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Thread ID: 86440	2008-01-16 21:17:00	screen settings	Thomas01 (317)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
631088	2008-01-17 01:54:00	Set up a separate account for son. And its only impossible to read for people having failing eye sight.	plod (107)
631089	2008-01-17 10:30:00	A friend needed help with MSWORKS installation. I could not install the program at first - not enough memory!! Checking I was horrified to see what was shown in Task Manager Processes. I did the only thing I was really capable of and shut down the picture on the desktop which gave me the memory I needed for the installation. My own computer shows lots of processes. Advice please - is this a problem and if so how can I reduce them in a simple manner. Sounds as if you may need more RAM added to that machine, take it to a tech and see if its possible (assuming you're talking about system memory, not hard disk space (if so, you need to remove old/unused programs and data files to gain more room (you should never fill it right up, needs space for Windows swap file))). Regarding your processes, it might pay to download/run HijackThis, and post a logfile on the forum, to see if there's anything unusual running.	feersumendjinn (64)
631090	2008-01-17 20:43:00	Thanks for all the advice fellows. Now what have I done. Well I decided to do a check with my desktop and laptop. I have always looked for something to make the desktop use the entire screen and found nothing -but the advice to use DPI is good and something I have missed. So first I changed both computers to Windows XP desktop setting instead of the classic setting I had. (So they both appeared different to me and should enable me to make an unbiased decision). Then I changed the Desktop to 120DPI from the 96 it was. The result was insignificant so I set to 200% and it worked but I was told I was out of scrolling range, so I changed to 150% which worked quite well. I then changed the Laptop to 120 DPI also. This gave good results. OK so now how do they compare. Laptop is OK and I will leave it at that. Desktop. Photos - yes I can zoom in more and retain clarity. Not an important function - most of my photos are "record photos" in other words snapshots really. But the desktop is difficult to read compared to my earlier settings. I changed both computers to a black background - which I quite like and this enabled me to see the icons on the desktop more clearly. The printing on text is also sharper(and smaller) on this new settings, but some boxes (the one I am typing this in for instance) are stupidly small and inconvenient. In addition I find it difficult to read some printing. The words "Preview Post" on this page are extremely small and I have difficulty reading such things. There are other advantages though - like when in ACDSee there are lots more photo thumbnails for me to see (but almost too small to decipher). I am pretty certain that I will change back to 800X600 so that reading and viewing becomes easy and pleasant again. The conclusion I am forced into is that the computer itself makes more difference than I had realised. The desktop I will return to 800X600 and the laptop will stay as is. Now I have yet another question. Seeing that I have a black background to the screen - is this using less battery power etc.? Looking forward to being told off by the better qualified experts. Tom	Thomas01 (317)
631091	2008-01-18 03:08:00	Seeing that I have a black background to the screen - is this using less battery power etc.? Looking forward to being told off by the better qualified experts. Hehe, don't know about qualified experts, but there was a little study done a while back.... If you have an LCD, it make no difference. (minute - not at all noticible in the battery life of a laptop). With a CRT, it does make a bit of a difference, I think a standard 19" CRT monitor uses about 74 watts to display a white background, and 54 watts to display a black one, a picture I guess is somewhere in between, lighter colours using more electricity, darker colours less... not a big difference. www.blackle.com	wratterus (105)
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