2 graphics cards + 2 monitors. Help!

[Guest]

I'm trying to set up a second monitor by adding a second graphics card. My PC
has an on board graphics card on the motherboard (if thats the correct
terminology??) so I added a second card to the available AGP slot. The second
card works fine on reboot and the drivers installed fine. The trouble is the
original card seems to have been deactivated. I get no signal from it
regardless of what monitor I try.

ticking the 'extend my windows desktop' checkbox in display properties >
settings doesnt seem to work either. It shows 2 monitors in the properties
window but the tickbox wont stay ticked when I apply the settings changes!?

Any help on this would be much appreciated. I thought this would be a simple
upgrade that even I could handle too!!

If it helps here is some system info...
- 2nd graphics card in agp slot: Radeon 7000 64mb
- Original graphics card: No idea but Everest tells me there are 2 Radeon
7000 series 64mb display adapters installed.
- AMD Athlon XP 2700+
- XP Home Service pack 1
- I'm trying to run both monitors via vga connections

 

[Yves Leclerc]

The on-board video card may be de-activated as soon as it discovers an AGP
video card. The use the on-board video card, you may have to install a PCI
video card instead of an AGP one.

However, most newer AGP cards (based on nVidia or ATi) may already of the
possibility of adding two monitors to the system.

 

[Matej Barac]

I'm trying to set up a second monitor by adding a second graphics card. My PC
has an on board graphics card on the motherboard (if thats the correct
terminology??) so I added a second card to the available AGP slot. The second
card works fine on reboot and the drivers installed fine. The trouble is the
original card seems to have been deactivated. I get no signal from it
regardless of what monitor I try.

ticking the 'extend my windows desktop' checkbox in display properties >
settings doesnt seem to work either. It shows 2 monitors in the properties
window but the tickbox wont stay ticked when I apply the settings changes!?

Any help on this would be much appreciated. I thought this would be a simple
upgrade that even I could handle too!!

If it helps here is some system info...
- 2nd graphics card in agp slot: Radeon 7000 64mb
- Original graphics card: No idea but Everest tells me there are 2 Radeon
7000 series 64mb display adapters installed.
- AMD Athlon XP 2700+
- XP Home Service pack 1
- I'm trying to run both monitors via vga connections

Radeon 9700 in fact supports multiple monitors (Hydravision) that's why
you see 2 cards listed in device manager. Try to plug in the second
monitor in the card - there should be another connector at the back of
the card. If it's not the same as the one you already have plugged, you
probably received a DVI to VGA connector together with your card. Plug
that in the card and now the monitor cable should fit.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the help Yves Leclerc and Matej Barac.

Unfortunately the new agp card I bought is a cheaper radeon 7000 that only
has a vga and svideo connection. No DVI connection so I cant use the new card
for 2 monitors im afraid. I wish I had opted for the 9700 now!!

Does anyone know if its possible to enable the on board graphics card and
run the agp card at the same time so I can run a 2 monitors, ie. one monitor
from the vga connection on each card??

 

[Matej Barac]

Thanks for the help Yves Leclerc and Matej Barac.

Unfortunately the new agp card I bought is a cheaper radeon 7000 that only
has a vga and svideo connection. No DVI connection so I cant use the new card
for 2 monitors im afraid. I wish I had opted for the 9700 now!!

Does anyone know if its possible to enable the on board graphics card and
run the agp card at the same time so I can run a 2 monitors, ie. one monitor
from the vga connection on each card??

Do you happen to know what motherboard you have? It is highly unlikely
if not impossible that your board supports two graphics cards, but I
coould always be mistaken.

 

[jeffrey]

Hi,

From what I have seen with a lot of MoBo, they won`t let the onboard vid
work with AGP or PCI based video card. Usually you either buy a specialise
video card that allows multiple monitors to be connected or use a PCI video
card with the AGP video card. I think either its MS or Video card makers
that has a list of what PCI vid card you can use in conjunction with a AGP
one.

Jeff

 

[Guest]

Do you happen to know what motherboard you have? It is highly unlikely
if not impossible that your board supports two graphics cards, but I
coould always be mistaken.

the motherboard seems to be a MSI MS-6786. Its what come is a Packard Bell
iXtreme Power 6000 anyway.
It looks as if I'm going to have to opt for a card that has 2 connections.
If only I'd done that in the first place!!

thanks for the help everyone

 

[Abhilash Tibrewal\(MCSA\)]

Two possibilities:

1. Your BIOS is set to look for an AGP card while startup and so the onboard
VGA is getting de-activated. That explains why you do not get a signal on
the onboard VGA. Set your BIOS to look for onboard VGA first, the setting is
usually called "Init Display First" and the default value is "AGP slot".
Change it to Onboard.

Then connect your primary monitor to the onboard VGA and boot. Then try
extending the display from within Windows.

2. Your onboard VGA does not support multiple display. Contact your
motherboard manufacturer if there is a driver update which enable this
support. I had to purchase a new VGA adaptor(a Cirrus Logic) because my 1 MB
SiS 6215(cheapest in those times) did not support multiple monitors.

Let us know if this helps.

 

[Guest]

Two possibilities:

1. Your BIOS is set to look for an AGP card while startup and so the onboard
VGA is getting de-activated. That explains why you do not get a signal on
the onboard VGA. Set your BIOS to look for onboard VGA first, the setting is
usually called "Init Display First" and the default value is "AGP slot".
Change it to Onboard.

Then connect your primary monitor to the onboard VGA and boot. Then try
extending the display from within Windows.

2. Your onboard VGA does not support multiple display. Contact your
motherboard manufacturer if there is a driver update which enable this
support. I had to purchase a new VGA adaptor(a Cirrus Logic) because my 1 MB
SiS 6215(cheapest in those times) did not support multiple monitors.

Let us know if this helps.

 

[Guest]

Two possibilities:

1. Your BIOS is set to look for an AGP card while startup and so the onboard
VGA is getting de-activated. That explains why you do not get a signal on
the onboard VGA. Set your BIOS to look for onboard VGA first, the setting is
usually called "Init Display First" and the default value is "AGP slot".
Change it to Onboard.

Then connect your primary monitor to the onboard VGA and boot. Then try
extending the display from within Windows.

2. Your onboard VGA does not support multiple display. Contact your
motherboard manufacturer if there is a driver update which enable this
support. I had to purchase a new VGA adaptor(a Cirrus Logic) because my 1 MB
SiS 6215(cheapest in those times) did not support multiple monitors.

Let us know if this helps.




I seem to be having the opposite problem. I am running Windows XP Home. It is a notebook with an nVidia driver. I want to put the notebook on the floor and attach a monitor to it. When I do I can't seem to get anything except a situation where one program is being desplayed on two computers. When I move my curser to the right it goest from the notebook display off the right hand side and then shows up on the left side of the VGA monitor.f

I want to only run one monitor. #2 which is a VGA monitor attached to the
back of the notebook. I want the curser to stay on the VGA monitor and close
the cover on the notebook.

Am I missing some setting somewhere?

Larry Erickson in Dutch Harbor Alaska

 

[jeffrey]

Hi,

Most notebooks has a function key to change the display out put,on the one
Dell I use, its Fn + F8 key. a Sony that I see Fn + F7 key. Try that.

Jeff