Getting the message "Cannot Display this Mode" at POST

burningrave101

[H]F Junkie
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Every other time when i reboot i get a black screen at POST that says 2: DVI-D Cannot Display this Mode. Usually it will go ahead and boot just fine in a few seconds but once in a while it just hangs on it. Is it a video card issue or motherboard or what? Anyone had this problem before? How do you fix it? I did a little research and i think it may have something to do with the video card BIOS not detecting the resolution or something on the LCD correctly at first?

Here are my important specs:

AMD Opteron 165
DFI NF4 SLI-DR Expert 3/29/06 bios
ATI X1900 XTX 512MB
Dell 2005FPW
 
Nobody ever had this problem before and found a fix? I did a google search on it and it seemed like most users experienced this problem with Dell monitors like the 2005FPW and 2405FPW. I wish there was an easy fix cause its sort of an annoying issue at times.
 
Probably the secondary DVI does not support 640x480 rez. Try using the primary.
 
Dude, I have the same problem. Seems to happy on warm resets only, never on a cold bootup. I also have a X1900XTX and a Dell 2005FPW. I'm running an Abit KN8 Ultra motherboard though.
 
Thats your Dell LCD telling you that its not getting a [video] signal.
 
I've had that happen when I switch my 2nd box from its crt to my 2405 vga port, only when at 80+hz tho.
 
itsmikey said:
try another monitor and make sure the videocard isn't dead

I never have a problem with it outside of getting that screen at POST once in a while so the video card isn't dead. It seems to be a DVI related issue as i've seen others mention they didn't have the problem when using VGA. Maybe there is some setting in the video card BIOS I can adjust?
 
i have this same problem on my 2005FPW w/ a x1900xt

i think it also has to do with video card bios, tried 3 different 2005FPW's all with same problem

found this

http://www.howtofixcomputers.com/bb/ftopic62264.html

but doesn;t seem to work

started happening on my x800xt when i flashed to xtpe.... happened on my x1900xt when i flashed to x1900xtx...

i thought maybe it was atiwinflash, then used flashrom, in dos still have the problem

specs
dfi sli-dr xpert
opty 170
x1900xt

specs2
msi k8n neo2
x800xt

both bios flashed, both using 2005fpw
 
I think the problem is the 2005FPW. If I pause my system during boot when the problem happens (push the pause key). Then turn off the monitor and turn it back on, it works.
 
For what it's worth, I have a Dell 2001, 2005, and a 2405. On both the 2001 and 2005, I would often get the "cannot display this mode" using DVI that only got fixed *permanently* when I bought a new DVI cable instead of using the generic piece o' junk that Dell ships with their monitors. I bought a Belkin cable for each monitor. Since then, I haven't seen the message even once.
 
Pegi said:
For what it's worth, I have a Dell 2001, 2005, and a 2405. On both the 2001 and 2005, I would often get the "cannot display this mode" using DVI that only got fixed *permanently* when I bought a new DVI cable instead of using the generic piece o' junk that Dell ships with their monitors. I bought a Belkin cable for each monitor. Since then, I haven't seen the message even once.


http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatSectionView.process?IWAction=Load&Merchant_Id=&Section_Id=1753

a bit pricey. not looking to spend 40+ for a fix
 
I dunno why it happens, but it happens sometimes on my lcd, but never on my crt, I don't know why it happens, but I have 2 computers and sometimes switch monitors, it seems to be an issue with the lcd on both monitors though it doesn't really bother me as it just does it on usually a reset or something. (never on a cold boot)
 
first post on hard...

I believe the problem is with ATi problem as I have the exact same issue in dual head configuration with a CRT on vga and the LCD (2005FPW) on DVI w/ x1900xtx but the same setup never had a problem with my 7800gtx. I guess the monitor is sent a bad signal on boot (too high of a refresh rate probably) and it doesn't recheck the signal until you power cycle it. My solution: just leave the machine on :)
 
Pegi said:
For what it's worth, I have a Dell 2001, 2005, and a 2405. On both the 2001 and 2005, I would often get the "cannot display this mode" using DVI that only got fixed *permanently* when I bought a new DVI cable instead of using the generic piece o' junk that Dell ships with their monitors. I bought a Belkin cable for each monitor. Since then, I haven't seen the message even once.

That sounds like a possible fix. I may try ordering a new DVI cable from monoprice.com since they carry them for not too much and their cables are normally good quality.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...cs_id=1020901&p_id=2686&seq=1&format=2&style=

amd ati FO SHO said:
is anyone having this problem with 2005fpw w/ x1900xt/xtx whose never flashed the video bios

I've never flashed the BIOS on my X1900 XTX. Its a vanilla ATI model with stock BIOS. This "Cannot Display this Mode" screen is becomeing more of a problem here lately. Now i'm even getting it right before the XP loading screen. It goes away in a few seconds but its still annoying, espeically when it hangs.
 
amd ati FO SHO said:
wow $10 for a cable! i think i'll save my 10 and hope dell recalls the cable, if it is the problem

$10 for a quality DVI cable isn't very much. Some people pay that for a USB cable.
 
First post, but a longtime lurker!

I have a similar setup like most of you over here.

BBA X1900XTX
2 * Dell 2405FPW

I have been getting this message on warm boots 99% of the time on both my dell monitors. I did try changing the DVI cables from the standard Dell one to a Monster DVI. It had absolutely no effect. This was really pissing me off now and I decided to play around with the lcd's settings.

And I might have found a solution to this problem. In the setup menu under image settings, I set the Scaling to 1:1 and turned the Video Mode 'Off'.

After doing this I rebooted my computer at least 10 times within a space of 5-7 minutes and never once did I get this message again whereas earlier I would end up getting it in the first reboot itself.

I am still using Dell's standard DVI cable and after the adjustments I made I DON'T have this problem anymore.
 
big poppa pump said:
First post, but a longtime lurker!

I have a similar setup like most of you over here.

BBA X1900XTX
2 * Dell 2405FPW

I have been getting this message on warm boots 99% of the time on both my dell monitors. I did try changing the DVI cables from the standard Dell one to a Monster DVI. It had absolutely no effect. This was really pissing me off now and I decided to play around with the lcd's settings.

And I might have found a solution to this problem. In the setup menu under image settings, I set the Scaling to 1:1 and turned the Video Mode 'Off'.

After doing this I rebooted my computer at least 10 times within a space of 5-7 minutes and never once did I get this message again whereas earlier I would end up getting it in the first reboot itself.

I am still using Dell's standard DVI cable and after the adjustments I made I DON'T have this problem anymore.


Set my scaling to 1:1 will see if it works, but my video mode is grayed which means i cannot modify it. :(
 
I'm getting a similar issue with my 2405FPW.. Sometimes during a warm boot (restart), then font sizes while booting is all screwed up (probably a resolution problem as if the res was wrong). I don't remember it happening during a cold boot, only on warm boots.

X1900XTX and the Dell 2405FPW.
 
Update - I haven't got this message since the last 2 days when I made the changes to the monitor setting.
 
big poppa pump said:
Do a factory reset and then try adjusting the values! The video option should work after the reset!

reset and still grayed. are you using svga or dvi?
 
I use the svideo input for watching tv sometimes. So maybe thats why the video option is not grayed out for me.
 
I just got my x1900xtx today and am having the same issue, never happened with my agp x800xt (asrock pcie\agp mobo) so i assume it has more to do with the vid card. I also get like a white garbled screen on bootup now and again, almost like a screen that the card can't display properly. :confused: dell 2005fpw monitor

Turning the monitor on and off works for me, just seems somethings not initialiasing for some reason or other. :mad:
 
I got a my X1900 XT today and im getting same DVI-D errors on boot. Also, between the windows boot up screen and actual displaying of the windows desktop, my screen gets garbled and its a bunhc of black, blue and white lines. Ive removed and reinstalled and did everything properly with Driver Cleaner pro and safe mode and all that crap we've come to learn. I hope theres a fix for this.

btw i too have a Dell 2005FPW and the scaling 1:1 did not work.
 
amd ati FO SHO said:
anyone, have any luck asking dell about this?

Everyone should start calling ATI tech support and report this issue. I called Dell and ATI tech support and the ATI technician acted like noone had ever reported this issue before and he wanted me to check to make sure it wasn't my motherboard or power supply. I dont know how some of these guys get tech positions. The users on forums know more about whats going on with their hardware then they do. Seriously, call ATI tech support since its free and report this issue. These are expensive graphics cards and the problem needs to be addressed. If i have the same issue when my new 2007wfp gets here that X1900XTX is coming out and a 7900 GTX is going in. Its bad enough i have to put up with increased noise, heat, and power consumption.

BTW, there is a quick fix to get around the problem if it hangs on the black screen. Hit the first button on the front of the LCD to switch between input modes and switch to another mode and then back to DVI.
 
Thought I'd throw in my weird issue as well. I have 2 Dell 2001FPs both connected via DVI to my x1900xtx. On cold boots after windows loads, the image on my secondary monitor is shifted to the left by an inch (black bar on the right). If I turn my monitor off and on, or do something in the drivers that blinks the screen, it returns to normal, centered. This only happens on cold boots, never on warm. I've tried all sorts of options in the drivers regarding my LCDs (center image and whatnot) and the problem persists. I also have an issue where the screen will remain blank sometimes if I have "reduce DVI frequency" checked, unchecking it solves this.
 
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