Force Windows 8 Metro apps to run lower resolutions below 1024x768?

Question

I have installed Windows 8 Consumer Preview on my Samsung NB30 netbook. I was very excited to try it on this little box cause it has a touchscreen and Windows 8 is supposed to be optimized for touchscreen devices. The installation was quick and smooth and all the drivers seem to work well including the one for the touchscreen.

There is one major problem, though: when I try to tap one of the tiles on the Metro UI it displays

This app can't open. The screen resolution is too low for this app to run.

The machine has Intel Atom N450 processor and Intel GMA 3159 integrated graphics card and has maximum resolution 1024x600. I've read that Metro requires at least 1024x768.

Is there a solution to this problem? Is there a way to force Windows 8 Metro apps to run in lower resolutions?

Solution 1

I have found a workaround here: http://liliputing.com/2011/09/how-to-enable-windows-8-metro-style-apps-on-an-older-netbook.html What it does is basically it 'pretends' that the screen has resolution 1024x728 - when, obviously, it has still only 1024x600. The effect is OK if you want to play a bit with the Metro, but graphics and especially text displayed in this 'artificial' resolution looks bad, I found it quite tiring for my eyes... So I won't close this question for a while hoping that somebody comes up with a better solution.

Anyway, to get this 'artificial' higher resolution you need to modify registry entry (I found only one) Display1_DownScalingSupported - by default it is set to 0, so set it to 1. After restarting computer right-click on your Desktop and you'll find additional higher resolutions.

Solution 2

Enabling Metro apps:

1. Press Win+R, type in regedit and hit Enter. Registry Editor will open up.
2. Now press Ctrl+F, and the Find dialog box will appear.
3. Type in Display1_DownScalingSupported in the "Find what" box and click Find Next.
4. Once the key is found, change its value from 0 to 1.
5. Press F3, and if it finds any more keys called Display1_DownScalingSupported, change all 0 values to 1 as well.
6. Reboot your device.
7. After a successful reboot, change the screen resolution to 1024×768 and apply changes.

Solution 3

In Windows8 you need the screen resolution to be at least 1024x768 for Metro apps to work:

From http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/br229516 :

To run Metro style Apps, you need a screen resolution of 1024 X 768 or greater

There is no fix for this other than to ensure that your hardware meets the minimum specifications of Windows8.

Comments

[Myrddin Emrys]

Microsoft stated very clearly that Microsoft guarantees a minimum resolution for Metro apps. They won't run below that resolution because they simply can't; they aren't designed for it. If there is a workaround, I would not be surprised if many/most Metro apps break.

[piokuc]

Sorry, but I fail to see why a chromeless, Metro-style Internet Explorer wouldn't work in 1024x600 if it works very well launched from the old style Desktop on the same system.

[user3359503]

@piokuc It's not just IE. Many other Metro apps have many elements within them. IE's interface is one of the most sparse of the Metro apps. It may be able to run on lower resolutions, but that's a special case. Most all the other apps require that minimum resolution guarantee, otherwise the UI system that Microsoft has with Metro would break completely.

[MGOwen]

The metro Netflix app won't run at all on my projector because it likes the obviously bizarre and microscopic resolution of... wait for it... 720p ( 1280x720). Someone should honestly be fired for that...

[slhck]

Welcome to Super User! It would be nice to include the essential parts of the answer here, and provide the link only for future reference. Also, I can't believe you can actually set the screen's resolution higher than what the hardware allows ;)

[user3359503]

I have a feeling that this work-around will be the only solution you'll encounter. If someone does hack Windows 8 to run at lower native resolutions, I suspect it'd render the interface virtually unusable.

[piokuc]

Maybe, but I would love to try it :)

[piokuc]

Unfortunately, this is not possible, as Samsung NB30 has an integrated graphics card, which means you cannot replace it with a different one.

[piokuc]

Thanks for that, however I intended to use the netbook mostly when travelling, so an external screen is not quite an option.Anyway, I'm not sure if the low maximum resolution of Samsung NB30 is imposed by its display capabilities, I think this is also/first of all limitation of the integrated graphics card (Intel GMA 3159).

[Valentin Despa]

Your solution works, so +1 for that. The only thing is that everything looks distorsed then. I really had high expectations for Windows 8.

[Admin]

device_driver != device

[Peter Mortensen]

Similar: How do I increase the screen resolution from 1024x600 to 1024x768 on HP Mini 210-4128er? (not necessarily a duplicate)