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15751
Dual monitor support
Hi,
I got a new work laptop. An XPS L702X. I have to admit, it feels like a step back from my 4 year old Dell M90 workhorse. The M90 had 6 usb ports. This "upgrade" has 3, so 2 external drives and a mouse and that's your lot unless I get a USB hub. Very poor. The M90 was fantastic with dual monitors. I had the main laptop LCD on 1920x1200 and the display extended across to a 22" IIyama CRT running at the same resolution. This "upgrade" can only manage 1600x900 and can't connect to my monitor. The lack of usb ports I can deal with. What I can't deal with is the complete inability to connect this laptop to my CRT monitor or indeed an external LCD monitor. It's bad enough that the laptop doesn't come with a VGA output, instead it's got HDMI and another one which I assume is the mini port.
So, when I got this new laptopn, I had to buy a new cable. Well, I decided on an HDMI to DVI connector. So far, that has done nothing whatsoever. Neither the CRT or LCD show any signs of life when extending or duplicating the screen or even putting it on "projector" only. Am I doing something wrong here? Can anyone explain why this brank spanking new beast appears to be a step in the wrong direction? I have the latest graphics drivers and video drivers. I have the drivers for my monitors installed. Still nothing. I spend most of my day doing development or working on remote sessions on remote servers so two monitors is an absolute must.
How can I get this laptop working with my CRT or LCD, I don't care which?
Thanks,
Lee
unununium
78 Posts
0
March 20th, 2012 04:00
1st use fn+f1 to change display to pc only. 2nd connect external display via hdmi. 3rd goto Nvidia control panel and check off (tick) all adapters you want to use (this will be both your video cards). 4th right click on display 1 and choose duplicate with 2 use 1 as source. click apply.
TheLardMeister
8 Posts
0
March 20th, 2012 05:00
Now, that's intuitive. Windows set to PC display only but the rest done in the nvidia drivers...
I tried this but no luck. Still nothing on either display. I just went through the other areas in the nvidia drivers and found that the attached device is not HDCP compatible. Will that make a difference?
On a side note, now the nvidia control panel has decided that the laptop display is display 2 and the monitor (which still hasn't jumped into life and shows nothing but a black screen) is screen 1.
Why is Windows so poor at multi monitor support?
unununium
78 Posts
0
March 21st, 2012 02:00
The LCD panel you're trying to connect to....is it HDMI?
unununium
78 Posts
0
March 21st, 2012 03:00
yer all the cable does it carry the digital signal to an analogue device which obviuosly can't handle it and won't display anything. With the converter, you're actually converting digital to analogue (and back again). The one I've given link for is £50 and is a viable solution....you may want to fork out the extra £50 - £100 for a HDMI monitor.
TheLardMeister
8 Posts
0
March 21st, 2012 03:00
No, it's a standard VGA connector which is why I bought a HDMI to VGA cable. Neither the LCD nor the CRT work with it.
unununium
78 Posts
0
March 21st, 2012 03:00
just thinking you might need a HDMI to VGA converter box, not just the cable.
http://www.cables-leads.co.uk/hdmi-to-15-pin-vga-and-stereo-audio-converter
TheLardMeister
8 Posts
0
March 21st, 2012 03:00
Hmm, I think you're right. Looking into this a bit deeper now, I'm assuming the HDMI pushes out using HDCP which won't display on many analog displays and may or may not display on LCD's if they do not cater for something called ICT. If the LCD doesn't cater for ICT then it can either display at a lower resolution or just display a black screen or simply not notice the input signal.
So basically unless I get a brand new monitor that supports HDMI input I'm stuck with a single monitor. Way to go Dell. Thanks for putting in hardware that I don't need (HDMI) and removing ones that I do need (VGA and a few USB ports). Well done. Good work. I think I might invest a little time in getting my old Dell M90 workhorse up and running again. At least that was a damn fine laptop.
Thanks for your help.