[Closed] Help my Dad with his PC

dunno, but when you get it sorted get him to install TeamViewer or similar on it, makes this kind of tech support WAY easier - you could just log in & debollix it for him!!

EDIT: can't he just plug the old CRT back in (assuming still got it & it wasn't broken?) then install TeamViewer, then you can log in and do whatever settings changes are required for it to support the new monitor?

try booting in SAFE MODE and adjust the display settings from there....may help..
https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch001265.htm

XP? Dear lord. Do him a favour, next time you're there spend a few minutes making W10 look as much like XP as possible and try to coax him onto it.

However, my Dad seems tied to his old Windows XP machine

Is the best option to try and talk him through booting into Safe Mode and seeing if he can change the resolution from there

No. The best option is to use one of those third party apps that make the Win10 interface as similar to XP as you can and sit him down and show him how to use Win10. XP was released when the World Trade Center was still standing and its replacement was released when G.W. Bush was president. I doubt you will be able to install a modern browser and going online with it is just asking for trouble. I understand the frustration of switching to a new interface, but he's going to have to get used to Win10, there is no alternative to this beyond switching to a different OS.

Edit. I installed this on a co-worker's machine back when Win8 first came out. It rolls the interface back to Win7, which is not so different from WinXP.

https://www.stardock.com/products/start10/

Part of the problem is that he has some ancient hardware (scanner & camera I think) that only work under XP (they have W10 Home on their main PC so doesn't have the virtualization tools).

I talked him into Safe Mode (which was visible) and found the Display properties but, apparently, whichever resolution he selected, when "Applied" didn't actually change anything; when rebooted he ended up with the safe out of range error.

For now he's going back to the crt monitor. Both my folks are shielding due to their age, but once they're comfortable for me to pop around I'll go and have a look.

if he is going back tot he CRT get him to drop the resolution to 1024 x 768 and more importantly the refresh rate which I suspect is the cause of the problems to either 60hz or 30hz, something the LCD is capable of. Then have another go at the flat screen.

Better still, look up at what the flat screen is capable of as a minimum setting and set the CRT to that first.

Teamviewer would be a good call on his W10 machine, but I would not risk being connected to an XP machine, you'd be exposed to all sorts.

If the compatibility problem with his legacy scanner etc is in software, maybe installing XP Mode on the W10 machine would work? Otherwise, take the network card out of his XP machine and tell him to transfer any scans etc that he wants on the W10 machine using USB stick.

Part of the problem is that he has some ancient hardware (scanner & camera I think) that only work under XP (they have W10 Home on their main PC so doesn’t have the virtualization tools).

At some point he's going to have to ditch that old hardware. His XP machine will eventually fail and he won't be able to install XP on a new machine, unless he runs a virtual machine. Unless it's stupendously expensive professional level gear, it might be time to replace the scanner and camera.

Going to ask a potentially stupid question here but, given the age of the laptop, does t have the right display adapter to even talk to the new monitor? I am assuming the laptop is VGA so it may be a case of getting the right VGA to 'whatever the monitor is adapter' as very few have VGA ports on them these days or even older DVI-D ports. Most are HDMI and DisplayPort only now.

fwiw, you dont need to install team viewer on his machine. Once youve got it set up at your end, you can send him a little file (or maybe its a link), that lets you in.

Does he have the display drivers on disk? (I'm guessing so given he's wedded to xp)

If so boot with crt, remove the monitor and display drivers. Power down. Connect flat screen. Power up and reinstall drivers.

That should Clear any settings causing an issue.

Or install a cryptolock or the like on the xp machine and Bob's your mother's brother.

XP is eighteen years old. Its replacement's replacement is beyond end of life.

Microsoft doesn't support XP. I would strongly recommend you don't either. Tell him it's broke, you'll be doing both of you a favour.

XP is eighteen nineteen years old. Its replacement’s replacement is beyond end of life.