The monitor model number of your new monitor includes the letter
"w". Have you purchased a wide-screen (ratio 16:9) monitor.
If your video card does not support widescreen ratios, then it
will never provide a satisfactory display on a widescreen
monitor. If that is the case, you should follow previous advice
and install a newer video card that does support widescreen.
I presume your old monitor does works OK. If so, you could try
the following workaround - to confirm whether you require a new
video card.
Connect your old monitor and boot into Win XP (not safe mode).
Open Control Panel and click on the Display option. The actual
description of this option might vary, depending upon the type of
video card.
Make a note of the current settings. Then, change them to the
lowest colour quality, resolution and refresh rate that your old
monitor supports. These will probably be 16 bit, 800 x 600 and
60 Hz refresh rate. Save your changes and shut down your
computer.
Connect the new monitor and re-boot. If you can see a picture
using the lowest settings on the new monitor, try increasing the
settings progressively, until you you reach the maximum settings
that the monitor will display. If you have a widescreen
monitor - and the display options do not include any 16:9 ratios,
then you will definitely need to install a new video card.
If you cannot obtain a satisfactory display on the new monitor,
change everything back to the lowest settings and shut down your
computer. Reconnect your old monitor. Reboot, and restore the
previous video settings.
You asked whether you should go to device manager in safe mode,
uninstall the video driver and restart your computer. There
really would
be little point, particularly if your existing video card is
incompatible with the monitor. If you decide to uninstall the
video driver, you do so at your own risk.
However, safe mode uses native video drivers from your operating
system - so provided your actual hardware (i.e. the on-board
video card) is serviceable, you should never be faced with a
blank screen in safe mode.
Before you even contemplate uninstalling the existing video
driver, you should set a Restore Point - just in case. This will
enable you to reboot into Safe Mode - and revert to a previous
configuration, if you get into trouble. However, make sure you
also have access to your video driver files, in case you need to
reinstall them.
I presume you are in the UK. UK law requires that unless you
accepted a defect that was pointed out to you before you
completed the purchase, anything you purchase from a retail store
must be "fit for purpose". The monitor should work, even if you
don't have the operating manual. If it doesn't work, it is not
"fit for purpose".
I doubt whether incompatibility with an old video card means that
the monitor is not "fit for purpose" - unless you asked the
salesman whether it was suitable for use with a particular
computer. Even so, you might be entitled to return the monitor
and claim a refund.
Currys is part of the DSG Group - and is the same company as PC
World. "Advent" is one of their own-label brands.
I searched the support sections on the PC World website at
("
http://support.pcworld.co.uk/Layout.aspx?CatID={ad69e70c-dcc7-48b5-86c5-b0980ea8a905}&ID={1d5da0f0-60f6-49fe-a9de-d3386432e315}").
Unfortunately, I couldn't identify your particular model.
However, the monitor should still benefit from a 12-month
warranty, if you purchased it recently. Consequently, I suggest
you request email support from
http://support.pcworld.co.uk/Email/Step1.aspx.
PC World should be able to provide details of the specification -
including the native resolution. This will help you to select a
suitable video card.