Multiple monitors and ATI Graphics card - problems...

Hi,

Wonder if any techy folk can help with this? Thought I'd be able to
sort it myself but I've been pulling my hair out over it...

My Dad has just got a new PC for doing video editing. It reports that
it's got an ATI Radeon X300 graphics card with D-SUB and DVI output
ports on the back.

He's got 2 Iiyama TFT monitors wired up to it, each of which have D-SUB
and DVI-D inputs on the back. We want to get it so that the Windows
desktop is spanned across both monitors but am having problems...

Monitor 1 is connected from the D-SUB port on the graphics card to the
D-SUB on the monitor. This works OK.

If I connect Monitor 2 with a DVI cable from the DVI port on the
graphics card to the DVI port on the monitor, Monitor 2 says no signal
and refuses to come out of standby.

If I connect Monitor 2 with a D-SUB cable from the monitor to the DVI
port on the graphics card via a D-SUB to DVI adapter, the display
appears but is a clone of what is seen on Monitor 1. Going into Windows
display settings, Windows is showing 2 adapters (the X300 and a
secondary) and 2 monitors (1 and 2) , but when I try and activate #2,
it changes from being ghosted to "live" and then almost immediately
goes back to being ghosted again. I can set "Extend my desktop", but
both monitors don't change from showing the same image.

Does anyone have any ideas to get this setup working?

Apologies for the long-windedness.

Cheers,
Mark

I suspect you actually have enabled the extended desktop when you check that
checkbox. By default Windows just copies the primary background to the 2nd
display. The driver might/should provide an option for how to deal with the
background, e.g. across both, duplicated or different. Ultramon is also an
alternative for being "fancy" using multipule displays.

Have you actually tried to drag a window over onto the 2nd monitor? Once
that's going you can go into the various Advanced dialogs and see what
further options ATI provides (with your drivers) under it's various Tabs,
e.g. clone, extended, "dualview/theatre" modes etc.

Also note that you can change the "Settings" monitors images to mimic you
physical setup, e.g. primary on top, right side etc. by simply dragging the
2nd moniotr around on the graphic (although anything but primary on top or
left sometimes causes desktop icons showing on wrong display)..

"MarkE" <mark_r_ellison RemoveThis @hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1117837339.866872.212660@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
 > Hi,
 >
 > Wonder if any techy folk can help with this? Thought I'd be able to
 > sort it myself but I've been pulling my hair out over it...
 >
 > My Dad has just got a new PC for doing video editing. It reports that
 > it's got an ATI Radeon X300 graphics card with D-SUB and DVI output
 > ports on the back.
 >
 > He's got 2 Iiyama TFT monitors wired up to it, each of which have D-SUB
 > and DVI-D inputs on the back. We want to get it so that the Windows
 > desktop is spanned across both monitors but am having problems...
 >
 > Monitor 1 is connected from the D-SUB port on the graphics card to the
 > D-SUB on the monitor. This works OK.
 >
 > If I connect Monitor 2 with a DVI cable from the DVI port on the
 > graphics card to the DVI port on the monitor, Monitor 2 says no signal
 > and refuses to come out of standby.
 >
 > If I connect Monitor 2 with a D-SUB cable from the monitor to the DVI
 > port on the graphics card via a D-SUB to DVI adapter, the display
 > appears but is a clone of what is seen on Monitor 1. Going into Windows
 > display settings, Windows is showing 2 adapters (the X300 and a
 > secondary) and 2 monitors (1 and 2) , but when I try and activate #2,
 > it changes from being ghosted to "live" and then almost immediately
 > goes back to being ghosted again. I can set "Extend my desktop", but
 > both monitors don't change from showing the same image.
 >
 > Does anyone have any ideas to get this setup working?
 >
 > Apologies for the long-windedness.
 >
 > Cheers,
 > Mark
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->