Why does my monitor say "out of range?

My monitor, a ViewSonic VE710s, keeps saying "Out of Range" when I try and change the resolution?

• Just today, when I booted up the computer, the monitor was set to a resolution of 800x600, although it normally is 1280x1024. When I tried to change it back to 1280x1024, I noticed there was only 4 options, rather than the six I had before. They were 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024 and 1600x1200 (that one was never available before). When I tried to set the resolution to anything but 800x600, the monitor went black, and then in the centre of the screen a message appeared in yellow that was highlighted in blue (still in the black background) that said "Out of Range". Why does it say out of range for all of them even though they are options and I could use them before, and how can I fix this so I can set the resolution back to 1280x1024? Thanks :).

• Answer:

  This happens when your screen resolution is set to something higher than what your monitor can display. For example, if your monitor supports resolutions of up to 1024x768 and your video card allows you to crank it up to 1600x1200, doing so will give you an error. Another reason you might get the error is if the refresh rate you selected a certain resolution is higher than what your monitor supports. The monitor can't "sync" with the video card, so it just gives you that "Out of Range" error.