Windows Vista dual view - primary monitor flickering

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Hi all, I am a new user of Windows Vista and I am having terrible trouble getting it to run in Dual View mode. Every time I select the 'Dual Display' feature my 1st monitor always flickers and the screen goes green. Even if I switch my monitor cables it is always the primary display that does this. I am using the very latest Nvidia drivers (July 26th 2007) and have ran all updates for Vista. Is there an easy way to fix this? Thanks a lot!

Viper ;)
 
Hi,

Yes, they both work seperately, but as soon as I try to dual screen, one of them fickers green and I can't see it. It is always the prmary display that flickers. Both monitors are NEC Multisync LCD 1570NX models.

Any ideas? Thanks!
 
surely its something in your settings as I have dual monitors on vista x64 both of which run independantly of each other...

so you go into nvidia control panel, go to display, then choose multiple configurations and then choose 1 + 2 and ensure the circle with "work independantly" i cannot remember precisely what is says but you get the drift, you ensure thats checked....

if it doesnt like it then perhaps its a software conflict, try removing drivers and then reinstalling?
 
Honestly mate, I have no idea why this is happening. I have just tried a fresh install of Vista and exactly the same thing is happening! Can I get some sort of graphic drivers for the monitors? I have already upgraded to the latest Nvidia drivers.

Thanks ;)
 
Insomnia Calls - That will be the next thing I am going to try. I've dropped the refresh rate to 60hz but still the same. I'll try that the next time I get a chance and let you know.

Thanks ;)
 
OK, this is really weird. As soon as I lower the resolution to 800x600 the screen flickers green again! I have absolutely no idea why this is happening. I have installed all the latest updates and the latest graphics drivers.

Could it be that my graphics card has two DVI ports and I am using a DVI to VGA converter for one of the monitors? If I change the VGA cable to a DVi would that maybe sort out the problem? Both monitors support DVI and VGA.

Thanks! ;)
 
I have now tried installing monitor drivers and I am also running on two DVI cables now, but I am still getting this really annoying problem. What is going wrong? It is always the first display that flickers green.

Thanks,

Viper ;)
 
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE can someone advise what I should do about this?! I am absolutely baffled as to why it is not working. There must surely be a way to do it? Where should I look first? It must be something to do with Vista because it was fine on XP. Has no one else had a similar problem???

Thanks! ;)
 
you said its always the primary monitor that you have probs with, have you tried swaping them around to see if the same thing happens on the secondary monitor? (i know you said you swapped the cables but dont know if you tried swapping the monitors around)
also have you tried setting dual monitor support up in display settings rather than using the nvidia drivers to do this?

i take it both monitors arent beyond there native resolutions or refresh rates?
 
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Thanks Baked,

Yes, everything you have menitoned I have tried. Strangley, if I select the 'clone' option, both monitors work absolutely fine. I have ensured that both monitors are set to the native 1024x768 resolution. When I said the 'primary monitor' doesn't work I meant that the first monitor will not display, even if I switch the monitors round if that makes sense. I am totally at a loss with this one. I will have to revert back to XP if it isn't sorted. Should I complain to Microsoft somehow?

Thanks
 
you could try uninstalling the gfx card and drivers through device manager then re-install (it should be listed as 2 cards) or a quick re-format as a last resort should resolve whatever the glitch is
 
Try if it's flicking if you switch off Aero. If it stops flicking you might have power issue when card is accelerating two screens all the time, like I had. Switching rails to one dedicated just for graphics card cured the problem.
 
Thanks guys,

I have read some other topics and people seem to be blaming the Nvidia Forceware drivers.

Baked - I have already re-installed the operating system several times. Thanks

vOn - What is Aero exactly? How do I switch it off? It's certainly worth a go at this stage.

Anyone any idea when the next Forceware drives are due out???
 
I had the same problem with vista and i've got an ATI card. It ended up getting on my nerves so much, i got rid of the 2nd monitor. I couldn't sort it out at all
 
Thanks guys,
vOn - What is Aero exactly? How do I switch it off? It's certainly worth a go at this stage.

Aero is that DirectX semi-transparent effect on windows and menus. It's accelerated, which means your card is working all the time like it was in 3D game, using more power, generating more heat. To switch it off, run cmd.exe as administrator and type :
net stop uxsms

run your machine for few hours, to see if your monitors stop flickering.

To re-enable aero type:
net start uxsms

I presume you made sure you connected separate power cable to your card...
 
Thanks again but that also did not work. I contacted Nvidia and they have now escalated the situation to 2nd line support. Still haven't heard anything back. In the interim, I have got so fed up with it that I have gone back to XP. I will upgrade to Vista again when SP1 comes out and perhaps several new Nvidia driver versions later. Thank you for the great suggestions.

Viper
 
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