windows does not like using 2 monitors

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Serious Hardware/Software Crap > Haus of Tech Support > windows does not like using 2 monitors

butt dickus: Jul 7, 2007; top ten juiced up coaches
and the top ten juiced up players

Problem description: windows will only use one of my two displays. they are both dell AW3821DW and are connected by displayport to my radeon rx580. when i start up, i get the windows startup icon on both displays, but as soon as it loads i only get one display. in the display control panel i can pick "Show only on 1" or "Show only on 2" and it will light up the appropriate monitor. if i pick "Extend these displays" from either of the "Show only" options, it will go black and then return to previous option. if i pick "Duplicate these displays" it will work as expected. from the duplicated option, i can pick "Extend these displays" and they both stay on, but the second monitor is much dimmer than it is in all the other modes

Attempted fixes: i ran DDU and then reinstalled the latest video drivers. i lowered the refresh rate on both displays to 60hz. i dropped the BPP from 10 to 8 in the ATI software. HDR is disabled in windows. i swapped displayport cables. updated BIOS. i use both of these screens regularly with my work laptop through a dock and they work at full resolution (visual and temporal), the laptop only has integrated graphics

Recent changes: i don't use this machine much and it happened some time this year, i think after i updated to win 11? i do remember that they both worked when i got them about a year ago. there have been no hardware changes

Operating system: win 11 pro

System specs:
asus rog crosshair vii hero (wifi)
ryzen 7 2800x
64gb gskill 2133mhz ddr4
radeon rx 580
optane 905p
corsair hx850

Location: US

I have Googled and read the FAQ: yeah

# ? Nov 24, 2023 20:56

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# ? May 2, 2024 12:12

Zogo: Jul 29, 2003

I'd try using an HDMI cable for one of the connections and see if it made any difference. Or even a DVI to DP/HDMI cable. But you may not have all those cables at your disposal.

# ? Nov 25, 2023 01:32

butt dickus: Jul 7, 2007; top ten juiced up coaches
and the top ten juiced up players

Zogo posted:

I'd try using an HDMI cable for one of the connections and see if it made any difference. Or even a DVI to DP/HDMI cable. But you may not have all those cables at your disposal.

i don't know how it can be the cable. either monitor works fine by itself and both work fine together on another computer. i've swapped displayport cables to no effect

# ? Nov 25, 2023 19:22

Zogo: Jul 29, 2003

butt dickus posted:

i don't know how it can be the cable. either monitor works fine by itself and both work fine together on another computer. i've swapped displayport cables to no effect

Yeah, it wouldn't be a cable issue. But a potential issue with the GPU while using two DP connections simultaneously.

# ? Nov 25, 2023 21:24

down1nit: Jan 10, 2004; outlive your enemies

Swapped the cables how? Does your card have two DP cables or do you use an adapter? Did you move the cables around on the card, or between the monitors only? Is it a DVI adapter? Screwed it in OK?

When you say the screen blacks out when enabling extended displays, what does that mean, can you see nothing on both screens or do you get flashes? Be descriptive if you can here. I think there's more info here.

# ? Nov 29, 2023 20:25

butt dickus: Jul 7, 2007; top ten juiced up coaches
and the top ten juiced up players

down1nit posted:

Swapped the cables how? Does your card have two DP cables or do you use an adapter? Did you move the cables around on the card, or between the monitors only? Is it a DVI adapter? Screwed it in OK?

When you say the screen blacks out when enabling extended displays, what does that mean, can you see nothing on both screens or do you get flashes? Be descriptive if you can here. I think there's more info here.

they are displayport to displayport with inline ferrite beads. no adapters. the same cables that work with the same monitors when connected to my work laptop's dock. i am absolutely certain the cables themselves are good. i have six of the cables and the behavior is the same after swapping them out. there are no flashes. one screen or the other is blank. i can get the second one to come on by first selecting the "duplicate" option and then the "extend" option, but the second screen is much dimmer than the first. this dimming does not occur when using the "duplicate" option or either of the "only on X" options, or when my work laptop is connected. my guess is it's an issue with the GPU but i don't have a spare to test with and don't know what else i can try. i don't use my desktop all that much, i will see if changing one of them to hdmi makes a difference

# ? Nov 29, 2023 22:43

butt dickus: Jul 7, 2007; top ten juiced up coaches
and the top ten juiced up players

i have done more fiddling. i used an HDMI cable and it behaves the same as when i use the displayport cable

# ? Nov 30, 2023 00:06

down1nit: Jan 10, 2004; outlive your enemies

Amazing job

OK this is feeling like a driver problem or a hardware issue. Let's hope it's drivers

Run DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller) in safe mode. And then run windows update once safe mode finishes.

This will: uninstall any bad settings and force windows to use Microsoft approved drivers. If you want faster responses or help running this, send me a PM, or search SA mart for Free Tech Support. If you are OK with the speed of the forum, keep posting.

# ? Nov 30, 2023 23:30

down1nit: Jan 10, 2004; outlive your enemies

And just in case... Where are you plugging the cables into? The graphics card or the motherboard?

Thanks for hanging in there!

# ? Nov 30, 2023 23:31

butt dickus: Jul 7, 2007; top ten juiced up coaches
and the top ten juiced up players

down1nit posted:

Run DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller) in safe mode. And then run windows update once safe mode finishes.

i mentioned this in the OP, but not that i ran it in safe mode. i used safe mode

down1nit posted:

And just in case... Where are you plugging the cables into? The graphics card or the motherboard?

my motherboard doesn't have any video outputs. the cables are connected to the GPU

# ? Dec 1, 2023 00:09

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# ? May 2, 2024 12:12

down1nit: Jan 10, 2004; outlive your enemies

butt dickus posted:

i mentioned this in the OP, but not that i ran it in safe mode. i used safe mode

my motherboard doesn't have any video outputs. the cables are connected to the GPU

I gotta read. Oh hey, u gotta read too, butt dickus. The part you left out is the important bit and a good thing to do. You will only ever get WHQL drivers from Microsoft which helps remove a variable when troubleshooting. Installing from AMD's site is bypassing this. I just assume people grab new drivers from AMD when installing drivers for an AMD product. Microsoft installs them too. Older ones usually

What happens if you make one of them your primary and then the other, does the dimming follow the secondary?

Have you performed a reset on your monitors? I would also "uninstall" both instances of your monitor in device manager since something seems to have a profile somewhere. Have you messed around with RGB colorspace? Do you know what that is?

Do you have a linux live USB anywhere? Perhaps boot to it, see if it's a windows thing only. Your card is old, so who knows

# ? Dec 1, 2023 07:13

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Serious Hardware/Software Crap > Haus of Tech Support > windows does not like using 2 monitors