Dual-display monitor problems - one widescreen, one 4:3?!

[misslima]

Hi - I have recently acquired a new work computer with 1 widescreen Dell monitor (Dell E228WFPc 1680 x 1050, Monitor A) and my older 4:3 monitor (E178FPc 1024 x 768, Monitor B). The graphics card is a NVIDIA GeForce GT 620. I cannot get them both working at the same time on an extended display.

 

 

One is plugged into (excuse my slightly less-than-technical language here!) the 'main' monitor port and one has a VGA-DVI adapter.

 

 

When either monitor A or B is plugged into the main port without the other plugged in, they work fine.

 

 

When monitor A, the widescreen, is plugged into the main port and B is plugged in via the adapter, A works perfectly and the PC detects monitor B (if I set it to extend displays, programs open in that screen but I cannot see anything - the screen is completely black).

 

 

When B is plugged into the main port and A is on the adapter, B boots up normally until the point where I would usually see my Windows log in, when it goes black and I can only see and move the cursor.

 

 

I thought it would be a case of adjusting the screen res down so that they weren't so drastically different - in fact I'm still sure that would help but I can't get the smaller monitor B to let me do so and it doesn't seem to make a difference when widescreen monitor A is plugged into the main port with B in the other?

[Armageddon]

Hi have you updated your graphics drivers recently , NVIDIA released a update just over a week ago , and how are you choosing to extend your displays via windows built in controls or by the NVIDIA control panel ?

[misslima]

Thanks for the quick reply! I updated the driver on Thursday last week, so I think it will be up to date? And I've tried extending the displays both ways - both the Windows display settings and the NVIDIA control panel recognise the second monitor and tell me it's working as an extended display - yet nothing shows up, which is why I thought it might be to do with screen resolution? But I'm a bit lost really - this is definitely not my area of expertise!

[Armageddon]

when you have both screens on does the one with a black screen say " out of range" ? also when there both plugged in right click on the working one and select screen resolution it will show your extended displays as 1 and 2 if its 1 that's not working click on the picture of the screen and adjust the resolution and apply see if that helps

[misslima]

It doesn't say out of range - nothing shows up at all. If I change the resolution and then click Apply, it 'flickers' and sort of registers a change, but doesn't actually show anything. I've tried what you said and it does the same - sort of flickers but doesn't work.

It's very frustrating because I know both screens work, just not together!

[Plastic Nev]

Hi, although I am no graphics expert and there may be someone knows better, however I think perhaps the problem is due to the fact the two monitors are requiring two different resolutions due to them being different sizes.

Having looked at the specification here-

 

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gt-620/specifications

 

Although it does say "Multi monitor" there is nothing about different resolutions available, it may well provide for two monitors that are the same size, but being asked to provide one with one resolution setting, it cannot provide the other with a different setting.

 

However, if the settings were to be turned down to below what the smaller monitor requires, I would expect to see a small view on the larger monitor, have you tried that?

 

Nev.