Desktop Area Very Small

[kevvy]

Just installed copy of 8.10 on an older (P4) Toshiba laptop. Everything went perfectly except that the desktop is tiny. it only uses about 2/3 of the screen, leaving a wide black border around the desktop. Any ideas?

[joshedmonds]

While I haven't come across this problem myself, it sounds similar to an issue I've had in the past with laptops and external displays that have a different resolution. Try fn-F5 (or the particular combo you'd use on that laptop to change to an external display), give it a second and if it doesn't work repeat a couple of times.

[kevvy]

No luck Josh. Fn keys don't do anything. Weird. Installed on my wife's laptop also, no problem with the display on hers.

[eternalnewbee]

This may sound silly, but have you tried adjusting height and width from the monitor itself?

[ciscosurfer]

I don't know about on a laptop, but my free-standing monitor has an auto/select button that self-corrects these types of issues. Perhaps your laptop has a similar key combo or F-Key that could do the same. Check with Toshiba's documentation for your particular model.

[ciscosurfer]

Could you post a screenshot of exactly what you are seeing. Press the PrtScn button, save the image, upload to your next post. Thanks

[kevvy]

The print screen only shows the area of the monitor that is being used, and not the black, unused area around it. This laptop has a 15" monitor. When I load Ubuntu, the usable, 'lit up' desktop measures 9.5" diagonally. The computer seems to think it has a 9.5" monitor. I rebooted Windows XP and the display is fine, full screen, everything is normal. Back to Ubuntu, the same issue.

[kevvy]

Here's a photo of my computer. I could not use a screenshot because it would only show the area of the screen being used, and not the unused area around it. I have looked for settings and preferences to fix this issue but had no luck. I used the same image of Ubuntu on another laptop (not mine) and had no problems. Any ideas?

[kevvy]

Bump...pureley out of desperation. See photo in last post. Thanks

[theoldgit]

I have had this a few times and the solution i found was to go to System - Preferences - Screen resolution (I think thats right from memory, im on a windows pc right now)

Then try selecting a different refresh rate, this somehow changes how much of the sceen is used, you can also try a different resolution too that can have an effect. If you are using a dual boot you could also use the same settings as windows and see if that works.
The refresh rate worked best for me though

TheOldGit