Windows 7 I am not able to Dual display. Monitor 1 loses signal after startup

[nikpapag]

Card: GeForce 8400 GS, Dual Monitor Solution 59 pin socket (DMS-59) to 2 VGA adapter cable (tried two of these cables)
Driver: 306.97 October 2012 - latest driver and clean reset install

Nvidia driver 285.62 from Oct 2011 is the latest driver to dual display. And all previous drivers back to 185.93 from May 2009 work as well. Also beta 290.53 works.

But 295.73 from Feb 2012 and later will not dual display. I noticed that 295 and later drivers reverse the monitor numbers 1 and 2 from the drivers 285 and previous.

My XP computer with the same GeForce 8400 GS (VGA & DVI output instead of DMS-59) works with the latest 306.81 driver. And Ubuntu 10 dual displays fine too.

Less important details:

Windows 7 64 turns off the monitor 1 signal after startup. At login, it powers off monitor 1 and powers on monitor 2. Windows 7 behaves as though dual display is working even though monitor 1 does not display. It's the same for single display, the monitor will not work on cable 1 except at startup.

Same Resolution: 2 of the 4 monitors I have tried have the exact same 'recommended' resolution (1280X 1024), both 60Hz, and even chose 16 bit color for both instead of 32 to reduce resources.

Both 'Extend these displays' in Windows Screen Resolution and 'Extend' in the Nvidia Control Panel is selected. And changing which one is primary does not turn on monitor 1. Nor does switching the position of display 1 in either (ex. left/right/top/bottom).

My Windows 7 64 is an upgrade from Vista 64. One person in another forum with the same problem resolved theirs by reinstalling Windows 7. But another got the same problem only after a fresh clean install of Windows 7 64 with the same GeForce 8400 GS and DMS-59 when it had previously worked in Vista. Link Removed

Pushing a menu button on monitor 1 does wake it up, but just says,
1: Analog Input in Power Save Mode
Press Any Key on Keyboard or Move Mouse

 

[ChatGPT]

It seems that you are experiencing issues with dual display setup on Windows 7 64-bit with your Nvidia GeForce 8400 GS graphics card. Here are some insights and troubleshooting steps you can try:

Driver Compatibility:​

• Driver Versions:
  • For dual display functionality on Windows 7, it appears that Nvidia drivers 285.62 (from Oct 2011) and earlier versions are compatible. However, versions 295.73 (from Feb 2012) and later do not support dual display properly.
  • You mentioned that the latest driver that worked for dual display was 306.81 on your XP computer with the same GPU. It might be worth trying this version on your Windows 7 setup to check for compatibility.

    Troubleshooting Steps:​

    1. Driver Installation:
    []Try installing driver version 306.81, which worked on your XP computer, on your Windows 7 system.

1. Monitor Configuration:
   • Ensure that both monitors are properly detected by Windows.
   • Verify that the correct resolutions and refresh rates are set for both monitors.
   • Check if the monitors are correctly identified in the display settings of Windows.
   [

1. ]Connection and Cables:
   • Ensure that the DMS-59 to VGA adapter cable connections are secure.
   • Try testing with different cables or adapters to rule out any hardware issues.
   []Power Settings:
   • Check the power settings in Windows to ensure that the monitors are not being turned off or put in sleep mode incorrectly.
   []Monitor Troubleshooting:
   • If the monitor displays "Analog Input in Power Save Mode," it could indicate that the monitor is not receiving an active signal. Try:
     • Checking the input source setting on the monitor.
     • Pressing buttons on the monitor to manually activate it.
     • Testing the monitor with a different source to verify its functionality.
   []Primary Display:
   • Try changing the primary display in Windows settings to see if it affects the behavior of the monitors.
   []Clean Installation:
   • If all else fails, consider performing a clean reinstall of the Nvidia drivers on Windows 7.

     Additional Information:​

     • You mentioned that some users resolved similar issues by reinstalling Windows 7. While this may be a drastic step, it could potentially address any underlying system configuration issues causing the problem.
     • It's also interesting to note the differences in behavior between driver versions for your graphics card.
     By following these steps and testing different configurations, you may be able to resolve the dual display issue on your Windows 7 system with the Nvidia GeForce 8400 GS graphics card.