Is it possible to make consoles full screen?
Is it possible on to switch a console to full-screen in Windows XP on a single monitor? Meaning on a dual monitor that only the left (or right) screen displays the console while the other one remains on Windows. By full-screen I mean true-fullscreen mode, not just resizing (maximize) to fill in the screen.
Solution 1:
Windows 7 (and I believe Vista) doesn't support the full-screen feature for MS-DOS or Command Prompt console. It doesn't even allow full-screen when using the Command Prompt via Windows 7's Windows XP Mode. On Windows XP, it can be set to full screen via Alt + Enter or right-clicking the console title bar and selecting Full Screen.
A possible workaround on Windows 7: With Command Prompt open, right click the console title bar, then select Properties. Within the Layout tab, you can adjust the width and height. My suggestion is: Adjust only the width to match the width of your screen. Once the adjustments are made, double click the console title bar. Using this workaround gives it the closest full-screen effect that can be achieved.
Solution 2:
Is it possible to make consoles full screen?
Why yes; yes it is, but only up to Windows XP, it is no longer supported in Vista and up. You can get basic full-screen functionality with just Alt+Enter, but for better compatibility and to resolve some issues, you can install the Full screen video driver for console:
- Open the Add Hardware applet in the Control Panel
- Click Next, then select Already Connected
- Select Add a new hardware device at the bottom of the list
- Choose Manually Select (Advanced)
- Select Show All Devices
- Under Manufacturer, select Microsoft Corporation
- Under Model, select Full screen video driver for console
- Next, Next, Finish (reboot if prompted)
Now you can press Alt+Enter in console windows to switch them to fullscreen mode (it displays in whichever monitor is set to the primary).
NB: this works best for the command-prompt (ie, text-mode) while graphics-mode games and such tend to have problems (eg hanging). If you want to get games working in full-screen (or at all), then you need to use various hacks to get them to work such as using the nolfb[1] and cli2nop[2] tools and VDMSound.