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Why does my screen resolution change when I run this program?

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I'm running Windows XP on a Dell Inspiron 6000. Firefox is my browser. Every time I turn Foxfire on, my screen resolution drops from 32 bit to 8 bit.

If I leave Foxfire on and reset the resolution to the original 32 bit, it stays there unless I turn FF off and then on again when the problem reasserts itself again.

Any idea why, or what to do to prevent it?

Well, I know how to do it on purpose, but having happen by accident is a new one to me.

Let's look at how it's done on purpose, and see if undoing that helps you.

Windows provides this functionality for compatibility purposes. It's not used often, but some old, or perhaps poorly written programs simply can't handle rich color depth.

"Windows provides this functionality for compatibility purposes."

Right click on the shortcut you're using to start Firefox (or whatever program you're interested in), and click on Properties. In the resulting dialog box click on the Compatibility tab, and you should see something much like this:

Compatibility tab on Properties dialog

As you can see, there are several options that you can select relating to the environment that this particular program would be run under when it's started. One of which is "Run in 256 colors".

I'm guessing that's selected, either for the shortcut you use to start Firefox, or for Firefox itself. Double check both, make sure that option is not selected, and see if that doesn't help.

If it was selected, the question is why? As you can see, the setting is fairly well buried. I'm not certain how it could get set accidentally.

Article C2678 - June 4, 2006

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Recent Comments
11 Comments

Information on the site is gud,but it would be better if more information is provided on screen resolution not only with the perticular s/w,but also with the various appilcations and also why does this happen..! :) thank u

Posted by: Ashwin at September 4, 2009 5:16 PM

I am having the problem of my screen resolution changing when I begin typing an e-mail in Outlook and also when attempting to use MS Word. I can change it back and it will work until I shut down and start up again. Mitchel

Posted by: mitchel at October 27, 2009 6:37 PM

I think I finally found the problem. I opened MS Word & the zoom was set at 500%. Hope this helps someone.
Mitchel

Posted by: mitchel at October 30, 2009 6:11 PM

when ever I re-boot my display moves from 32 bit to 8 bit, and I have to re-set it.

Posted by: William Stott at January 15, 2010 10:51 PM

I have tried the compatiblity exercise and it only says : Compatibility mode cannot be set on this program because it's part of Windows XP.

What do I have to do to get my resolution right, now?

Posted by: Marita at March 6, 2010 9:23 PM

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