Dual screen issue.

[starforsaken]

I have a NVIDIA 5500 AGP card with drivers installed.
I have the onboard video from the motherboard.

Compaq desktop, about 4 years old.


Is it possible to dual screen these. If so, how?

Device manager shows the 5500 as the only display, as I find that video cards cut the other output (they take priority.)

Answer needed ASAP. Thanks.

 

[Inaris]

no. The onboard card is turned off the moment you add a card to the system. It's just the way it works... Sorry.

 

[starforsaken]

too bad. thanks.

 

[TheMajor]

It's possible. At least it worked on my IBM Pentium 2. Hook up a monitor to the onboard card and a monitor to the AGP card. Set PCI as primary graphics device in your BIOS. It will show POST on the monitor connected to the onboard card, as soon as it loads Windows it will switch to the AGP card. Then it requires some settings to be changed in display properties to get the onboard monitor to work as well.

I didn't try this in Windows, I tried it in Linux, I screwed around for hours until I got both working properly. I assume it should work in Windows as well. But it also depends on the motherboard. If it completely disables the onboard graphics it won't work.

 

[Inaris]

The issue is in most boards, they use the AGP bus to run the onboard card, not the PCI. That would work if the PCI was the onboard cards bus. When they use the AGP, the bus can only adress one at a time, not both so you can't use the other one with it. Now, you can use a cheap PCI card if you want, and that will give you both screens...

I spent 2 months working on getting it working for an IBM 300PL a few years back. Nothing would get it to work. Finally got in touch with a systems desing engineer and they explained to me why in quite a bit of detail. I was very suprised, but it confirmed what I was thinking...

 

[TheMajor]

Hmm, it probably worked on my IBM cause it doesn't have an AGP slot. Didn't think of that. Now I remember. I was using a PCI card and the onboard adapter.