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Thread ID: 25467 2002-10-04 04:58:00 Same Display Adapter Problems Chilling_Silence (9) Press F1
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86006 2002-10-07 02:46:00 Chill,

Are you sure that your display adapters are on the hardware Compatibility List ( HCL ) for Win2k. certainly Win2k has support for multiple graphics adapters but is (or was I should say) limited to specific models from Matro Millenium, #9, Diamond MM, Dynamic Pictures and STB; including a couple of PCI solutions from STB and Diamond FireGL 3000 for example.

The HCL can be checked out MS_HCL (www.microsoft.com) and put your display adapyer info on the left side dropdown box (Search for) and select Dsiplay in the right side dropdown (in or Product)

Babe.
Babe Ruth (416)
86007 2002-10-07 02:53:00 Yet it works in 98... I have two Diamond Fire GL 200 series lying around I think... They're not compatible in 98 with multi monitors.

They're a S3 Trio 64 V2 and a Trio 32/64 compatible.. Both PCI...

This is what it says about both them when click on:
Windows 98: Basic Compatibility Requirements
Windows Me: Basic Compatibility Requirements
Windows NT4 x86: No Test Data
Windows 2000: No Test Data
Windows XP: No Test Data
Windows XP 64-Bit: No Test Data


I search for S3 under Display.

BTW, What does the compatibility list do for me?
I know they both work in win2K (Have swapped around the two, its only the primary one that works) so they are both fully working and drivers are automatically picked up...
I dont think I've gotten any further... but We're making progress knocking off reasons why it wouldnt work...

Cheers
Chilling_Silence (9)
86008 2002-10-07 03:12:00 Miami Steve:
What adapters were you using and were they PCI and/or AGP?

Everybody else:
Have you done this feat with win2K?

Just looking for a little more input

Cheers

Chilling_Silence
Chilling_Silence (9)
86009 2002-10-07 03:15:00 I think what Babe Ruth was saying was that perhaps those specific video cards are not compatible for multi-display operation under Win2K - even if they work seperately on Win2K it may not like them for multi-display.

Mike.
Mike (15)
86010 2002-10-07 03:21:00 So, they work on 98 but not 2K... ai'ight then... What cards would work? Chilling_Silence (9)
86011 2002-10-07 03:29:00 Chill, basically the HCL shows products that have tested (and/or certified) for each of the operating systems listed. In the case of the two PCI adapters you listed there is a certified driver for the S3 Trio 64 V2 under NT4 but not win2k or winxp. For the S3 Trio32/64 PCI (732/764) there is a certified driver (but not necessarily all features) for WinME. Now that doesn't mean to say individually they won't work under other operating systems, they may be supported in a compatibility mode (function retarded). As for being able to be used (in your case) for dual display I think you may be coming to the conclusion that they won't work together.

The HCL is MS's way of showing what particular h/w has been tested (or certified) to work under various OS's.

Cheers, Babe.
Babe Ruth (416)
86012 2002-10-07 03:33:00 Okay, so, short of a motherboard upgrade (I have a newer one but am not too keen about trying for an upgrade), what PCI cards work together?? Chilling_Silence (9)
86013 2002-10-07 03:37:00 Chill, Ahh now you've got me there! I'll do some sussing around on MS's sites for you and see what I can come up with. I know dual-head matrox cards works ok (but you don't have those). I search for PCI-based solutions. Give me an hour or so.

Cheers, Babe.
Babe Ruth (416)
86014 2002-10-07 03:40:00 Chilling_Silence,

The machine with the 3 cards isn't mine (I run a dual head Matrox card), but I can tell you that the 3 cards are :

1. NVidia Vanta AGP (Primary Display)
2. 3D Labs PreMedia 2 PCI
3. Riva TNT2/TNT2 Pro PCI

More than that I probably can't help......

Cheers
Miami
Miami Steve (2128)
86015 2002-10-07 05:53:00 Chill,
Some more info for you re multiple displays under Win2K...

Cheers, Babe.
++++++++++

The following is from experts-exchange.com "Dual Monitor Installation"

Multimonitor Help

This information will guide you through the installation and
troubleshooting of Multi-Monitor; the ability to setup secondary displays
and extend your desktop to additional monitors. This guide assumes that
you already have an operational PC and a supported display adapter with
Windows 2000 installed and correct video drivers for your primary display
(the display adapter already in your system). Also it is advised that you
have your primary display adapter installed in PCI slot 1 (typically this
slot is the farthest from the black ISA slots, and nearest the edge of the
main logic board, otherwise consult your documentation for your PC).

Please note that if you have an onboard display adapter or a docked laptop
that Multi-Monitor can work, but it is required that hardware-disabled vga
display adapters be used. (see section below titled: Information on VGA
Disabling).

INSTALLATION
1
Boot up your system into Windows 2000 and right click on a blank area of
your desktop and from the popup menu select properties.

2
Go to the settings tab. Confirm that your display adapter is listed
correctly (i.e. If you have a ATI Rage Pro, then ATI Rage Pro should be
listed under Display.) Your display adapter should not be listed as VGA
or Multi-Monitor will not work. If this is the case, then you will need
to find and install correct Windows 2000 drivers, or consult your
display manufacturer's web site

3
Be sure you are in at least 256 colours (16bpp recommended). Then click
OK, and when prompted, select Apply without restarting.

4
Once you have confirmed that you have drivers loaded for your display
adapter, and that you are in a compatible colour depth, shut down and
then power off your system.

5
Disconnect the power cable leading to the back of your system and remove
the case cover. Confirm you have an available PCI slot. Before inserting
your secondary display adapter, confirm that it has VGA Disabled
selected (via either a jumper or a small DIP switch located on the
secondary display adapter, if you cannot locate a jumper or switch then
consult the manufacturer's documentation or possibly you have not
selected a compatible secondary display adapter).

6
Insert your secondary display adapter, secure it properly with a screw
and reassemble your system and reconnect the power. Connect a second
monitor to the secondary display adapter.

7
Turn on both the monitors and Power up the system. Allow the system to
boot into Windows 2000.

8
Once you have logged in, Windows 2000 will detect your new display
adapter and will bring up the Hardware Wizard. Confirm that it detects
the correct display adapter and, when prompted, tell Windows 2000 to
Search for a suitable driver and click Next.

9
Windows 2000 will find information on the display adapter and when
prompted, insert your Windows 2000 installation CD and click OK.

10
Windows 2000 will copy files and when it is completed click Finish.
Windows 2000 will then also detect your secondary monitor (If it is a
PnP monitor) and, when prompted, click Finish again.

11
Now that all appropriate drivers are installed, right click on a blank
portion of your desktop and select Properties again, go to the Settings
tab. You will notice that there are now 2 Monitor Icons in the centre
window of the display applet representing your two monitors. Left click
on the Monitor Icon labelled 2 and you will notice it gets highlighted in
blue.

12
Under Display, your secondary adapter should be displayed. In the lower
left corner below the Colours section, check the box labelled Extend my
Windows desktop into this monitor.

13
Windows 2000 will give you a warning concerning compatibility, click
Yes.

14
While the Monitor Icon labelled 2 is highlighted, adjust the colour depth
and resolution for the new monitor.

15
Also you may wish to change the way your monitors are positioned by left
clicking and holding down the mouse button while you drag the Monitor
Icons (Note that the displays must touch along one edge). When you find
a desirable position, just release the mouse button and the Monitor Icon
will get aligned adjacent to the first Monitor Icon. Also note that
wherever the two displays meet is where your mouse will be able to pass
from one display to the next, so a horizontal alignment is preferred for
a standard desktop Monitor arrangement.

16
Select OK and Windows 2000 will ask you whether you want Restart or
Apply, select Restart and allow Windows 2000 to reboot your system.

17
Once rebooted and you logon to your system, Multi-Monitor should be
functional and you should have an extended desktop displayed on your
second monitor, and you should be able to move your mouse into this
extended desktop.

18
NOTE: It is possible to setup Windows 2000 with more than 1 secondary
display adapter, just select another supported secondary display adapter
with VGA disabled and repeat the above steps with a third monitor
attached to the additional secondary adapter up to a maximum of 9
additional displays.

19
NOTE: The monitor that is designated as the primary monitor will display the logon
dialog when you start your computer. In addition, most programs will display windows
on the primary monitor when you initially open them.

TROUBLESHOOTING

The following are some typical problems encountered while attempting to
setup Muli-Monitor

Problem: I setup the system with the secondary adapter but it did not
detect the adapter when I restarted my system.

Solution: You chose a non-supported secondary adapter, or one that
requires third party drivers.
First try obtaining drivers for your adapter from the manufacturer's web
site and repeat steps 7-10, but this time insert a disk with these drivers
and select "Display a list of known drivers". Then select Have Disk and
point it to your disk drive. If installing these drivers does not work
then you have selected a non-supported secondary display adapter. Select a
supported display adapter and attempt this procedure again.

Problem: I setup the system with the secondary adapter, but when I restart
the system, the primary display just displays the start-up screen and the
secondary monitor now displays my desktop.

Solution: You have not disabled VGA on the secondary display adapter or
have a compatibility issue between the two display adapters or a resource
conflict between the secondary adapter and another hardware device in your
system.
First shut down the system and remove the secondary adapter and confirm
that the VGA disable switch / jumper is correctly set. If it was not,
correct it and reinstall the secondary adapter.
If the VGA jumper was not incorrect, open Device Manager (click start,
then run and then type in devmgmt.msc and hit enter) and go to Display
Adapters and double click on the secondary adapter's listing. Under the
General tab look to see if a conflict is listed under Device Status. If
there is a conflict, see what is using the required resource and try
changing it and restarting.
If you still encounter problems, select a different combination of primary
and secondary display adapters and repeat the procedure.

Problem: I restart the system but I only get display to the primary monitor

Solution: Open Display Properties and go to Settings and confirm that
Extend my Windows desktop into this monitor is checked. If it was not,
check that box and restart. If the Settings tab does not display the 2
Monitor Icons, you have selected a non-supported secondary display
adapter, the primary and secondary adapter combination you have chosen is
incompatible, or the drivers were loaded incorrectly or corrupted. Check
in Device Manager under Display adapters, if the problem display is banged
out (yellow exclamation mark) with a code 10, that is usually an
indication that the display is incapable of disabling VGA (non-supported
secondary display).
Either try reloading drivers via Device Manager (run devmgmt.msc, then
double click on the appropriate driver, then click on the Driver tab and
then select Change Driver), or try selecting a different secondary display
adapter. If no secondary adapters appear to work, then you may need to
choose a different primary display adapter and repeat steps 1-17.

Problem: I get corruption or screen garbage on one display but not
another, especially in outlook and command prompts.

Solution: There are several issues with display corruption due to old BIOS
revisions, especially with newer systems. If you experience these types of
problems please contact your motherboard manufacturer and obtain a newer
bios and flash your system. If this does not remedy your situation please
double-check to make sure you have a supported VGA-disabled display
adapter, and that it is NOT the card POSTing in the system.
++++++++++
Babe Ruth (416)
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