PC help: Configure your monitor to show pictures correctly

Q I have two computers – one running on Windows XP, the other on Windows Vista. If I import a series of images from a CD on to the computer using the Windows XP computer, they look fine, but if I import the same images from the same CD to the Vista computer, they appear to be squashed so they’re almost square, and all the images are distorted. It’s driving me mad. Any suggestions on how to fix it?

Brian Sneddon

A It sounds as if you have a misconfigured monitor on one of the computers. If one or both of them is using a widescreen monitor, it’s possible the computer thinks it’s using a standard monitor, which is what’s causing the distortion.

It’s probably the one running Vista, since the other appears to show the images OK. To fix it, click Start, then Control Panel, and select Personalization, then Display Settings. You’ll see a slider marked ‘Screen resolution’. Move it one notch to the right, click OK, then follow the prompts.

If the screen looks better, keep that resolution, otherwise move it another notch to the right and try again. If you’re already at the right-most point, try moving the slider to the left instead. At some point, the text on the screen should become much clearer, and the pictures will look correct.

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