# Win7 recognizes second monitor - but it doesn't display



## JoshSamBob (Aug 7, 2011)

The computer I'm using is older (3+ years) and has frustrated me a few times, most notably in the past 2 months.

That said, this is a new problem. My second (DVI) monitor is detected by Windows but doesn't display anything. In both the display settings and the NVIDIA control panel, I can see a second (Impression) monitor, but it's blank and I can't get it to show anything. In fact, the monitor doesn't seem to recognize that it's connected, because the orange "power but no input" light is on rather than the green "power and input" light.

This is a Windows 7 64-bit installation on a Dell Dimension E520. 

Any help you can give me is much appreciated - I want my productivity back!

Thanks in advance,
- JSB


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## makinu1der2 (Jan 1, 2008)

What graphics card are you using?

Do both monitors work if connected individually? Have you tried swapping the monitor on ports to see if the problem follows the monitor?

Uninstall and reinstall the graphics driver.


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## JoshSamBob (Aug 7, 2011)

makinu1der2 said:


> What graphics card are you using?


NVIDIA GeForce 7300 LE



makinu1der2 said:


> Do both monitors work if connected individually? Have you tried swapping the monitor on ports to see if the problem follows the monitor?


The problem is that one is VGA only the other is HDMI, so I haven't swapped them over. I've only got the one HDMI input on the card, and don't have a HDMI-to-VGA adapter.



makinu1der2 said:


> Uninstall and reinstall the graphics driver.


I just updated it. If I want to uninstall and reinstall, what's the best way to do it while still being able to have video? 

Thanks for your help.
- JSB


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## aciid (Jul 18, 2008)

Hi JoshSamBob,

You might want to have a look at the settings of the monitor first. Are you able to access the monitor settings for that second monitor and change it to a lower resolution/hertz? If you set the screen resolution to something higher than what the external display can handle, it won't show any picture and will just go into Standby mode(orange light).

As for uninstalling your Video drivers, you won't loose the option to display any image if you do so. It will simply default to a lower resolution. Just uninstall the drivers, visits the manufacturers website and download/install the latest drivers.


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## Carpetfizz (Jul 5, 2011)

This seems like the issue is with the monitor itself. Since you have probably already tested trying each monitor separately, you can try another thing. If the monitor has more than one output, you can test different cables and outputs ie: DVI, HDMI, VGA.


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## Fred Garvin (Sep 4, 2010)

Josh, with your 2nd monitor connected, right click on your desktop then click Personalize, then Display Settings in the list. You'll see 2 monitors. You can change the roles of each monitor by clicking the boxes to set which is your primary and secondary monitor. Or re-detect the monitors connected.

You should be able to go into the nvidia control panel and change the settings as well. It doesn't really matter which connections you use to connect the monitor, VGA or HDMI. The monitor will sense the signal once connected.


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## JoshSamBob (Aug 7, 2011)

Fred, I've done most of these things, and each time it fails to display anything on the second monitor. 

Two things I discovered are that (1) the GPU is running quite hot (~68c), and that (2) this seems to be causing a secondary problem of not displaying anything on the primary monitor when I reboot the system. 

I think the issue may be with the graphics card, and I've ordered a new one, but I'm not entirely sure that's the heart of the matter.

Thanks,
- JSB


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## Fred Garvin (Sep 4, 2010)

Josh, you could try lowering the hardware acceleration and resolutions for both monitors -- under Display Settings, go to Troubleshoot. Nvidia has a program you can download to control fan speeds if that card has a fan - check their website, I forget what it's called. Dual displays can be taxing on a video card if you're using hi resolutions.


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