Cannot extend desktop to second monitor

J

jameslaho

New Member
I am trying to extend my desktop to a second, identical monitor.

I have a new Dell Studio desktop running Vista Home Premium X64, with an ATI Radeon 3450 display adapter. I have two identical 19" flat, widescreen LCD monitors connected to the display card using an SVGA "Y" adapter. In the ATI Catalyst Control Center, the second monitor is not enabled (it is greyed out). When I right-click on the number 2 monitor and select "Enable" the number 2 monitor graphic lights up for about 3 seconds, and then goes grey again. The monitors remain clones of each other. I have tried installing an updated driver from AMD for the card, but to no avail. The same problem occurs when I try to extend the desktop using the Windows control panel display properties. The monitors remain cloned.

Is this a Vista problem, or do I need another display adapter?

This is driving me nuts. :confused:
 

My Computer

System One

It may be a problem with the y connector. Have you tried 2 separate cables?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Acer AM1201
    CPU
    AMD 4800+ Dual Core
    Memory
    3 GB DDR
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon 2100
nutdriver said:
It may be a problem with the y connector. Have you tried 2 separate cables?
Click to expand...

Correct. He needs to connect the second monitor to the second DVI port on the video card.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Me
    CPU
    Athlon x2 7750 BE
    Motherboard
    Asus M4A78 Pro
    Memory
    2x2gb Kingston
    Graphics card(s)
    Sapphire HD 4830
    Sound Card
    X-Fi Xtreme Music
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer P221w and Acer 1916w
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050 and 1440x900
    Hard Drives
    2x80 GB Seagate 7200.10 in RAID0, 500 GB Seagate 7200.12
    PSU
    Antec Earthwatts 500W
    Case
    Antec Sonata III
    Cooling
    AC Freezer 64 Pro and a couple of 120 mm case fans
    Mouse
    Logitech G5 v2
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave
    Internet Speed
    10000/1000
thanks much for the help. I picked up a VGA to DVI adapter, connected the second monitor to the DVI port on the video card, and all is working great now. Life is good.

Thanks again.

Jim
 

My Computer

System One

You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top