PLEASE help with this odd problem, my monitor is always my SECONDARY display! WTF!

[moby323]

SOLVED! -PLEASE help with this problem, my monitor is always my SECONDARY display!



OK, I have an EliteGroup KA3 MVP Motherboard. My video card is a Sapphire Radeon 1900XT PCI Express 256 Dual DVI with VIVO (running Windows XP SP2)


So here is my problem: When I first got the mobo and video card, I installed the video card drivers that came in the box, that worked fine.
But then a few weeks later I tried to install some newer Catalyst drivers that had been released.
When I installed the new drivers, I rebooted my PC and had a big problem: Windows started fine, I got the Windows loading screen and everything, and I could hear the Windows startup sound. But, instead of a windows desktop all I got was a completely black screen. I knew windows was there, but just a black screen.

So all i could do is use system restore to go back to an earlier driver.

So then, a few months later new Catalyst drivers came out and I figured i would give them a try. I Installed the new drivers, and rebooted, and now something even weirder happened: Windows started, but my monitor was my SECONDARY display!
You know what I mean, how when you hook a second monitor up to your video card and then extend the Windows desktop onto that second monitor? It was just like that, but all I had was the secondary display! So I had no system tray or taskbar or icons, just the windows desktop background. The only way I could fix it was to right click and open Catalyst control center, and then drag that from an imaginary "primary display" onto my secondary monitor and make it a clone of the primary display!

I tried so much trouble shooting, wiping the drivers, starting from scratch, plugging the monitor into a different port, plugging the PCIE card into a different slot.

I have contacted my mobo, video card, and ATI manufacturer and no one has been able to help me so far.

I mean, i am screwed, basically I cannot update my video card drivers. If you have any suggestions i would appreciated it and give it a try.


For more info:

LINKS IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE PRODUCTS:
Mobo- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813135024
Mobo- Manual http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWebSite/Downloads/DownloadFile.aspx?catid=1&driverid=3162&areaid=2&LanID=9

Vid Card- http://www.sapphiretech.com/us/products/products_overview.php?gpid=137&grp=3
Vid Card manual- http://www.sapphiretech.com/en/productfiles/138manual.pdf


ANY suggestions would please help. I dont want to have blown 400$ on a mobo or vid card that doesnt work. I know you guys are smart as **** and should have some ideas.

Thanks!

 

[bmxfreakrider]

err, just a random question, but have you tried hooking up dual monitors, or do you only have one?

and when you tried the other display port, did u do it when it was running, or...?

have you tried booting in safemode?(say to remove the driver and use one that works)?

my advice would be to boot into safe mode, remove all the ati catalyst drivers, and just load what came on the cd.

then again, from a little expereince from my card (one vga, one dvi) i noticed that when nothing is connected to, lets say dvi 1, windows will not recognize dvi 1 unless a monitor is connected. so what i think you might have to do is get another monitor and hook 2 monitors up, boot it like that, and switch it in windows display control panel.

just one more question: when you plugged it into the other port, did you boot with it origionally in that port, or switch it during the boot up process, or after it hit desktop, or?

 

[moby323]

Beleive it or not, I tried everything you just mentioned, including using driver cleaner etc. But guess what,

I FOUND THE SOLUTION!!

But guess what!!
I found the solution!
It took me till about 3:30am yesterday, just tinkering, doing anything and everything I could think of, and this is what I did:
I installed the latest Catalyst drivers. Then I turned off my pc, and unplugged my monitor from the video card. Then I turned the PC back on, let windows boot completely, plugged the monitor back in to the video card, and then it worked fine, came right on detected it as the primary display.

I have no clue how this solved it, but somehow it did. If I had to take a wild guess, I think perhaps it had something to do with my monitor ( I have a Sony Trinitron) and have read about slightly similar conflicts.

Anyways, I appreciate the advice you guys did try to give though, thanks!

 

[sPlAtOiD]

Nice Fix.

 

[htcs]

Congratulations !

You gotta love those compooters