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[TRLog] Size of text-mode area on laptop screen

Subject: [TRLog] Size of text-mode area on laptop screen
From: n4tw@arrl.net (Ted Champagne)
Date: Wed, 06 Feb 2002 23:15:43 -0500
Hi Scott--

<excerpt from your original message of Sunday, 2002 Feb 03:>

>My question:  I finally got a laptop computer to use for my station.  I
>hate dos shells, so I hit F8 or whatever at boot up to get to "real mode"
>dos, but the window is in the center of the screen, and only takes up about
>1/3 of the full screen.  How do I enlarge this window to take up the full
>screen?

<most recent message:>

>>To toggle between a DOS window and full-screen, press alt-enter.  I do
>>this frequently at work and at home.
>
>That works in a DOS shell.  I don't think it works if you boot the computer
>up in DOS and don't ever go to Windows, which is what I plan on doing.   But
>thanks for the tip.

=============
Sorry, Scott, I misunderstood your original message.  I read it over
again, and I now understand your question.  I think your use of the word
"window" there threw me off <grin>.

The alt-enter toggle only works in Windows.  I don't remember it working
in any of the DOS shells I tried (long, long ago...).

What you are seeing is the way the laptop hardware and video drivers
handle normal text mode (as opposed to graphics, such as used by
Windows) on the display.  I have an IBM ThinkPad 755CD at home that uses
most of the screen for the text mode display, and it runs TRLog
beautifully.  I have also used several older Compaq laptops that do just
what you are describing, and boy, it's annoying.  I owned one of them,
and that was one of the two reasons that I sold it to get the ThinkPad. 
The two newer Compaq laptops (7400 and M700) which I now use at work use
all of the screen in 25-line by 80-character text mode, so they would do
just fine with it.

Unfortunately, I am not aware of any way of changing the size.  I think
it's a hardware-related function, and therefore there may not actually
BE any way to change the size, if my understanding of how the display
hardware works is correct. 
I'm posting this reply to the list in the hope that someone with more
exact knowledge can fill you in and either confirm or refute my
assertion, and if the latter, provide you the answer you desire.

By the way, the second reason I ditched the Compaq for the ThinkPad was
that I dislike the mushy "feel" of the Compaq keyboards as intensely as
I like the crisp ThinkPad "feel".  And no, I don't work for IBM or sell
ThinkPads.

73,
--Ted N4TW
  Madrid, NY
  Northern New York Contest Club Charter Member

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