In message , Paul
writes:
VanguardLH wrote:
KenK wrote:

Microtek 815c.
Also, that monitor is probably around 16 years old. I saw a user in
a
forum note in 2014 that he had this monitor for 11 years, so 5 years

I too thought it was/is a CRT, not least because Ken refers to it as
such, in text and subject line.

later that monitor is now 16 years old. CRTs go out of focus which
cannot be adjusted out. They also lose brightness, and upping the

There _may_ be a focus trimmer inside. I wouldn't recommend someone not
at least somewhat familiar with such equipment - especially with failing
eyesight! - taking the back off, well, anything, but in particular
CRT-based equipment. (Not only high voltages inside, but perhaps more
danger of damaging the equipment.)
[]
to start budgeting for a new monitor. If it's an LCD/LED, make sure you
set the screen resolution in Windows the same as the monitor's native
resolution. You get fuzziness if you set the Windows resolution
different due to interpolation between pixels.

I'd agree with that advice (setting resolution to the monitor's native
one).

It's an LCD with VGA input. 1280x1024. Probably TN (twisted nematic)

https://www.superwarehouse.com/Micro...Monitor/1104-0
3-990325/p/431703

Sounds as if Microtek might have used the same number - or base number -
for both a CRT (as VLH has found) and an LCD (Paul) monitor.

Before buying any other LCD, you'd want to review
the connectors on the video card faceplate, to see
what is available. If you wanted some mythical display device

Something to match what outputs your video card (or computer if a
laptop) has; for an XP-generation machine, I'd be (very) surprised if it
hasn't got VGA (15 pin positions in 3 rows in a D-shaped connector,
often dark blue); it might have I've forgotten what it's called (DVI?),
but usually white, three rows of contacts on a rectangular grid with a
plus-shaped connector at one end; I'd be rather surprised if it has
HDMI. If a desktop machine, you _could_ get a graphics card with better
outputs, but finding one for which XP drivers are available is going to
be difficult.
[]
But we need to determine what the problem is; I got the impression that
it is the eyesight that is the problem, in which case higher resolution
won't help - Ken was asking about _enlarging_ the text. If it is a CRT
monitor, then switching to a _lower_ resolution will make things bigger
- I think XP will work down to 640 × 480 - but you'll obviously see less
at once of everything; this is manageable for things of your own design
(text, such as documents, email, and news), but especially with modern
web pages, would become pretty tiring for the amount of scrolling around
the page you will have to do. (Many web page designers design their
pages assuming a screen size - and browser window set to full screen -
that cause a problem to _most_ people, let alone those with
deteriorating vision; plus, they design them so that autowrap, which is
intrinsic to HTML, doesn't work.)

So bigger text and still able to see as much of whatever that you can
see now means - bigger screen, no two ways about it. You _might_ find a
bigger CRT monitor - if you can, they might even pay you to take it
away! - but that's not going to be _that_ much bigger, and it is also
going to be bulky. Failing that, a flat monitor: they _have_ plummeted
in price over the last decade or two. What _might_ be worth looking for
is a large, but old, one - with a _not_ huge intrinsic resolution. (For
example, I have a 20" on my old desktop machine, but it is only 1024, or
possibly 15xx, pixels - i. e. it just has large pixels!) I'm not sure
where you'd look for such, though - and also conveying what you want (to
search engines and the like) might be difficult. Also, early flat
monitors might have a backlight that has dimmed somewhat - you'd
definitely want to see them working before you buy.
If you have to buy a "new" one, make sure it is compatible with your
machine's outputs, see above. (I think for your purposes, unless you are
forced to get a _very_ big one, VGA will be fine.) Ideally get one with
the _lowest_ intrinsic resolution you can: end-of-line, or old but
unused stock; this should actually be cheaper, as most people want more
resolution!

Other than that, look into magnifying softwares. These let you see a
part of the screen enlarged: their disadvantage is of course that (a)
it's only a part of the screen, (b) the window it shows in obscures some
portion of the rest of the screen. _Most_ allow you to vary the amount
of magnification, the window size, and the window position. Some track
the mouse pointer - making it in effect a sort of magnifying glass.
There _is_ one provided with XP, I think. There are also several
freeware ones, and commercial ones varying from expensive to exorbitant;
I have seen them when taking my blind friends round exhibitions of aids
for the blind. (My friends are totally blind, but such exhibitions cater
for those of varying degrees of impairment.) The companies _tend_ to be
small companies, as it's a limited market, hence the high prices (it's
not their fault). [Most equipment with a Braille keyboard costs
significantly more than an ordinary laptop; my friend's notetaker - a
device of similar capability to a smartphone - cost him about 5000, I
think.] Another disadvantage is thus that they haven't the ability to
support their products very well, which means their support for XP
versions is likely to be near-nonexistent (though there _may_ be user
groups). It may be time to move on from XP ... )-:

Also _may_ be worth looking into high-contrast settings in XP (and
setting your browser to use your chosen colours overriding any the web
page designer has chosen, and/or use a browser add-on that lets you
switch to other settings - I have one that cycles round between yellow
on black, white on black, original).

Depending on how serious your impairment is, it might well be worth
contacting your local blind (or visually-impaired or
visually-handicapped, depending on local attitudes to political
correctness in what they are called - most actual VI/VH people in my
experience are not bothered by such concerns!) association or whatever,
to see if they can show you anything. Or, I don't know - maybe the
disability department of your local university/college/education
authority/employment authority _may_ be able to point you at something,
though probably not if you're not in their catchment population. But no
harm in asking.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

"Mary Poppins is a junkie" - bumper sticker on Julie Andrews' car in the '60s