Setting up dual monitors

[Deleted member 21895]

Okay, so I just got a new computer and the graphics card im running it through is a 256mb pcie x800 XT with dvi/vga/tv out..

anyway, i have the crt going through a dvi>vga adaptor (since i dont have a dvi lcd) and it works fine... however, the second I plug in the lcd into the other vga port the primary crt monitor goes off.. the only way to get it to come back on is to restart the computer with the lcd unplugged...

i've tried switching the lcd to the dvi port but it still doesn't work... now I used the lcd on my older computer just 2 or 3 days ago (as a primary monitor) and I didn't have a problem with that...

are there any drivers or anything that I need to update? Maybe some graphic card drivers I need to update? I just find it odd that the second i plug in the lcd it shuts off the crt...

also, I haven't gotten the lcd to work at all, that includes by itself on both ports...

Ran through the windows help stuff and it suggested updating bios, graphics card drivers etc... any thoughts?

 

[Zardoz]

also, I haven't gotten the lcd to work at all, that includes by itself on both ports...

Ran through the windows help stuff and it suggested updating bios, graphics card drivers etc... any thoughts?

You need to fix this problem first.

I think your card is switching the primary output when you plug in the second monitor, but if the monitor is not working, you going to have a problem anyways....

 

[Deleted member 21895]

You need to fix this problem first.

I think your card is switching the primary output when you plug in the second monitor, but if the monitor is not working, you going to have a problem anyways....

Right, but im also lost to getting the lcd to work.. I mean it worked fine on my old computer but it wont work alone by itself so... any ideas for that?

so it works on my other older computer (running win 2k server with onboard graphics card) but it doesn't work at all on xp using x800 xt...

 

[Zardoz]

you might have to high of a res/refresh rate for the LCD? try setting the res to 640x480 at 60Hz then switch to the LCD....

 

[Deleted member 21895]

lowered the refresh rate and resolution on both monitors... still didn't work..

the thing I don't understand is how I plug in the lcd... crt shuts off, which could be explained by it trying to take that as a primary monitor... however, how come when i unplug the lcd and plug the crt into where the lcd was the crt doesn't come back on?

Is there some update I could be needing?

 

[Deleted member 21895]

for an update, i updated the graphics card drivers to the latest and put the monitor detection off from automatic to manual.. and when I plugged in the lcd it still shut off the crt...

any other drives to update?

 

[TimothyB]

I just wanted to check you know all about the "extend monitor to this screen stuff" and all that is about dual screens, but even after all that you are still having trouble with the CRT suddently not working once the LCD is used, which then the LCD works finally at that point, but then doesn't work at all by itself.

This is confusing.

Also, at one point it sounded like you might have tested to see if the CRT would go back on by taking out the LCD, but it didn't work, but at earlier you said you had to restart with the LCD unplugged to get the CRT to come back.

I just want to make sure you didn't disconnect the LCD and plug the CRT where it was while the computer was on expecting the CRT to start working, that could damage the monitors or the ports.

I'm sure the chance of damage happening is slim, but just as a warning I wouldn't do that again (if you did), and windows might not take notice to it anyway until you restart, so no point doing that while the machine is on anway. The only thing you can really unplug from a computer while it is on are USB cords.

 

[TimothyB]

for an update, i updated the graphics card drivers to the latest and put the monitor detection off from automatic to manual.. and when I plugged in the lcd it still shut off the crt...

any other drives to update?

CHeck my post above, also I want to point out, did you check off "extend windows desktop to this device" for the 2nd screen? Both won't work at the same time until that is done.

Also, when you uninstalled the drivers before installing the new ones, did you restart after uninstalling them then install the new drivers? I'm wondering because if you did that the system should have defaulted to mirroring the desktop on each screen in low-res. Then installing the drivers, the next time you started up you might see some mirroring during bios, but then the 2nd screen might turn off until you extend the desktop again.

 

[Deleted member 21895]

CHeck my post above, also I want to point out, did you check off "extend windows desktop to this device" for the 2nd screen? Both won't work at the same time until that is done.

Also, when you uninstalled the drivers before installing the new ones, did you restart after uninstalling them then install the new drivers? I'm wondering because if you did that the system should have defaulted to mirroring the desktop on each screen in low-res. Then installing the drivers, the next time you started up you might see some mirroring during bios, but then the 2nd screen might turn off until you extend the desktop again.

reinstalled the drivers without uninstalling the first ones, so do you by any chance know how to set it to mirror the desktop on each screen with low resolution?

I also set the detection of the monitors to manual, but it turns off the crt so I never have the chance to detect the lcd...

 

[Deleted member 21895]

this is kind of a bump/update..

i've got my 700mhz celeron running win2k server up here.. and the lcd works fine on that computer...

however, I can not get it to work at all on windows xp with the x800 xt... any ideas why?