Question on nVidia GeForce 6800 GS chipset and DVI/analog output

[Mxsmanic]

Can someone tell me how cards based on nVidia GeForce 6800 GS chipsets
behave after a reset, and after a power cycle, with respect to DVI
versus analog output?

This morning I booted my XP system for the first time since I
installed and configured a new video card using this chipset. I set
the card to output via the DVI connector for the principle monitor
after installing it. When I booted the system, the screen came up
blank. After a while, I understood that the system had booted but the
DVI connector was turned off. When Windows XP finally started up, the
DVI connector came back on.

So how does this work? Does the card default to analog output after a
reset or reboot, or a power cycle? I assumed that it memorized which
connector to use during configuration and kept that across boots, but
apparently not (?). Or did I just configure something wrong?

 

[John Doe]

Can someone tell me how cards based on nVidia GeForce 6800 GS
chipsets behave after a reset, and after a power cycle, with
respect to DVI versus analog output?

This morning I booted my XP system for the first time since I
installed and configured a new video card using this chipset. I
set the card to output via the DVI connector for the principle
monitor after installing it. When I booted the system, the screen
came up blank. After a while, I understood that the system had
booted but the DVI connector was turned off. When Windows XP
finally started up, the DVI connector came back on.

So how does this work? Does the card default to analog output
after a reset or reboot, or a power cycle? I assumed that it
memorized which connector to use during configuration and kept
that across boots, but apparently not (?).

As apparently you are guessing, it sounds exactly like choosing in
the BIOS whether to boot PCI or AGP. I suspect you would need a
choice of DVI in the BIOS to have it boot correctly before Windows.
I think you can have Windows using PCI even though BIOS initializes
AGP first, and your computer will start the same way as you are
describing it does with DVI.

But it's a good question IMO. Good luck.

 

[Mxsmanic]

As apparently you are guessing, it sounds exactly like choosing in
the BIOS whether to boot PCI or AGP.

There is no AGP on this motherboard. It has only a PCI-Express 16x
slot, into which the video card is installed.

I suspect you would need a choice of DVI in the BIOS to have
it boot correctly before Windows.

I've never seen any video choices in the BIOS.

I think you can have Windows using PCI even though BIOS initializes
AGP first, and your computer will start the same way as you are
describing it does with DVI.

This board doesn't have AGP, so it can't be that. The same
PCI-Express board provides both DVI and analog output.

 

[John Doe]

I'm not going to indulge your semantics, especially not when you
quote only one level.

If no one else here can help you, asking in the big NVIDIA video
card group will probably quickly resolve your problem. If it's the
video card like you say, that group is where you can get the best
technical help.

Again, it's a good question. It's strange IMO that you cannot get
into the BIOS with only a DVI input monitor.

 

[johns]

If you have two monitors, you are in for some unpleasent
surprises once in a while. That will happen again and again
until you finally figure out how to set the configuration
from the video driver screen. I just hate it. But, if you don't
have two monitors, then you did not need to go in and
define a "primary" monitor. You need to undo all of that,
and run defaults, so the video driver will detect the
monitor on startup.

johns

 

[John Doe]

If you have two monitors, you are in for some unpleasent
surprises once in a while. That will happen again and again
until you finally figure out how to set the configuration
from the video driver screen. I just hate it. But, if you don't
have two monitors, then you did not need to go in and
define a "primary" monitor. You need to undo all of that,
and run defaults, so the video driver will detect the
monitor on startup.

A Windows video driver? The problem is that he cannot get into the
BIOS because the DVI input monitor does not function until Windows
starts up.