[l008com]

I have a 320m MacBook Pro that I often hook up to my TV. I use a miniDP to HDMI adapter that supports audio. Under Mac OS, it is working perfectly.

Here's how it *was* working in Windows. I installed all of the Windows updates and Bootcamp updates, and I installed the latest drivers direct from nVidia. In the nVidia control panel, I set it up so the MacBook's internal display was disabled, and the external (my TV) was the only active display. This worked out great. I'd plug in my cable, reboot into windows, and when it came up, all it would see is my TV as it's 720p display. I would then proceed to play lots of grand theft auto, and life was good.

Due to Windows being a piece of shit, I recently had to start fresh with my Bootcamp partition / windows installation. It was a pain in the ass but ultimately it seemed to be working. I installed all of the same software, windows 7, bootcamp, nvidia drivers, chrome, and games. However this time around, I'm experiencing an incredibly annoying bug:

When I boot up windows, I get no video. The internal display is disabled (as it is set to be) but my TV also gets "no signal". But the computer is booted and running. If I unplug the TV, the internal display comes up and works normally, and there's windows running as good as windows every runs. I plug the TV back in, the internal display goes away, and I get no signal on the TV.

The only way I've been able to get it to work, is to boot with F8 held.
Then choose the "low res" boot. When it comes up, the external is disabled and the internal is at 640 x 480.
At that point, I am able to go into the system preferences, enable the external screen, then disable the internal screen, and use the external as my primary. BUT

I HAVE TO DO THIS EVERY TIME

This "setting" is not remembered. I don't know if this is how F8 boots are supposed to work, where video settings are temporary, or if windows is just malfunctioning. But I have to sit there and dick around with this for a half hour every time I want to play a game, just to get it to work.

I know next to nothing about troubleshooting windows, so I have no idea what else I can possibly try. But my previous installation of Windows 7 on this very Macintosh ran PERFECTLY with this setting (internal screen disabled, external as primary) for about a full year. And like I said, Mac OS X has no problems at all (although OS X doesn't support disabling the internal display, but otherwise no problems at all).

It's almost like theres a "sync" problem, like I'm outputting in a Hz range that my TV doesn't support. But there's no way to change this from what I can tell. The TV's settings in the Displays control panel GOES AWAY when I unplug it. And when it's plugged in, I can't see it because that is the nature of this problem! And I fix it with an F8 boot into low res mode, but it won't "remember" what I do there.

There is no more accurate sentiment in the world than this:
Close seconds include and , followed by

[ibook_steve]

Have you tried resetting PRAM (cmd-option-p-r at boot)?

Have you tried closed lid mode?

Steve

[l008com]

I have no keyboard or mouse to use in closed lid mode. I can't recall if I've ever reset the PRAM. In my experience, that never actually solves any problems, but I'll do it later just to humor people.

[l008com]

No luck with the PRAM

[Cold Warrior]

Try closed lid all the way through boot and startup, then if it's working, open the lid to get at the keyboard and trackpad.

[ibook_steve]

Originally Posted by l008com 

I have no keyboard or mouse to use in closed lid mode. I can't recall if I've ever reset the PRAM. In my experience, that never actually solves any problems, but I'll do it later just to humor people.

This is not to humor anybody. Resetting the PRAM forces the machine to use default video resolutions and displays.

Steve

[l008com]

Well, it had no effect.

[l008com]

For windows 7, is it normal behavior for video-based changes to not be "saved" after rebooting, if you've rebooted holding F8, and booted into a "low resolution" boot?

I don't know if my problem is just that I need to change the resolution or maybe refresh rate, but I can't because it will only let me set stuff about the external display when it's connected, and when it's connected, I'm not getting video (but booting F8 lets me reset to proper resolutions and refresh that work, BUT, they aren't remembered because it's an F8 boot?)

Or am I "really" making changes that should say when I boot with F8, and is my problem a bigger windowsey problem, where the video output really is somehow getting corrupt at every boot and not working.

[l008com]

Any suggestions for a good windows forum I can post this question to?

[cgc]

Can you configure the resolution change via Task Scheduler with it accomplished "at startup"?

I had a similar problem with my HTPC hooked up to my TV and my problem was related to the video refresh rate and the cable (HDMI). Everything worked fine but the video would drop out from time to time...the cable was good, the computer output was good, but there was some type of timing issue. I changed the resolution to something just above 720P (e.g. 1368x768 or similar) and swapped to DVI or VGA and all's good from then on. BTW, my HTPC uses Intel HD2000 graphics.

[l008com]

Originally Posted by cgc 

Can you configure the resolution change via Task Scheduler with it accomplished "at startup"?

I had a similar problem with my HTPC hooked up to my TV and my problem was related to the video refresh rate and the cable (HDMI). Everything worked fine but the video would drop out from time to time...the cable was good, the computer output was good, but there was some type of timing issue. I changed the resolution to something just above 720P (e.g. 1368x768 or similar) and swapped to DVI or VGA and all's good from then on. BTW, my HTPC uses Intel HD2000 graphics.

How would I do that?