display stretched, resolution not the problem

so, yet another problem. i reinstalled my os to fix a previous problem, which it did. but now the display is stretched to fill my wide screen like it was meant to be full screen, but from what i can tell, the resolution is set as wide (unless im mistaken) it is currently at 1024x768. i cant find any other reason it would be stretched like this...can someone help me?

1024x768 is not a widescreen resolution, is the problem. That's why it's stretching it. Change it to something like 1280x800 or 1440x900.

HAHA! so i was wrong lol. well there is a problem with that...neither of those are available...sooo, is there any way for me to, i dont know, download those settings or something?

If you just reinstalled your OS, then you will probably need to go through and download updated drivers. Make sure your graphics card driver is up to date.

ok will do

ugh, 81 updates....

ok so, im thinking that it might just be something with the os disk, its a laptop and the monitor is part of it (obviously) so i think for some reason the os is for a full screen laptop

ok so i went to the device manager and the display adapter>standard vga graphics adapter cannot start. and other devices>ethernet controller, sm bus controller, and video controller all dont have their drivers. i tried to download the drivers for the other devices, but my computer couldnt find any, and i couldnt find them online. and the vga graphics just does nothing

would what i said there effect the resolution? and if so, how do i fix them?

edit: even if it doesnt effect them, how do i fix it 🙂

oh wait, lol they dont need drivers, but there is a problem with all that i said

It sounds like you're using the default driver for your video-card, instead of the proper.

What model of comp is is?

its a dell inspiron 1545

well, i am happy to report that circles are circles again, squares are squares, and i am very happy to have my...display back to normal 😄. but now i know about drivers and stuff and will be fine from now on. thanks for the help

Are you using a Widescreen LCD monitor or a regular LCD monitor? Regular CRT perhaps?
Because the resolution depends on the size of your monitor.
Choosing a Widescreen setting, like the one you are using, on a regular monitor will stretch the GUI.