Change screen resolution to exceed the maximum on Windows 7

Question

I want to run the Microsoft SDK Simulator on Windows 7 but it requires 1280 x 960 or greater, whereas I have just 1280 x 800 on my laptop.

I remember when using Windows XP it give me a lot of choices between resolutions even though the resolution of the screen is so small.

On Windows 7 it doesn't offer other resolutions bigger than the maximum, is there any workaround or software that allows higher resolution?

This is a video I took using Windows XP, you can see that when the resolution exceeds the maximum, not the whole desktop is shown on the screen but once I hover on the sides the desktop moves to show the hidden sides.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5869RL2noY

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Note that I am not using any software and I didn't do any hardware modification, this has always worked for me, not like what the answers mentioned.

Answer 1

I have developed a solution which allows you to have a scrolling desktop on Windows. It's complete freeware and there are multiple ways to enhance your desktop. Yes, in both sides, not only horizontal.

Infinite_Screen

Standard is pressing Ctrl+ (moving mouse to the edges) or CtrlShift+ (mouse move) and 4 others.

Answer 2

Yes you can increase resolution over windows7 maximum. How?

This hack works only on Windows 7 netbooks.

• Type in Win+R and put 'regedit' (without the quotes) into the box.
• Search for ‘Display1_DownScalingSupported’ and change the value from '0' to '1'.

Then you need to restart your computer. Afterwards you may be able to scale your screen resolution to something larger than your computer’s physical restraints. However, be aware that these tweaks might not work on all netbooks (it was tested by users on the 1000H, 1005He or the 1005HA Asus devices) and might cause software instability when changing between options (or when rebooting--may cause a black screen on certain laptops).

Got the link here.

Answer 3

I had a problem with a netbook, with a low resolution of 1024x600. I was able to find a good solution though: I found GiMeSpace.

In the free version it allows you to pan endlessly in the horizontal direction, using the extended (commercial) version (still very cheap) you can pan in both directions (horizontally and vertically).

It allows you to resize windows to become larger than your maximum screen size. It works in Windows 7. It makes the netbook a bit more usable for those programs that really require a larger screen.

Answer 4

If you can't set a higher screen resolution, you may try these as workarounds:

• Use an external monitor that can display the resolution you need.

• Run another copy of Windows in a VM, and set the VM's screen resolution to the size you need. (Probably won't be helpful, as the VM's window won't be completely visible unless the VM viewer allows you to scale the guest desktop down.)

• Use a Virtual Desktop. Basically, a virtual desktop is a desktop that's larger than your actual display resolution. What you see on the monitor is called a viewport, and doesn't display the whole desktop. Windows doesn't do this natively, but you might have luck using nView (if you have an NVidia GPU), or a 3rd-party desktop shell replacement. (The wikipedia links list a few.)

Answer 5

It seems that you can go above the maximum communicated to Windows 7 by the monitor.
However, these are hardware and software hacks that are not really safe.
I don't take any responsibility for the articles below - it's your decision.

Allowing any screen resolution on Vista (also works for Win7).
It explains the problem and shows how you can hack your video cable so that your monitor places no constraints upon Windows.

PowerStrip
A shareware that includes a tool for flashing your monitor's Extended Display Identification Data (EDID), though it is not guaranteed to work for all monitors, and requires the registered version. Please also note that should you destroy the monitor's EDID, this monitor is a dead lose.