Computer Hope

Hardware => Hardware => Topic started by: GaZ_D200 on April 06, 2008, 08:58:08 AM

Title: Can't set monitor 2 as primary - help please
Post by: GaZ_D200 on April 06, 2008, 08:58:08 AM

Ok so I got a 22" widescreen monitor and a radeon graphics card. The monitor is VGA connection and the card has the usual choice of VGA or DVI, so naturally I plugged it into the VGA.

I then got a 2nd monitor, 17" this time, and placed it above the other one. This one had both DVI and VGA outputs, so I used some common sense and since I had a DVI port spare on the graphics card I went for the DVI connection.

Here's where the problems begin. I boot up and the 17" (DVI) is detected as monitor 1. So I did the whole "display properties>settings>monitor 2> extend my windows desktop onto this monitor" thing, and hoped that I'd be able to also tick the box which says "Use this device as my primary Monitor". But it is greyed out so I can't. Also looked in the CCC and can't find an option in there either.

Any clues anyone? Only solution I can think of is to connect the 17" to the VGA, and then connect the 22" to the DVI via use of a DVI/VGA adaptor. Hoping there's another way though cos I spent £25 on a DVI cable and I don't want it to go to waste.


Any help much appreciated. Cheers!

Title: Re: Can't set monitor 2 as primary - help please
Post by: KLOR on April 06, 2008, 01:42:30 PM

Are you pressing the apply button after you check the "extend my windows desktop onto this monitor" box?

Title: Re: Can't set monitor 2 as primary - help please
Post by: GaZ_D200 on April 06, 2008, 04:02:00 PM

Yep. I'm doing everything I should be. Even installed the Ultramon application hoping this might let me do this.

Well I have just ordered a DVI-VGA adaptor off ebay so if all else fails I'll just swap them over so the big one is plugged inthe the DVI, since that seems to be the socket that takes preference.

Title: Re: Can't set monitor 2 as primary - help please
Post by: KLOR on April 06, 2008, 05:14:37 PM

Well Good luck then  ;)

Title: Re: Can't set monitor 2 as primary - help please
Post by: patio on April 06, 2008, 05:36:04 PM

With all of this typing we still don't know what vid card is involved here...
Details are important.

Title: Re: Can't set monitor 2 as primary - help please
Post by: Kurtiskain on April 07, 2008, 12:33:45 AM

you said you had a radeon card?

try this nifty tool from Ray Adams, called ATi Tray Tools, basically its a replacement for CCC and uses less resources and gives more settings then CCC.

However some caution must be taken with it, if you don't know what you are doing with overclocking i suggest u tick the disable overclocking in the setup menu.

Anyways get the tool from here > http://www.guru3d.com/article/atitraytools/189/ (http://www.guru3d.com/article/atitraytools/189/)

Once you have it installed right click the tray icon and under display, click settings.
Then click on/off for both of them, and click apply and check to see whether you can run both in "clone" mode.
If that is successful, turn off the one u want to extend into, click apply
then right click your tray icon again, and this time under display select extended desktop and viola it should keep your primary and add the other as an extended :)

Goodluck!
Kurtis