it. What now?

To answer your question, no, my GPU was not in my old computer.

 

[hedwar2011]

You may have to install it from Normal mode and not safe mode or you can download it HERE and direct the installer to the file. I just attempted to install it from Normal Mode on mine and it worked fine.

If you still can't get it to work, reboot into Normal Mode and when Windows attempts to install its driver cancel the process.

You may also want to get GPU-Z and see if there are any voltage spikes or anything coming from the card itself.

 

[Drachen]

More updates..

I decided to look up ways to remove Nvidia files manually, since I couldn't get NFR to work. I followed everything listed here: http://www.overclock.net/t/1150443/how-to-remove-your-nvidia-gpu-drivers

I tried to download that file you linked and install it as instructed but for some reason it's not seeing it.
Image here:

 

[hedwar2011]

More updates..

I decided to look up ways to remove Nvidia files manually, since I couldn't get NFR to work. I followed everything listed here: http://www.overclock.net/t/1150443/how-to-remove-your-nvidia-gpu-drivers

I tried to download that file you linked and install it as instructed but for some reason it's not seeing it.
Image here: http://i.imgur.com/U9fQd.png

You are spot on using that method as long as you're comfortable tinkering around in the registry. I say that because I have met several people that will not do any registry editing on their own.

Just an FYI. Overclock.net is a very reliable site for quirky issues just like Tom's Hardware. Good find!

 

[Drachen]

You are spot on using that method as long as you're comfortable tinkering around in the registry. I say that because I have met several people that will not do any registry editing on their own.

Just an FYI. Overclock.net is a very reliable site for quirky issues just like Tom's Hardware. Good find!

-sigh- More bad news

I reinstalled my Nvidia drivers after following the steps listed on overclock.net and still the issue persists!

Here I have some images (low quality, sorry D: ) of the issue.

Image 1:

Here, hopefully, you can see the black border at the bottom and my monitor telling me that it is in 1280x960.

Image 2:

Here, it shows that my system settings is set to 1600x900, however my monitor says it's 1280x960.

Edit:

Image 3:

My screen resolution in Windows is fortunately fixed, but the issue still applies to the games. This image is showing that the Auto Configuration is greyed out, and pressing the corresponding button on my monitor does not activate it.

I'm still set on believing that DirectX 11 is the cause, but I just don't get how or why. My GPU is indeed a DirectX compatible card and the max resolution it supports is far beyond my 1600x900. Every setting is correct.. it just doesn't make sense!

 

[hedwar2011]

I'm wondering now if it might be something in either the monitor, the cable, or your GPU.

Let's start with the basics first (if possible).

Unplug the monitor cable going into the back of the computer and compare it to this image:

Verify that the monitor cable is indeed a DVI-D connection (not trying to say you don't know what you're doing but just in case).

I actually just pulled up a screen-shot of the connectors on the video card itself and think I may know the issue.

Here is the connectors:

Those two connectors are DVI-I only and not DVI-D so it is confusing the video driver and the monitor.

 

[Drachen]

Ah, here's an issue. My video card is indeed DVI-I Dual Link, and the cable I have is DVI-D Dual Link. My monitor, unfortunately, only supports DVI-D.

I'm hoping this isn't the cause, because that means I either need a new monitor or a new GPU. Would it really be the cause? Because as I said, this doesn't affect every game I have. In fact, Windows right now is in my normal resolution.

I even bought my DVI-D cable not too long ago because it wasn't dual link like the one I had previously.

In addition: The specifications for the video card are listed here, http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-560ti/specifications

Under Standard Display Connectors, it said Mini HDMI, Two Dual Link DVI. It didn't specify which DVI it was, so I figured since my monitor was DVI-D, DVI-D would work. Curse my momentary ignorance on DVI cables!

 

[Drachen]

Bump.

 

[Drachen]

Bump, and update.

Refresh rate might be an issue. As I may have said I am stuck on 59hz 1600x900, when I'm supposed to be on 60hz, but when I try and switch back, it's stretched out again.

 

[Drachen]

Bump, and further update.

Turns out refresh rate may indeed be an issue. I'm in COD World at War, and when I have it on 1600x900 with a 59 hz refresh rate, it works, however when I switch to 60 hz refresh, it doesn't. Strange.

 

[ghostgaming]

me to im experiencing this problem right now