How can I run a color computer monitor in monochrome (black and white)? 
Generally speaking, you can’t. Your monitor may have an adjustment for chroma level, or something similar which you could crank all the way down, but in most cases color monitors (and video cards) are designed to show color.
Back in the early days of PC’s monochrome graphics were the rule, where monitors displayed only green (or amber) characters on a black background. Those days are long gone, however.
A picture of graphics on a monochrome monitor
Well, actually, I think that just about anything is possible. Theoretically, you could find an old apple computer monitor, of the kind that could be hooked up to a VCR. I had an IBM compatable monitor like that. (Whoo-hoo! A ten inch screen for $5 instead of $100+) You could then set the switch from color to mono. Buy a crappy tv to tv converter, (they are all crappy, even the most expensive ones.) and then plug the RCA plug into the old monitor. Alternatively, lets say you want to put a moders computer into a lugable old “portaple” computer. Theoretically, you could buy a mono LCD from [http://store.earthlcd.com/s.nl/sc.5/category.136/.fhere , do some heavy changes to the graphics card.
Also, you can display linux graphicaly on an old Hercules graphic monochrome monitor, according to: http://www.wd.utu.fi/~markvall/mv-systems/hercules-X.html
and at http://www.cowlark.com/multihead.html
I would simply advise the OPer to go to a program and offer to pay big bucks for a program allowing the computer to run in mono. (Hint: The video memory for monochrome mode is mapped into real memory at 0xb0000-0xb7fff)
Strictly speaking monochrome could mean grayscale, but the old monochrome monitors mentioned could only display dark, normal, bright and blinking for any one pixel position. Takes me back, I can’t remember when I last heard a reference to Hercules graphics.
mythos99, you may need to be more specfic about your question. We don’t normally think of “color computers” anymore because that is an attribute of the display card.
Apple Menu > Control Panels > Monitors, if you’re old school.
Judging from the lack of a detailed OP, he might be asking for B&W, chrono, green or using dosshell for all I can tell. However, I have posted a way to do so under linux, while Troy McClure SF has stated how to do so in Apple. Am I asking too much by bumping this thread to ask for a little “Thank You” from mythos99?
HA! I wish! A lot of companies (mine included) still use IBM’s AS/400 mainframe.
The picture I linked two has a decadently large number of colors, two! It isn’t a mono screen at all. In contrast, take a look at my example of a Hercules Monitor.
http://www.cowlark.com/multihead.dat/dpy1.png
Thanks for the advice about Linux. I’m using Windows XP Pro and learned alot that I didn’t know about monitors…lol…I’m just tired of seeing color sometimes, and would like the ability to just view the screen the way I used to when I had my Macintosh back in 1985. So it’s not the green I’m looknig for, just black and white. Does anyone know how to set my OS, Windows XP Pro to this setting, it’s interesting that when you make a change in adding or deleting a built-in windows program, the screen goes to black and white while the changes are being made, then goes back to color, so Windows XP Pro must have that ability and have a settting somewhere to make the monitor show only in black and white, Thanks for your help and everyone else’s. I just get tired of color and would like to see black and white as a change.
Toby…
Toby…
Do you hear me calling, Toby?
Toby? You’re not lollygagging, are you Toby?
Come along now, and buy an Apple, Toby. Do as Kuruku commands you.
But really, if you have good memories of Apple computers, buy a mac and follow Troy McClure SF’s instructions for displaying in B&W.
P.S. I know full well that your name isn’t Toby, but I had a funny mental image of an Apple calling for you to buy it, and somehow that reminded me of a few lines in the movie “Unico in the Island of Magic”
P.S.S. Re: XP. Buy one of these a VGa to tv converter, then hook it to a B&T TV. Use it as your monitor or to get what you are asking for, point an engineer to here and give them ALOT of money. And Doritos. The kind from before they changed the recipe. It will need to be a lot of money however, for what you are asking for is not as easy as you would think. Oh, and it would be nice if you threw in a copy of Unico on DVD.
In Windows XP, right click on the desktop and select Properties. Click on the Appearance tab. Under Scheme, select the High Contrast White scheme.
This is a Bump. Give me your cash and valuables and no one will be hurt.
But really, I want to see if the advice will be followed.
You also need to select “Windows Classic” from the “Windows and Buttons” drop list. And all of your icons and so on will still be in colour.
I did what was recommended with Windows XP, right-click the desk top, properties, apperances, then high contast white…that does help allot, but does not make everything black and white. I even adjusted each browser under options to keep my colors vs. website colors, it works on some pages, but not on others, also all the icons on the desktop and system tray are still in color. Is there any other setttings In Windows XP Pro to make everything you see black and white? Thank you everyone for your help and comments, I greatly appreciate your responses…
I wonder too, if anyone is aware of a website where i could download a driver for my video card that would allow it to show in blank and white. I checked all settings with my video card, and can adjust the color, but not get rid of it, but am thinking maybe a different driver might do this. Any ideas on this?
Actually, the newer radeons have a color shader setting that makes 3d games display in odd color schemes. One of them is a black and white setting, IIRC. I doubt this would have an effect on normal windows usage, though.
Besides my suggestions, the only answer I can see is what was in post two of this thread.
That is to say, while the above methods will work, there is no easy method, such a downloading a driver or changing setings. It’s one of the follwing, or live in a world with color:
1.Hook your computer to a B&W TV.
2. Buy a Mac
3. Buy an old Hercules™ monitor, install linux and chang a few setting.
4. Bribe one of the people who created your video card to create a new setting.
P.S. You can try an emulator, but that will not let you do any daily tasks, simply play old games.
No, because each software program has its own control over what is displayed on the screen. Some programs use the Windows default settings, and are changed when you change your desktop, but others have the color schemes “hard-coded” into the program and the users cannot change it.
I seriously doubt it. Usually vendors only have one current driver available, and introduce upgrades as needed. Certainly they are not going to put any time or money into creating a specialized driver that very few people would ever use.
[delurk]
OK, now the red/green/blue signals are on different pins in an analogue VGA cable, so how about mixing them somehow, then presenting the mixed signal to all three colour channels at the monitor? - hypothetically should result in a monochrome image - I’m tempted even to just try shorting the three together (on a junk/retired computer and monitor, standing well back) - maybe with a few diodes so as not to try to feed an input into what is supposed to be an output etc.
Dunno; might succeed, might fail, might explode - try it entirely at your own risk and wearing asbestos underpants for extra safety.
[/back to lurking now]
When I said
in post ten, I didn’t actually think he would hire you. Whoa! :eek:
P.S. See the above link for some help. Or maybe you alreadyhave, I don’t know, I’m not psychic.