How to troubleshoot video display issues

Details

Resolution

Try the solutions below to resolve most video display issues:

Reduce your display resolution and color settings

1. Right-click anywhere on the desktop of the affected workstation, and then click Properties. The Display Properties dialog box displays.
   
   
2. Click the Settings tab.
   
   
3. Windows 2000 users: In the Colors box, click High Color (16-bit) and move the Screen Area slide bar to the 800 x 600 setting. Click on Appearance.
   
   

   Windows XP users: In the Color Quality box, click High (24-bit) and move the Screen Resolution slide bar to the 800 x 600 setting.
   
   

4. Click on the Appearance tab and if it is not already specified, set the Font Size to "Small Fonts" (Normal size 96 dpi).   Do not use the Large fonts setting, or customized fonts. PLATO Courseware requires Small Fonts.
   
   

   NOTE: Windows XP users: specify Normal for the Font Size.
   
   

5. Click OK > OK, and then restart your computer.

If the issue continues to occur, try another resolution or color setting. For example, 3DFX video cards do not display WPCD3 courseware properly until the workstation's display properties have been set to 256 colors.

Reduce hardware graphics acceleration

Some video display issues can be resolved by reducing hardware graphics acceleration on the affected workstation.

Windows 2000/XP users:

1. Right-click on the desktop, click on the Settings tab. Click on the Advanced button and click on the Troubleshoot (Windows XP) or Troubleshooting (Windows 2000) tab.
   
   
2. Move the Hardware Acceleration slide bar until it is one notch to the right of "None" (the Basic acceleration setting).
   
   
3. Click OK, and then click Close.
   
   
4. When you are prompted to restart your computer, click Yes.
   
   
5. If the problem is not resolved, move the hardware acceleration slider to try another setting.

Perform the following software updates:

Install the latest version of directx / troubleshoot DirectX

If your workstation is using DirectX, download and install the latest version of DirectX from Microsoft.

Diagnose and resolve DirectX related video issues by using Microsoft's DirectX Troubleshooter.  You may need to uninstall the PLATO workstation client and then reinstall it (WSETUP.EXE).

Try a different video driver

• Contact the manufacturer of your video adapter to find out how to obtain and install the correct video drivers for your workstation's video adapter.
  
  
• Keep both your video and sound drivers up to date.

Microsoft maintains hardware and software vendor contact lists in their knowledge base:
Q65416 - Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact list, A-K
Q60781 - Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, L-P
Q60782 - Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, Q-Z

Web sites for manufacturers of video adapters with issues reported to PLATO Learning, Inc. include:

http://www.3dfx.com http://www.3dlabs.com http://www.ati.com http://www.cirrus.com http://www.creative.com http://www.esstech.com/ http://www.diamondmm.com http://www.gw2k.com http://www.matrox.com http://www.nvidia.com http://www.s3.com

Two web sites that can help you find and download the drivers you may need include:

http://www.driverguide.com/ and
http://www.drivershq.com/

Make sure all of the latest critical updates are installed

Make sure that all of the latest critical updates are installed on your computer. On Windows workstations, this can be easily done by running Start > Windows Update > Product updates. Install all critical updates and keep going back until no more critical updates are available on the product updates page.

Also install any service packs that may be available. This applies to ALL operating systems.

Learn about PLE 2.0! Use our Training Tutorials and User Guides to learn about the new features available to you in PLE 2.0.