Weird though... 17" and it's only 800x600 resolution?
Super old graphics card. But I doubt this is the problem. My
graphics card is 5 years old, and it supports up to 1280 x 1024
resolution. Could be the way user sets it. I do have mine set it
this way, because my parents can't see the words on the monitor on
such a high resolution.
Either that, he did not install drivers. Depending on the graphics
card, the maximum may be up to 1024 x 768. Most users will have
this problem, have far too many people complaining that their
graphics cards only support up to 1024 x 768 when the manual says
it can support a higher resolution.