Get a better, brighter display with our essential selection of tips and tricks for improving your monitor
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our PC's monitor is a vital part of your system. Because it's what you use to see what you're doing, you should take the time to make sure it's optimised properly. If you suffer from eyestrain while using your PC, you'll find this selection of tips vital, even if it means you have to replace your ageing monitor with a new slimline, eco-friendly TFT model.
CRT versus LCD/TFT
CRT stands for Cathode Ray Tube, and is the traditional bulky monitor that looks like a TV set. While it's served its purpose admirably over the years, it's been superseded by TFT (Thin Film Transistor) monitors, a variant of Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), which has been a staple of laptops for years, but is now superseding CRT monitors in the desktop market too.
TFT monitors are thinner, weigh less, consume less electricity and give you a larger display. For example, a 17-inch CRT monitor only gives you the same amount of visible screen size as a 15-inch LCD model.
The only barrier to replacing your CRT monitor with a TFT model is price, but they're falling all the time - you can currently buy a 19-inch model for as little as £80 online (click here to view a selection from Amazon UK). Don't just chuck your CRT monitor, though - either pass it on to a charity or recycle it.
Digital or analogue?
The traditional means of connecting your monitor to your PC was by way of an analogue connection. Most TFT monitors come with the same analogue connections, but others offer a DVI (digital video interface) connection too. Look for the requisite connections on both your monitor and graphics card - if it exists, use it for a clearer, sharper picture.
Setting up your monitor
The vast majority of monitors are literally plug-and-play - just plug them in and they'll set themselves up automatically. If you're not happy with the automatic settings, look for a Menu or Setup button on the front of your monitor - press this and you can fine-tune its settings: brightness/contrast, position, colour balance and so on.
Dedicated drivers
Most monitors are detected by Windows as "Plug and play" or "Generic" monitor (find out by clicking Start > Run, typing devmgmt.msc and pressing [Enter], then expanding the Monitor entry in Device Manager). If this is the case, hunt down the CD that came with your monitor, or visit your monitor manufacturer's Web site to find a dedicated driver for your monitor.
EXPERT TIP
Monitor screens - TFT as well as CRT - attract dust like every other surface in your home. In both cases, it makes sense to use the correct cloth - while CRT monitors use glass screens, TFT's don't, so only use soft, cotton cloths to prevent permanently scratching the screen. When it comes to applying cleaning fluid (try Lindy here - prices start at £3.99), pick the correct type for your monitor and spray it onto the cloth rather than directly on to the screen. You might also want to use your vacuum cleaner to remove any dust and dirt from your CRT monitor's ventilation holes to prevent it overheating.
Step-by-step:
Obtain and install a dedicated monitor driver
1. OBTAIN THE DRIVER
Access the Support or Downloads section of your monitor manufacturer's web site and download the zip file to your PC. Extract its contents to a folder on your hard drive.
2. LOCATE YOUR EXISTING DRIVER
Open the Display Control Panel, switch to the Settings tab and click Advanced. Switch to the Monitor tab and click Properties. Switch to the Driver tab and click Update Driver.
3. INSTALL THE DRIVER
Follow the wizard to install your driver, opting to install from a list of specific location, choosing Don't search... and clicking Have Disk followed by Browse to locate it.
Refresh rates
The refresh rate determines how many times your monitor's picture is updated per second - the higher this is, the quicker it's updated, and the clearer, sharper and more solid the picture. Most monitors default to 60Hz when first installed, which is fine, but can lead to screen flicker on older models or a muddy looking display on TFTs.
Right-click the desktop and choose Properties (XP or earlier) or Personalization (Vista or later). Switch to the Settings tab (XP) or click Display Settings (Vista) and click the Advanced button. Choose the Monitor tab and you can change the default resolution - make sure the Hide modes that this monitor cannot display box is ticked, and pick the highest available resolution from the drop-down menu (typically 72Hz or 75Hz). Click OK and watch your monitor's display transform.
It should be noted that with many CRT monitors, the higher the screen resolution, the lower the maximum refresh rate supported. You may want to lower your resolution from the Settings tab or Display Settings button if the screen is flickering too much and you don't have an option to increase the refresh rate.
Which resolution?
If you increase the resolution, you'll cram more information on-screen, but at the same time the text size will decrease. The best thing is to pick a resolution that strikes the right balance between the two. If you have a TFT monitor, read the instructions to see which display resolution the screen is optimised for (called its "native" resolution) - for 15-inch monitors this will typically be 1024x768; 17-inch models will be optimised for this resolution and also 1280x1024.
Step-by-step:
Increase the screen resolution in Windows XP Safe mode
1. BOOT INTO SAFE MODE
Start your PC, tapping [F8] after the initial system messages appear to access the Windows Advanced Options Menu. Select Safe Mode using the arrow keys on your computer and press [Enter] twice to load Windows XP in Safe mode.
2. LOG ON
When the log-on screen appears, click your own username and - if applicable - enter your password to log on to Safe mode. You'll be prompted about using Safe mode or System Restore - click Yes to proceed to Safe mode proper.
3. ACCESS DISPLAY PROPERTIES
Chances are the screen will be a lot more cramped than you're used to - by default Safe mode uses a screen resolution of 800 x 600. To change this, right-click some empty space on the desktop and choose Properties, then switch to the Settings tab.
4. SET NEW RESOLUTION
Click Advanced, switch to the Adapter tab and click List All Modes. Select a higher resolution and click OK followed by Apply. Click OK if the screen is readable; click List All Modes and choose a lower colour depth if it's not.
ClearType
If you find that the text on your screen appears too jagged, then you can smooth it out using Microsoft's ClearType technology. This is enabled by default in Vista and Windows 7, but XP users will need to switch it on themselves.
Open Display Properties, switch to the Appearance tab and click Effects. Change the Standard drop-down menu to ClearType and click OK twice to effect the change. You may notice some colour artefacting, which is normal. To fine-tune your ClearType settings, click here for details on obtaining and using the ClearType PowerToy. The PowerToy isn't compatible with Windows 7 or Vista, but you can fine-tune your settings using the online version - click here to do so.
Watch movies on your TV
Transferred a home video to your laptop that you'd like to show off on your TV? If your laptop or desktop comes with a TV-out socket - typically of the yellow, rounded S-video variety - then you can connect them up to your TV to display the picture on-screen.
You'll need to source the appropriate cabling - a single two-metre S-video to S-video cable costs £3.60 from Lindy (click here), while you'll also need a separate cable to connect up your laptop or desktop's line-out or headphones port to the appropriate inputs on your TV - this typically involves a cable with two phono plugs at one end and a 3.5mm jack at the other (such a cable costs £2.80 from Lindy - look for part 35491).
Once done, you should be able to simply connect up the laptop or desktop to your TV, then look for the appropriate option to switch the display to output to the television rather than your monitor - look for an appropriate key on your laptop to press. If you can't find it, look for a Dual-View or similar tab when you click Advanced on the Settings tab of the Display Control Panel.
Display colours correctly on your monitor
If your monitor is colour-calibrated correctly, what you see on-screen should be what you see on a printout. There's no point in spending hours tweaking a photo only to see the final printout look completely different to what was displayed on your monitor.
Windows comes with built-in support for ICC (International Color Consortium) profiles, which are special files that help your monitor display colours correctly on screen. They're also used by selected programs like Adobe Photoshop for scanners and printers, enabling you to get more accurate colours whether you're importing, viewing or printing out a colour document. Find out more about them by clicking here.
Many monitor drivers come with ICC profiles included - locate the file in the same folder as your driver, then copy it to the WINDOWS\system32\spool\drivers\color folder. Open Display Properties, choose the Settings tab, click Advanced, switch to the Color Management tab, click Add and then select your monitor model from the list if it wasn't automatically added when you installed the driver.
to view a selection from Amazon UK). Don't just chuck your CRT monitor, though - either pass it on to a charity or recycle it.
