I tested some old graphics cards today and ran into this weird situation.
This is what the desktop look like on a Creative CT6710 (Riva TNT 16MB AGP) in Windows 98SE. I've tried a few different driver versions from that time period and they all did this on this particular card. I have tested hundreds of cards and never seen this before so I'm inclined to think it is some kind of defect with the card, but it's just so weird...
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Basically, the desktop is rendered squashed and off-center with a black area on the left side. The cursor draws in the correct location. You can see how the cursor is highlighting a button in the file explorer window. I can interact with everything as normal as long as I keep the cursor exactly that distance from what I need to click on.
Windows says it is at 1600x1200 (native res of this monitor), but it is definitely squashed horizontally. Changing resolution causes the monitor to drop to standby. I can press escape and it will return to the previous res, so it isn't crashing. Running a game or other full screen program causes the monitor to drop to standby as well.
The BIOS, DOS and Windows in basic VGA mode (with no drivers installed) are centered properly.
I've inspected the card pretty thoroughly and I can't see anything wrong with it. It's actually in very nice condition.
Anyone have any ideas?
Also, just to be clear... it isn't the monitor.