3

We have just moved offices and when it came to setting up one of our computers one of the monitors won't work.

The computer in question has windows 7 and a geforce 7300 LE and GT 430 graphics cards enabling 3 monitors. At the current situation 2 monitors work using the geforce 7300 LE but the third off the GT 430 won't.

I've updated and reinstalled the drivers which should work (I read I need the same driver for both) and that doesn't work. I've removed the GT 430 and blew off any dust I could see with one of those blowing devices.

I've tested the monitor itself and it's cable and that seems ok.

Windows 7 doesn't say any hardware problems and before the move it was fine - it also tells me all 3 monitors are there (Nvidia's software says the same)

Does anyone have any further ideas - all I can think of is remove the other graphics card and see if it will work of on it's own but that won't fix the problem.

On another note we also had a problem with an xp machine, (3 monitors again) this gets weirder - all the monitors were working and then one day one decided not to work - again, tried reinstalling drivers but no dice. Tried replacing the cable but nothing changed.

What could be the problem, and how can it be fixed? Just thought a picture says more.

Tamara Wijsman
  • 57,083
  • 27
  • 185
  • 256
Richard Housham
  • 131
  • 1
  • 5
  • So connecting this monitor to a different computer (or a different port on this computer) and it works OK? – music2myear Aug 09 '11 at 14:37
  • Basically yeah, if I remove the other monitors from the other ports. – Richard Housham Aug 09 '11 at 15:57
  • Related questions: [What is the best way to enable the use of triple monitors?](http://superuser.com/questions/299246/what-is-the-best-way-to-enable-the-use-of-triple-monitors) and [How can I play games on a triple monitor setup using my Nvidia graphics card?](http://superuser.com/questions/315056/how-can-i-play-games-on-a-triple-monitor-setup-using-my-nvidia-graphics-card) – Breakthrough Aug 09 '11 at 16:05
  • Thanks had a look but no luck they talk about gaming and 3d effects over the 3 monitors I'm just wanting a simple 3 monitor windows system – Richard Housham Aug 10 '11 at 09:06
  • Hi again just thought I'd add an image see it could help. If anyone has any ideas let me know. – Richard Housham Aug 10 '11 at 09:29
  • Well just to keep you guys up to speed I've tried removing the working graphics card and just having the one and it didn't work at all! So I guess the problem is with the card itself although I would have thought this would give me some errors or something to hightlight it as such. Looking round the internet and there is some talk of a BIOS problems but I'm not too sure about this, does anyone have any knowledge on this. Thanks as always for your help. – Richard Housham Aug 10 '11 at 10:05

3 Answers3

0

So then the issue is not the monitor but the driver or configuration.

Have you tried uninstalling the drivers or deleting the video card from Device Manager and rebooting?

I've found issues with some Display Port connectors on multi-monitor setups in our office. If basic steps don't resolve the issue, deleting the graphics adapter and then rebooting tends to resolve the issue.

Note: Delete from Device Manager and reboot first. Don't uninstall the drivers unless you tried the previous step first. Basically you're telling windows to re-find the device and reconfigure it, which is usually enough, and made easier by leaving the drivers there for it to re-find. Removing the drivers adds a few layers of complexity and a few extra steps not worth doing unless necessary.

music2myear
  • 40,472
  • 44
  • 86
  • 127
  • Hi thanks for your help I'll tell you what I tried. I went to devices and uninstalled the graphics card then I restarted. Windows 7 then tried and installed the drivers for the 2 cards but the same thing still happens. 2 of the monitors work but the third no dice. Just seen that nvida has some updates so giving it a go. It's all very confusing. Thanks for your help. I have tried removing and reinstalling the drivers when I downloaded the last update from nvidia as well so it's all just very annoying. Only got a few days until the guy who uses the computer returns help! – Richard Housham Aug 10 '11 at 09:01
  • Any help? please – Richard Housham Aug 11 '11 at 16:06
  • Unfortunately, at this point I'm out of rote processes with which to diagnose or resolve the issue for you. I hope someone else has an idea on how to proceed from here. – music2myear Aug 11 '11 at 16:28
0

You've probably already done this, but make sure you're plugging the monitor into the right card, also make sure they plugged into the ones they were originally.

Nexerus
  • 846
  • 2
  • 9
  • 12
0

The answer was to remove the graphics card and replace with another looks like the computer just didn't like it. I tried moving cards around but in the end it just needed a different card.

Richard Housham
  • 131
  • 1
  • 5