me the exact refresh rate. Now here’s the real
weirdness: It displays at 60Hz even though the
videocard driver lists it at 75Hz. Plus, if I con-
nect the monitor to a different computer, I can
display at multiple refresh rates just fine. Is
it possible for a functioning videocard to lose
higher refresh rate capability?
—Michael R. Matheson, M.D.
From one doctor to another, your monitor
has what’s known as Extended Display
Identification Data (EDID) stored inside
it. Your videocard interrogates the EDID
to determine the monitor’s capabilities,
including its maximum resolution and
refresh rate. If this information is faulty
or the videocard can’t access it or just
misreads it for some reason, the videocard
might set itself to incorrect defaults.
There’s an easy workaround, but you
need to be careful because you risk per-
manently damaging your monitor if you
set an incorrect value. Open ATI’s Catalyst
Control Center and click on Monitor
Properties in the Graphics Settings tab.
Now look in the second box, which is
labeled Monitor Attributes. Remove the
checkmark next to the item that reads
“Use Extended Display Identification Data
(EDID) or driver defaults.”
Now here’s where you need to take
care: Select your desired maximum resolu-
tion and maximum refresh rate from the
corresponding lists in the box labeled
Monitor Attributes. You can choose any
values your monitor supports, but you
should make absolutely certain that your
monitor is capable of performing at those
levels, or you’ll risk damaging your display.
I WANT WINDOWS TO REBOOT
I connected my Windows XP Media Center to an
extender that feeds my cable to the HDTV in my
living room. After a week, my computer locked
up. I am assuming it has run out of system
resources. Is there a way to program Windows
Task Manager to do scheduled restarts of
Windows, like maybe every night at midnight?
—Michael Spaeth
There sure is! Open up the Windows
Task Scheduler from your Start menu
(Accessories > System Tools) and add a
scheduled task. The program you’ll want
to run is conveniently called shutdown.exe,
and you’ll find it in your \windows\system32\
folder. Set the rate of occurrence or the exact
times and dates you want your computer to
restart. If you’re entering a username and
password at your Windows logon, be sure to
input them on the next screen. At the final
menu, check the Open Advanced Properties
line before you hit Finish.
In the Run field, add /r to the end of
shutdown.exe ; hit OK and you’re done!
You’ve now set Windows to reboot at a set
frequency—possibly even more often than
it does by itself. The Doctor kids, he kids....WHERE THE ICONS AT?
I’m running Windows XP Home Edition Service
Pack 2; suddenly, some of the graphics on
my desktop icons went missing. Many are
now the default icon of a white box with a
blue border on the top and three white dots
on the right in a blue border. Other icons are
still the way they should be, as are the icons
for a few programs I’ve installed since this
problem occurred. Additionally, if I go to the
Start menu, icon graphics for some programs
( Excel, Internet Backgammon ) are missing
but others, such as the one for Firefox, are as
they should be. It’s driving me crazy!
—Tamara MillerThat’s a weird problem, but the Doctor
thinks he has an equally weird solution.
First, try rebooting the computer in Safe
mode: Restart the system and jam on F8
after the BIOS loads up. You should then
be given the option to start Windows in
a variety of modes; pick safe mode, let
Windows load up, and then restart your
computer again. This should bring back
your normal version of XP, and ideally, your
icons will look fine.
But if that doesn’t do the trick, try
this: Right-click on your desktop and then
click Properties. Click on the Appearance
tab and then click on the Advanced box.
Now select Icon in the drop-down Item
menu and change the icon size to 31. Hit
OK and click Apply. Windows will reload
the icons in a different size; check your
desktop to see if that’s done anything, just
for curiosity’s sake. Now go back to the
same menu and change the size back to32. Hit OK and click Apply. Your icon prob-
lem should be solved.