Win2000 only sees 16 colors!

**jewelrygal** · 2003-09-18 12:58

I upgraded my machine running with Win ME to Win2000 pro. I also put Win 2000 Pro on a new computer. Both of them are showing only 16 colors on the monitor. I went to Display in Control panel and although I can get the resolution up to 800x600, there is no option to change the amount of colors, which makes it almost impossible to see what I'm doing!

I haven't put any of the service packs onto the 'puters. What do I need to do to get the darned thing to offer mroe colors, and do I only need service pack 4, or all of them, or what?

Thank you in advance..

**Leif** · 2003-09-18 13:00

It is more likely to be associated with the graphics driver - check for the latest version for W2K.

**jewelrygal** · 2003-09-18 18:43

Thank you. Leif. I find Win 2000 a pain in the you-know-what with all the drivers having to be fixed, updated, etc. I couldn't get my computer driver disk to run and fix that darned 16-color situation until I finally got the bright idea of going thru control panel and updating hardware....that finally worked and it could finally "see" the CD-Rom. The only reason I updated at all from Win ME was that I have a gig of RAM in this computer and was told that Win ME couldn't utilize it, but that Win 2000 would.

Do you think it's worth staying put with 2000 until some new version comes out? I have used XP but found it irritating and I think it still crashes alot. 2000 may have lots of issues with drivers but doesn't seem to blue screen so much.

One last question, do I need to download all the 2000 upgrades or just the latest, which I think is version 4?

Thank you again for sharing your expertise!

***JoeP517*** · 2003-09-18 20:27

Win2k is much pickier about hardware than any of the consumer oriented MS Oses. You should check for Win2k compatible drivers for all your hardware. Also, Win2k is more sensitive to memory problems. If you just put memory in the machine you should check to make sure that it is seated well and probably just reseat it to be sure. If you have more than one memory stick you can try reversing them. As far as staying with Win2k, that is up to you. The next consumer Windows OS is not going to be released until at least 2005. Do a google search on 'longhorn' and I'm sure you'll find a ton of hits. Most users have found XP to be very stable. Once again you need to be sure that you have the correct drivers for all your hardware. If you wish to pursue XP you should post a message in the XP forum.

Joe

**jewelrygal** · 2003-09-18 21:30

Thanks, Joe. Another thing just came up as I'm installing programs....is there a way for me to do a customized screensaver in 2000? I don't see how to do it after playing around in Display (control panel).

**jewelrygal** · 2003-09-18 23:56

More...I'm used to having my screensaver be pictues in My Pictures folder. That's what I'm trying to achieve here, but can't figure out how to get it in 2000. The one computer that had Win ME on it, kept that. The other one that was brand new with 2000 as the first install, doesn't give me the option.

**jewelrygal** · 2003-09-19 00:01

Maybe if I knew the name of the file or something I could copy it from the old computer to the new one....and it would show up in the list of possible screen savers???

**jewelrygal** · 2003-09-19 01:19

I found the My Pictures Screensaver file in the system dir of my Win ME computer and copied it onto the Win 2000 into the System32, where all the other screensavers seem to live. I directed it to use photos in my My Pictures directory....the only problem now is that the screensaver doesn't work. No pictures show up. Been to Microsoft's site, trying to figure out how to make this work..

***JoeP517*** · 2003-09-19 01:28

Sorry, Can't do a My Pics slide show with standard Win2k.

Joe

***JoeP517*** · 2003-09-19 01:37

Take a look at Webshots. It is <img src=/S/free.gif border=0 alt=free width=30 height=15> and you can add your own pictures to a collection.

Joe

**Leif** · 2003-09-19 10:51

>>> One last question, do I need to download all the 2000 upgrades or just the latest, which I think is version 4?

By upgrades I guess you mean Service Packs? The SP's are cumulative - each will contain all previous fixes. SP4 is around 140MB I believe.

PS - try and avoid replying to yourself. I got no notification of your response and so had no idea you had replied....

**SMBP** · 2003-09-19 19:18

Jewelrygal--

I'd strongly urge you to go back to Windows XP. Statistically it's much more stable than you found it, in extensive studies conducted by non-Microsoft 3rd parties and odds are very strong that if it "crashed a lot" 65%-70% of crashes in large studies are due exclusively to driver related problems, and once you square those a way you may have a whole new take on Windows XP--they aren't going to offer you the new OS Longhorn until sometime late in 1995 if then. Win 2K is considered equal in stability, and a lot of IT adminstrators still migrate to it instead.

If you try XP, or stay with 2K, try updating your drivers from the manufacturer site or a driver site--don't use Win Update for drivers and check the Display Properties box to troubleshoot your color situation as well.

This sites may also help you find Hotfix Updates whichever OS you're using or component you're updating for security patches:

Hotfix Search by Product and Link to Subscribe to Free Microsoft Security Hotfix Notification Newsletter

Chronological Security Bulletin List

SMBP

Thread: Win2000 only sees 16 colors!

Thread Tools