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I am searching for an option to disable resolution changes by certain programs or users.

In example I have a media player who automatically changes the resolution depending on the inserted medium. Since the results are poor, I want to disable this functionality. Since there is no according option in the player settings, I thought about creating a user who is lacking the rights to change the resolution.

But I have no idea how to do that. Alternatively I would also be completely satisfied if you know a way of restricting these rights on a per-program basis. Actually any solution is welcome.

I'm am running Win7 Professional.

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  • Which player is it that changes the resolution ?
    – harrymc
    Mar 10, 2012 at 18:34
  • Did you ever find a fix for this? I have a similar problem with a game that uses a non-standard way to change resolution that isn't captured by the GPU, and it seems like no one here actually answered the question you asked. Apr 18, 2021 at 9:29

4 Answers 4

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+50

One option is to configure a shortcut key combination to switch the resolution back to your preferred settings after the media player changes them.

I can confirm that HotKey Resolution Changer from funk.eu does change the display resolution in Windows XP. It claims to work in Windows 7 as well.

enter image description here

Highlights:

  • Sits silently in the tray
  • Define 2 to 9 shortcuts for different resolutions
  • Switch resolution with just a keypress!
  • Resolutions below 640×400 and frequencies above 120 Hertz are excluded.

You may also be able to use AutoHotKey script for this.

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  • Thanks so much, this works!! Great. You are a day saver :-)
    – ftiaronsem
    Mar 17, 2012 at 9:23
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as here is mentioned , i think this is the best way :

You could disable the settings tab for users as policy:

Local Security Policy > User Config > Admin Templates > Control Panel > Display > Hide Settings Tab enter image description here enter image description here

Here is the MSDN documentation for this settting: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms811676.aspx`

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  • This is your answer Mar 13, 2012 at 14:49
  • But does that prevent changing the resolution via other means?
    – Synetech
    Mar 13, 2012 at 19:59
  • After rereading the queston, preventing Media Player from changing your resolution is not going to happen if it was a user that might happen but not a appication Mar 14, 2012 at 0:11
  • Yeah, as stated before, this does only prevent users from changing the resolution. Programmms are still able to modify it. Anyway thanks for this very detailed answer.
    – ftiaronsem
    Mar 17, 2012 at 9:27
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If you're using a video card from either NVIDIA or AMD, they should have control panel settings that allow you to force resolutions and aspect ratios.

NVIDIA Control Panel: Under Display > Adjust desktop size and position:

  1. Select scaling mode: No scaling
  2. Perform scaling on: GPU
  3. Check Override the scaling mode set by games and programs

Don't know for AMD cards.

This solution is unfortunately heavy-handed, and not the per-program or per-user solution you're looking for.

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  • thanks for this answer. Unfortunatelly the media player can still change the resolution. I don't know how, but it does. I double checked, I applied all the settings you suggested.
    – ftiaronsem
    Mar 17, 2012 at 9:25
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Your best solution is to get with the developer of the media player and have them fix the issue a media player should not be causing the issue.

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  • Yes, I agreee. I am already in contact with them and they are trying to fix the issue. But the release of a patch takes them at least a month, so I had to look for an intermediate solution.
    – ftiaronsem
    Mar 17, 2012 at 9:26

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