dual monitor issue - getting the 2nd to work

[Karroog]

Hey all, general question about setting up dual monitors.  I bet its been asked before but my situation is a bit different because the computer is a tad old.

The computer in question was just running video from the motherboard, always worked of course.  Its a workstation, so it never really needed anymore then one screen.  With the introduction of new software, the employee who uses the computer has had considerable loss of productivity because the computer couldn't handle the extra software running.  We put in another memory stick and all was well.  However, inefficiencies still ran rampant because the screen was too small for him to handle so many programs.  A solution that management agreed upon was to setup a 2nd monitor to split up his programs in a more organized fashion.

I've setup dual monitors before, didn't think it was going to be a big deal.  The motherboard already had its onboard video, so I installed a Nvidia GeForce3 Ti 200 (Yes, this is a very old computer but it runs awesome).  I plugged one monitor into the motherboard and another in the newly installed video card.  Installed the drivers and updated, seemed everything was going well. 

After restarting the computer, this is windows XP, I turned on both monitors and it seemed to only be working on the one plugged into the geForce card.  After some investigation there seemed to be no option in the Display Properties to have a dual monitor function.  I went to the device manager and it was only showing the geforce video card, not the onboard one. 

Kind of stumped here, any suggestions would be helpful.  I'm not sure of the motherboard type on the computer, got a bios reader and the motherboard name was identified as:

62-0100-001131-00101111-121103-SIS66IFX$M963G

I'd assume the SIS661FX would tell the basic info about what it is, just not sure myself.

I know this is relatively simple, but I guess I'm just missing a step.  Any help would be cool.

Thanks!

[Helpmeh]

Hey all, general question about setting up dual monitors.  I bet its been asked before but my situation is a bit different because the computer is a tad old.

The computer in question was just running video from the motherboard, always worked of course.  Its a workstation, so it never really needed anymore then one screen.  With the introduction of new software, the employee who uses the computer has had considerable loss of productivity because the computer couldn't handle the extra software running.  We put in another memory stick and all was well.  However, inefficiencies still ran rampant because the screen was too small for him to handle so many programs.  A solution that management agreed upon was to setup a 2nd monitor to split up his programs in a more organized fashion.

I've setup dual monitors before, didn't think it was going to be a big deal.  The motherboard already had its onboard video, so I installed a Nvidia GeForce3 Ti 200 (Yes, this is a very old computer but it runs awesome).  I plugged one monitor into the motherboard and another in the newly installed video card.  Installed the drivers and updated, seemed everything was going well. 

After restarting the computer, this is windows XP, I turned on both monitors and it seemed to only be working on the one plugged into the geForce card.  After some investigation there seemed to be no option in the Display Properties to have a dual monitor function.  I went to the device manager and it was only showing the geforce video card, not the onboard one. 

Kind of stumped here, any suggestions would be helpful.  I'm not sure of the motherboard type on the computer, got a bios reader and the motherboard name was identified as:

62-0100-001131-00101111-121103-SIS66IFX$M963G

I'd assume the SIS661FX would tell the basic info about what it is, just not sure myself.

I know this is relatively simple, but I guess I'm just missing a step.  Any help would be cool.

Thanks!

First off, once you install a video card, that's where the moniter goes. Does the video card allow 2 screens, if it does, it should have 2 plugs, not 1. THEN go to your control panel and check in your Display Properties.

[Karroog]

I had thought you could hook up a monitor to the video card and then to the motherboard to get two signals.  Is that not the case?

[patio]

I had thought you could hook up a monitor to the video card and then to the motherboard to get two signals.  Is that not the case?

Nope.
One or the other...
There are dual display vid cards however...

[Karroog]

What if I acquired 2 video cards?  I have one slapped in there, but if I got another one would I then be able to setup dual screens?

[Aegis]

I believe that would get you closer.  I'm not sure if the motherboard itself presents any special requirements.

[Karnac]

Step by Step

1.Verify original video card works, decide whether it's PCI Express or AGP,

decide if it's to be primary monitor.

2. Verify new PCI card is compatible with XP.

3. Boot PC and enter CMOS. If CMOS has option to select the order that video

cards are initialized, verify current card is to configure first. If it doesn't start

first, when you install second card, video might not work at all when you first

boot with two cards.

4. Install second video card in PCI slot nearest to the AGP or PCI Express slot.

and attach second monitor.

5. Boot the system. Windows recognizes new hardware and may prompt for

location of drivers. If Windows does not recognize new hardware, go to Control

Panel and select Add Hardware to manually install the drivers.

6. Right click the desktop and select Display Properties. Select Settings tab.

7. Notice two numbered boxes. When you click on one of these boxes,you can

adjust screen resolution and display settings. This lets you customize each

monitor.

8. On the settings tab of Display properties box, adjust resolution and color to

preference. Check Extend my windows desktop onto this monitor. To save

settings, click apply. You may be asked to restart computer. The second monitor

should initialize and show the extended desktop.

9. Close Display properties box. From the Start menu, open an application and

verify that you can use the second monitor by dragging the application over to

the second monitors desktop.


After you add a second monitor to your system, you can move from one monitor

to the other simply by moving your mouse. Switching does not require any

special keystrokes or menu option.

[billgates9999]

If you have the geforce3 ti 200 and the latest firmware. There is an option in the nview desktop manager properties where you can enable multiple desktop. You can switch between multiple desktop on one monitor with hot keys or right click and select from menu. Each desktop can have their own program running. This would be cheaper than buying more hardware and setting it up.

[soybean]

Hey all, general question about setting up dual monitors. 

Has this problem been resolved?

[billgates9999]

Has this problem been resolved?

Dunno, but I've put up my solution.

[soybean]

I wasn't asking you.  I was asking Karroog, who started this topic.

By the way, you do not know whether his video card supports two monitors.  Are you saying he could run one monitor off the onboard video adapter and one monitor off his video card?  That point was already covered; unless there are a few exceptions, most motherboards will not support two monitors that way.

[Aegis]

most motherboards will not support two monitors that way.

That's rather what I thought, since most BIOS's I've seen allow you to choose either on-board video, or video from another souce, like PCI or AGP, but it always seems to be an either / or proposition.