Dell Inspiron 8100

:confusedJust received this antique, 256 M Ram, as a donation to a club I belong to, the lappy would really only be used for PP presentations, so not to concerned over the low specs.

However on boot up, the Windows screen occupies a center position of about 4" square, against a 13" screen, :confused

Same in safe mode, no yellow flags in DM, no errors anywhere. Display settings don't make a diff. Only basic programs are running.

But the BIOS screen is full!

Would a reinstall likely fix this? Anything else to try?

Video controller is an NVIDIA GeForce2G0.

This is the first time in about 2 years the machine has even been turned on.

Just found something, looks like it had been setup for double monitors.

 

Thanks plodr, I'll try that tomorrow. Think I'll also reinstall the chipset. I assume it is safe to install these over the old ones? I have normally done so without adverse results, or is there something else I should know???

I managed to get a full screen with windows, but only by setting the resolution to the highest setting, which really compresses everything, don't like to run it there with my senior sight.

If I reduce the resolution, instead of showing fewer pixels per square, the display simply shrinks proportionitely.

But there may be an issue with drivers, and maybe the chipset as well. When I attempted to connect to the internet, I found that the DSL when plugged in, was not being seeing. Found the ethernet adapter was disabled, that problem solved but indicates things a bit more screwed up than I originally thought.

The 'puter was used by an extremely conservative user, business through Citrix connection only, no personal files or customization whatsoever. So malware is a low likelihood, it did have Symantec on it. Likely this user only connected to the Citrix business site.

But still, this one odd issue needs to be addressed.

The tough part of this is 256M RAM! Sooo slow to install anything, Open Office took almost an hour to install, and this is with a 5MPS connection, system, not connection, related. I'm accustomed to having it happen right now, and I just don't have the patience with these slow processors anymore. I've done the tweaking with the performance, desktop, and services to maximize speed. Helps, but still is like driving a horse and buggy.

LOL, I remember how heralded the Pentium III processor was when it first came out, a real "speed demon" in it's day! The Best of the Best!

Ahh, but I am dating myself.

Need my nap now.