Dual monitor question

scottscott Medina, Ohio Icrontian
edited March 2005 in Hardware
I recently decided that it would be a good idea to have dual monitors. But the machine I want them on has a 9800 pro AIW with TV out. Is there some way to use the TV out for a second monitor ?

Or

Can I put a cheap PCI video card in and still use extended desktop? Or will the fact that the AIW already shows a "secondary" cause this to not work ?

I really like the AIW card and don't want to give it up. I use it as a PVR a lot. I also don't want to use a TV as second monitor. ( no room on my desk for it )

Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated !

Thanks

Scott

Comments

  • leishi85leishi85 Grand Rapids, MI Icrontian
    edited February 2005
    just add in a cheap pci video card, it will work.
  • scottscott Medina, Ohio Icrontian
    edited February 2005
    Thanks Leishi !

    Off to check the sunday paper for inexpensive LCD's


    Scott
  • TheSmJTheSmJ
    edited February 2005
    Or you could replace the AIW with a vid card such as a 6800, and buy a PCI TV card along with it. That's what I ended up doing.
  • SonorousSonorous F@H Fanatic US Icrontian
    edited February 2005
    Thats a Rather expensive solution TheSmj. What all do you do on your computer scott? Perhaps that would aid in a more suitable solution. Granted you don't stray from your already set path wit hthe pci video card.
  • MediaManMediaMan Powered by loose parts.
    edited February 2005
    Scott,

    I you are wanting to keep the AIW then you'll have to find a PCI vid card to support the second monitor as the others have told you.
  • scottscott Medina, Ohio Icrontian
    edited February 2005
    Thanks a bunch guys. I do have a spare PCI card around here somewhere. I will try it out with one of my spare monitors before I buy anything.

    SM rocks :Rocker:


    Scott
  • TheSmJTheSmJ
    edited February 2005
    I have friends who have gone the "second PCI vid-card" route, and they've found compatibility issues with using two video cards installed on one motherboard, as well as one video card simply refusing to let the other function correctly, which will happen if you install both an nVidia-based video card and an ATI-based on one system.

    Keep in mind that if you're using WinXP Home, you'll be unable to use a "multi monitor" setup, which is when you combine two or more video cards together on one system. You can have a "dual monitor" setup, though, which is when you are using one video card with two or more DVI/VGA outputs in any combination.
  • scottscott Medina, Ohio Icrontian
    edited February 2005
    I have 2 PCI cards I can use

    Diamond multimedia "stealth 3D "
    or
    ATI "Rage Pro 3D"

    I am running XP Pro sp2


    Should I use the ATI card or the Diamond ?


    Scott
  • scottscott Medina, Ohio Icrontian
    edited February 2005
    Also keep in mind that the 2nd monitor needs no performance it will just be a place to "park" toolbars and stuff I want off my main screen.
  • TheSmJTheSmJ
    edited February 2005
    The ATI card for sure.
  • SonorousSonorous F@H Fanatic US Icrontian
    edited February 2005
    Agreed, go with the ATI. Side question for Scott. What toolbars do you use?
  • scottscott Medina, Ohio Icrontian
    edited February 2005
    Well I finally got around to messing with a dual monitor setup.

    I am having problems. Windows is having trouble withthe second ( Pci) Vid card I installed . So obviously no second monitor. I have uninstalled it several times and it trys to install it but I keep getting the error " A problem occured during the installation , your hardware might not work properly"

    I tried installing the drivers manually for that card and it borked my 9800 pro install, So I ran the Cat uninstaller and deleted all ATI stuff and reinstalled Cat's 5.2

    Any ideas on how to get it to see the other vid card ?

    Thanks

    Scott
  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited February 2005
    To answer one of your earlier questions, yes, you can use the TV-out as a second monitor, but you would need to use a TV. I used to do that all the time for watching movies while I was working on other stuff.

    I would expect that the fact that your primary card is an AIW with multiple display ability is causing some confusion for adding another display to Windows, but I'm not sure how to resolve that. (edit - you may try deleting the secondary AIW display in the device manager before installing the new card, but that's a long shot)

    Maybe I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that not just any PCI card will work as a secondary display, either (and I believe that could vary with different versions of Windows). I used to use Appian Jeronimo Pro cards for that 2nd and 3rd displays, and they worked great, but they were also specifically designed for that.
  • scottscott Medina, Ohio Icrontian
    edited February 2005
    Sorry trickster I never saw your question.

    Toolbars from programs like photoshop. Nice clean full workspace on one monitor and all those toolbars on the other. My Cad program has the same "moveable" toolbars.

    Scott
  • scottscott Medina, Ohio Icrontian
    edited February 2005
    Thanks Garg


    Well I tried disabeling the secondary 9800. Still no go

    In device manager for the PCI card it gave

    This device cannot start ( Code 10 )

    Knowledge base said something about 2 ATI cards as a problem so I put in the othe PCI card I have, Same deal , no go , Code 10

    Scott
  • TheSmJTheSmJ
    edited February 2005
    Is your BIOS set up to boot with the PCI or AGP card first?
  • scottscott Medina, Ohio Icrontian
    edited February 2005
    TheSmJ wrote:
    Is your BIOS set up to boot with the PCI or AGP card first?


    You Da Man :D

    Switched it to boot PCI first and Viola !

    Thanks man


    Scott
  • TheSmJTheSmJ
    edited February 2005
    Np. :thumbsup:
  • scottscott Medina, Ohio Icrontian
    edited February 2005
    Well it seems this just is not going to be easy. After getting the PCI card to work by using TheSmj's suggestion to boot from PCI all was happy in dual monitor land. Until I tried to start the TV on the AIW , error"unable to start TV" I checked the device manager and all the TV's drivers were gone ? I tried to reinstall them but no go.
    To make a long story short, If I boot from AGP the drivers are there and the TV works fine, but no second monitor. If I boot from PCI both monitors work fine , but no TV. :banghead: The bad news is that now that I have "tasted" dual monitors, I feel that I cannot live without them. :bawling:

    I have another 9800pro in another machine with dual dvi outs. Unless someone comes up with a great idea to make this work, I will have to swap the 9800's and buy a TV card. ( Not exactly what I want to do , But.. )

    first screenie ( boot from PCI )
    second ( Boot from AGP )


    Scott
  • TheSmJTheSmJ
    edited February 2005
    What happened if you tried to boot from the PCI and installed the TV drivers, exactly?
  • scottscott Medina, Ohio Icrontian
    edited February 2005
    TheSmJ wrote:
    What happened if you tried to boot from the PCI and installed the TV drivers, exactly?

    They are just not there. So I try to reinstall MMC ( Multi medi center) double click and a box comes up with the three choices " Modify , Repair , Remove " If you click on Modify , The TV check box is empty. Put a check mark in it and click next , It loads the drivers and finishes. Then I try and start the TV and I get the error " Unable to start TV " And device manager shows no drivers. Tried it again, clicked Modify, again re-checked the TV box, clicked next , it acts like it is installing drivers and finishes. Double click the MMC app again and click modify and the TV check box is again Cleared. Check the device manager no drivers, Reboot , no drivers , no Tv. Reboot change to boot from agp all drivers are there , TV works fine.( But no PCI and second monitor ) Reboot change to boot from PCI , Drivers are gone , no TV.


    What do you think ?


    Scott
  • TheSmJTheSmJ
    edited February 2005
    What do I think? I think it's pretty messed up! ;D Honestly I have very little expirence with ATI products, so I for one can't tell you anything useful.
  • scottscott Medina, Ohio Icrontian
    edited February 2005
    TheSmJ wrote:
    What do I think? I think it's pretty messed up! ;D


    :D That much I know !


    I think I will call ATI tomorrow. I will let you all know what happens.


    I do appreciate the help.


    Scott
  • cerberuscerberus The Edge Of Madness
    edited March 2005
    If its a second pci card you want try a matrox millenium, I use it for a tri monitor setup, got an Asus radeon A9200se(also has tv out), matrox millenium II and matrox millenim g200 sd running on winxp sp2 no problems at all. With the matrox cards all you do is plug them in then enable them in the diplay properties. Ive tried different cards with dual monitor and you have to make sure that they are able to support this function other wise you get nothing on the second screen.

    If you are going to use more than 1 monitor I would recomend getting the program Ultramon as well, gives you a few more options and settings that may be useful.

    Hope this helps.
  • scottscott Medina, Ohio Icrontian
    edited March 2005
    Thanks cerberus

    I talked to ATI today, they said it was pretty iffy getting another card to be recognized. he suggested that I try a few different PCI slots and manualy changing IRQ assignments. ( which I already had ) What I am gonna do is swap the 9800 dual dvi out of my other box and get a tv card for this one. This will be the cheaper fix for me.

    I will check out ultramon.


    Your screen name makes me ask , have you ever heard of a band out of Portland Maine called "Cerberus Shoal " ?

    Thanks


    Scott
  • cerberuscerberus The Edge Of Madness
    edited March 2005
    scott wrote:
    Thanks cerberus

    I will check out ultramon.


    Your screen name makes me ask , have you ever heard of a band out of Portland Maine called "Cerberus Shoal " ?

    Thanks


    Scott
    My screen name comes from an interest in greek myth, and being in the UK I've not actually heard of them.

    Glad I could have been some help though.
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