windows woes (screen resolution)

[root]

For the complete specs read here...

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/latd610/en/ug_en/specs.htm#wp1103840

I have an old dell laptop, a latitude D610.
The display is an LCD display capable of running at a 1400 x 1050 resolution.
the graphics card is an ATI x300.

I've installed windows 7 on this laptop, and here where it all starts to go wrong.

if I use the default windows driver I can get the resolution up to 1400x1050. but sadly with that driver I can't use the peek functionality on the task bar, and can't run Aero for all the nice window transparency and all that stuff...
(also I can't play on-line poker because of direct X errors).
it also doesn't recognise that I have a second display output, (though I don't know if this would change if I actually connected a second display).


so I've gone to the ATI site and downloaded the latest drivers -my card is now in legacy support only, and am now using the driver that is labelled
"ATI Radeon x300/x550/x1050 Series Secondary".
(version 8.593.100.0, driver date 21/07/2009).

with this driver...
I can play online poker, I can use the aero features like peek etc...
but the resolution seems to be limited to 1280x1024...
(and has black bars down either edge of the screen).
I can detect that I have both a VGA monitor output and an SVideo output.

so any tips on how to force the resolution to 1400 x 1050? -whilst keeping all the other features that I want.

I've already tried.
>changing the detected display type from generic LCD (1280x1024) to a larger Res LCD, (like the one I actually have).

>adding custom resolutions to the registery in hklm\system\currentcontrolset\services\ati2mtag\deviceX\DALNonStandardModesBCDX
(in this case 14 00 10 50 00 00 00 60 (1400x1050 default colour depth 60Hz)

>using power strip - didn't work (though perhaps I wasn't using it correctly).


so... any suggestions as to what to try next?
I just want the native resolution for my monitor using the latest drivers, -I don' see why that should be so hard!

 

[CBrooks]

If you already haven't done this try downloading catalyst control center and within CCC try to set the resolution to what you want it to be at.

 

[cboucher]

It may sound lame, but try running Windows Updates (the Optional updates in particular). Windows 7 has been really good about driver support via Windows Update so far. I have obtained video drivers in this manner for several machines. It seems to work pretty well.

 

[root]

If you already haven't done this try downloading catalyst control centre and within CCC try to set the resolution to what you want it to be at.

that's the funny thing, the catalyst control centre won't even install on windows 7, i know it's asking a lot for ATI to support a distribution before it's even released, but i downloaded the 32bit windows 7 CCC.
installed it, to c:\program files\ATI Technologies.

literally all it does is add the installer, even though I've selected custom install and selected to add as many things as it'll let me!

so I run the installer again, this time say uninstall, and it says there are no installed components to remove.

I've gone into the c:\ati folder (where the exe that you download from ATIs site is unpacked to, and ran various msi filies (That really SHOULD have been run, or available to run when I selected custom install on the install manager to actually in stall the CCC) still with no luck though

I'll keep trying I guess...

All windows updates available are already installed

ok...

now I've turned off windows UAC control that prompts you before things make changes I'm getting things to install properly.

I've now got the CCC option when I right click on the desktop.
and I can see from the task manager that ccc.exe is running, but still no windows where I could actually control anything