Solution:
Error messages that arise from tweaking display settings are among the trickiest to resolve because many throw the monitor out of whack and make it impossible to see what you're doing. In most cases Safe Mode is the answer; it loads video drivers that are known to be compatible with Windows, so you can make changes.
The "Sync out of range" message the reader received was referring to the monitor's synchronization rate or refresh rate, which is the number of times a monitor redraws the on-screen image every second. Every monitor has a range of refresh rates it can handle at a given resolution. For example, a monitor can typically handle high refresh rates of 85Hz to 100Hz (1Hz equals one redraw per second) at a relatively low resolution of 640 x 480 pixels (picture elements) but may only be able to deliver refresh rates of 60Hz at a higher resolution of 1,600 x 1,200. If a program or utility calls for refresh rates that are higher or lower than the refresh rate range the monitor can handle, it won't display anything but an error message.
The reader was concerned about long-term damage to the monitor, but that won't happen. The error message is designed to prevent bad things from happening to your monitor rather than popping up to let you know the damage has been done. The message was saying, "You've requested something that is outside the operating parameters of this particular monitor, and we're not going to deliver."
Adjusting refresh rates and resolution is easy if you ever need to do so in Safe Mode. Right-click the Desktop and then click Properties and the Settings tab. You can adjust the resolution using the screen resolution slider. To manage refresh rates, click the Advanced button and the Adapter tab and use the drop-down list to select from the available refresh rates. Always try to go with 76Hz or higher to reduce eyestrain because the monitor appears to flicker at lower rates. If you're using WinXP, click the List All Modes button to see the available refresh rates at each resolution.
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