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JustinHoMi · Aug 23, 2006, 02:02 PM

Has anyone had any luck getting multiple monitors to work using Windows XP/Boot Camp?

I have a 20" iMac with an external 17" monitor attached to the iMac. It works perfectly with Mac OS X, however not with Windows. It only displays a picture during boot up, however when the logon screen comes up the monitor goes into sleep mode.

Any ideas?

Justin

ghporter · Aug 23, 2006, 02:28 PM

Boot Camp issues go in the Alternative Operating System forum. Moving...

Moose · Aug 23, 2006, 03:49 PM

Right-click on the Desktop. Select "Properties."

Go to the "Settings" tab.

How many displays do you see?

JustinHoMi · Aug 23, 2006, 04:18 PM

2. I selected extend desktop to this monitor. The resolution is correct. I tried several different refresh rates.

Moose · Aug 24, 2006, 08:34 AM

Originally Posted by JustinHoMi

2. I selected extend desktop to this monitor. The resolution is correct. I tried several different refresh rates.

Odd.

I'll see if I can try it out myself either today or tomorrow.

rnb2 · Aug 24, 2006, 02:00 PM

It works with my MacBook, but you can't make the external monitor the primary. I'm getting a 17" iMac tomorrow, so I'll test that and see what I find.

bobelmore · Aug 29, 2006, 11:58 PM

I have the same situation, a Macbook Pro and external monitor. I had both displays working properly until I installed MS Office for Windows. I could never get the second display working again, and I also had boot-up problems, so I deleted the partition and started over. Everything worked again, oth monitors, until I installed MS Office, and now I again have the same problem, no external monitor.

I downloaded Boot Camp 1.1 today and made a new drivers CD, hoping that would help. I installed the new drivers and I still have the same problem. It seems weird, and I don't know why MS Office would cause this problem, but I don't see any other cause.

Jeremy2 · Sep 7, 2006, 08:04 PM

For what it is worth, I am having the same problems. I have tweaked every setting that I can think of, and nothing works. I have even deleted all the displays in the hardware control panel in hopes that reinstalltion of the dispay will make my screen come back. I have not installed MS Office, though I have installed SmartFTP, GIMP, HTML-Kit, Firefox, Opera, Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall, AVG anti virus, and Abyss X1 Web server. I am running XP Pro SP2.

stefanicotine · Sep 7, 2006, 08:44 PM

I did. I had the same problems you're having and tried everything other people said to do. Nothing worked. So I just started clicking the hell out of my dual display options and sooner or later it worked. No idea why

TheoCryst · Sep 7, 2006, 11:55 PM

Originally Posted by stefanicotine

No idea why

Welcome to the wonderful world of Windows!

Gary King · Sep 10, 2006, 03:40 PM

Originally Posted by stefanicotine

I did. I had the same problems you're having and tried everything other people said to do. Nothing worked. So I just started clicking the hell out of my dual display options and sooner or later it worked. No idea why

If anyone has a solution that works 100% of the time instead of only sometimes (

) then please post it!

Macola · Sep 10, 2006, 05:46 PM

Originally Posted by Gary King

If anyone has a solution that works 100% of the time instead of only sometimes (

) then please post it!

Nothing is 100% with Windows, but you may have much better luck by using the specific drivers for your graphics card (or chipset) instead of the Windows control panel. I'm not sure what the ATI ones in the iMac look like, but for my MacBook, I can access the Intel GMA drivers by right-clicking on the desktop, and selecting from two options: Graphic Options and Graphic Properties.

Cadaver · Sep 10, 2006, 06:36 PM

If you have an ATI chipset in your Intel-Mac, you need to fiddle with the ATI control panel to either activate the second display and to swap primary/secondary. The swap requires a reboot (at least it does on my MacBook Pro).

Gary King · Sep 11, 2006, 12:29 PM

I played around with the settings. What I've got so far is that if I move my mouse to the edge of one screen, it disappears, as if it is in the other screen - but my second monitor is black and not showing anything. So, I managed to enable the second monitor, but I can't get it to show anything.

Any suggestions?

lllab · Sep 11, 2006, 04:20 PM

it should be very easy,
i run a 24" and a 21" with it on a macpro&bootcamp.

just atart up with both connected, go to desktop, rightclick, monitor settings, you should see 2 screens. move them so that they are as you want them relative to each other, adjust the monitor resolutions and color depth- thats it....

cheers
stefan

JustinHoMi · Sep 11, 2006, 11:58 PM

Too bad it's not that easy w/ an iMac!

Gary King · Sep 12, 2006, 12:48 AM

Originally Posted by JustinHoMi

Too bad it's not that easy w/ an iMac!

It is WAY easier with Mac OS X than it is with Windows. I have absolutely no clue what you are talking about, and I'm sure most here don't have a clue, either.

ghporter · Sep 12, 2006, 08:01 AM

He's talking about an iMac, which has limited external monitor capabilities (if any at all).

Macola · Sep 12, 2006, 10:15 AM

Actually, they're both right (sort of). Monitor spanning (extended desktop) is much easier in Mac OS X than it is in Windows. And the iMac has DVI out, so connecting an external monitor is no different than it is for any other Mac.

The problem really lies with trying to use the default Windows control panel, instead of the manufacturer's software, as some of us have pointed out. It took me a while to get it set up with my MacBook in Windows. In OS X, you can just boot up and it works!

Gary King · Sep 12, 2006, 01:24 PM

Anyways, I still can't get it working in Windows. Odd.

mmn · Oct 1, 2006, 08:06 AM

Couldn't manage it on my MacBook Pro for several months. But found out how last week. The false secon monitor was chosen in the ATI preference panel. Go to this 2 x 2 (at least this is how it looked for me) monitor setup screen, you have to uncheck the monitor under your main screen and check the one right to it. This worked for me!

DybaMusic · Oct 11, 2006, 01:14 AM

The method posted right above this DOES in fact work for MacBook Pro's that have ATI graphic cards. It's the ATI settings that were offset, not Windows. Thanks MMN.

JeffEmbracedDC · Oct 14, 2006, 03:31 PM

Hey guys. I have also had this problem on my 17" MBP using Boot Camp 1.01 Beta. The above respose did indeed work for me! Seeing as how it wasn't worded that well and I was very bored this morning I decided to throw up a how-to page and it is available at: Enabling an external/secondary monitor on a Macbook Pro with ATI graphics chip

Hope it helps someone. Later, guys.

-J

Macola · Oct 14, 2006, 10:39 PM

Very well done, screenshots and all!

gto47 · Oct 17, 2006, 08:24 PM

Does anyone know if there is a config file that i can modify in order to manually reset my display settings. As it is I have managed to disable both of my displays while the dvi to vga adapter is plugged in. If i unplug this it resets back to the internal display at native resolution. As it is i can't do much tinkering since i have no control the dual display configuration which is only triggered once this adapter is connected.

oallostavros · Oct 29, 2006, 01:38 AM

Any similar solutions for people that only have regular Macbooks, not macbook pros...

Looks like my graphics interface is intel branded, not ATI.

Can anyone post a quick step by step guide?

samshnider · Feb 6, 2007, 07:37 PM

Originally Posted by JeffEmbracedDC

Hey guys. I have also had this problem on my 17" MBP using Boot Camp 1.01 Beta. The above respose did indeed work for me! Seeing as how it wasn't worded that well and I was very bored this morning I decided to throw up a how-to page and it is available at: Enabling an external/secondary monitor on a Macbook Pro with ATI graphics chip

Hope it helps someone. Later, guys.

-J

Thanks this is great, it worked for me! I am using a MBP with Bootcamp.

Thing is, I got the second monitor to work as Extended Desktop but it's in Portrait Mode!
Everything's sideways!

Can anyone help?

-Sam