1001 Secrets for Windows NT Registry
(Publisher: 29th Street Press)
Author(s): Tim Daniels
ISBN: 1882419685
Publication Date: 12/01/97

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This value sets the number of colors that the card is currently configured to display in bits per pixel (bpp). Valid values are 08h (8 bpp, or 256 colors); 0Fh (15 bpp, or 32 K colors), 10h (16bpp, or 64 K colors), 18h (24 bpp, or 16,777,216 colors), and 20h (32bpp, or true color).

II-35 The next two settings determine the resolution (in pixels) of your desktop area, which includes your entire Windows workspace.

Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: System\CurrentControlSet\Services\MGACtrl\PowerDesk\ CurrentSettings
Value Name: Mga.DesktopX
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 0x400

II-36 Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: System\CurrentControlSet\Services\MGACtrl\PowerDesk\ CurrentSettings
Value Name: Mga.DesktopY
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 0x300

Your Windows workspace consists of everything you see on-screen and in the off-screen area when you’re using a “virtual desktop.” (You use a virtual desktop, or viewport, when your desktop area is larger than your display area.)

II-37 These two settings govern the resolution (in pixels) of your display area.

Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: System\CurrentControlSet\Services\MGACtrl\PowerDesk\ CurrentSettings
Value Name: Mga.DesktopX
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 0x400

II-38 Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: System\CurrentControlSet\Services\MGACtrl\PowerDesk\ CurrentSettings
Value Name: Mga.DesktopY
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 0x300

Your display area is your on-screen workspace, or the actual resolution that the video card sets your monitor to. Generally, these settings are set to the same values as your Desktop settings, though these values can be set smaller than the desktop values to create a viewport into your desktop.

CD-ROM

II-39 Sometimes when running NT 4.0, you get frequent Event Viewer messages specifying an ATAPI source error, Event #9: “The device \device\scsiport0 did not respond within the timeout period.” You can tell Windows NT to stop polling the CD-ROM for disk changes by changing the following registry entry.

Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: System\CurrentControlSet\Services\CdRom
Value Name: Autorun
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 0

SCSI Controllers

II-40 You recently decided to add a SCSI CD-ROM to your system, and you add a 1522 just for the CD-ROM. You boot NT and it hangs after trying to boot from the 1522. How can you dictate the boot process? This registry entry does the trick.

Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: System\CurrentControlSet\Services\ SCSI_CONTROLLER_NAME
Value Name: Tag
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value:


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