How to adjust your monitor's display settings

Q The picture on my monitor has gone off scale so much that I only have three-quarters of the screen available. My granddaughter has been using it and, as she is almost six years old, I assume she has pressed the wrong combination of keys.

Thomas Boyles

A It sounds like she has been playing with the buttons on the front of the monitor rather than anything in Windows. These controls on monitors are a legacy from the days before digital DVI connections when the display from a computer could require some significant adjustment.

Hopefully there should be an automatic adjustment button on the monitor – it’s usually marked Auto. Turn on the computer and let Windows start as normal so there is a signal going into the monitor and then press this button. The monitor will then analyse the signal and adjust the settings by itself.

If not you, will need to use the buttons on the monitor to access the settings menu. As monitors have as few buttons as possible some trial and error may be needed.

Some old monitors may have dials to adjust this on the front without having to navigate through menus.

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