Monitor goes black when attempting to switch user

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  1. Posts : 24
    Windows 7
       #1

    Monitor goes black when attempting to switch user


    Hey guys,

    Just installed Windows 7 and loving it so far. But there's one problem that's been really bugging me.

    Basically, I have two user accounts on the system. When User1 hits "Windows Key+L" to lock the machine and User2 comes along and clicks "switch user", the monitor will flicker to black and say "Entering power save", while the monitor's power light switches from green to amber. After 5-10 seconds, the monitor will come back on (light goes back to green) and present the main login screen that lists the user accounts. User2 then selects their account, types in their password and attempts to log into Windows....and again, monitor flickers to black, says "Entering power save" and stays black for a few seconds, only to re-appear and show the user's desktop. Nothing is affected, but it's just a real nuisance during what's supposed to be "fast" user switching.

    This monitor flickering happens on every user switch, regardless of who initiates it. Both users also have identical graphical setups.

    Graphics card is an ATI X1900XTX and monitor is a Dell 2007FP. I've tried running the built-in Windows WDM ATI driver as well as the ATI Catalyst 9.1 driver but it didn't make a difference.

    Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated!

    Cheers,
    Bash
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 14
    Windows 7 x64 Ultimate
       #2

    Look through your power settings and see if there is anything in there? Try to turn off the power saving features and see if the issue goes away.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 24
    Windows 7
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Thanks for the reply.

    I tried fooling around with various power settings, but nothing made a difference. I believe the power management is only affecting the computer before/during/after sleep mode anyway, whereas this is happening all day long.

    I watched a friend of mine with Windows 7 try his "switch user" button today and we noticed that his screen went black for a split second before showing the user menu. So for some reason, that split second on his is turning into 5-10 seconds on mine.

    Do other people out there that use the "switch user" button see this little delay? It's almost as if the monitor quickly changes resolutions or refresh rate or something. I'm wondering if it has something to do with my monitor now rather than my video card or drivers...
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 24
    Windows 7
    Thread Starter
       #4

    Just a quick bump to see if anyone has any ideas...

    For those with even one user on the system, can you try clicking the "Switch user" button on the lock screen and see what happens?
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 6
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
       #5

    Same exact problem occurring on my system. EXACTLY as you described.

    I have an account for myself and one for my wife, and the switch user feature makes the screen go black without actually shutting down the computer. Takes about 15-60 minutes for it to come back, which I seldom wait for.

    Apart from that, no problems with Win 7, but I need to get this fixed ASAP.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 2
    Windows XP
       #6

    The problem is not limited to Windows 7. I have Windows XP. Frequently when I switch users the monitor goes black and the computer goes to sleep. It takes several minutes to get the system up and running again. My power setting is for the monitor to turn off after 20 minutes but the hard drive, system standby, and system hibernates settings are set at "never". Yet the entire system goes to sleep sometimes when I switch users. I thought it might help to know the problem isn't limited to Windows 7.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 39
    Windows 7 Ultimate - Laptop / Stationary PC
       #7

    bash said:
    Thanks for the reply.

    I tried fooling around with various power settings, but nothing made a difference. I believe the power management is only affecting the computer before/during/after sleep mode anyway, whereas this is happening all day long.

    I watched a friend of mine with Windows 7 try his "switch user" button today and we noticed that his screen went black for a split second before showing the user menu. So for some reason, that split second on his is turning into 5-10 seconds on mine.

    Do other people out there that use the "switch user" button see this little delay? It's almost as if the monitor quickly changes resolutions or refresh rate or something. I'm wondering if it has something to do with my monitor now rather than my video card or drivers...
    I suffer from the exact same problem.

    I have windows 7 installed on my laptop and stationary.
    On my laptop, whenever I switch user, log on or get promted by UAC I experience a black screen for 3-10 seconds. Logging in takes 10 seconds, switching user takes about 5.

    On my stationary, when prompted by uac it's black for a split second, logging in is faster and smoother. When logging in on my laptop the screen goes black until about 10 seconds later when the desktop is loaded. On my stationary there is a loading screen which then fades into the desktop. The duration of these black screens is shorter on the stationary with the same version of windows, the only thing better on the stationary is that it has a much better video card than my laptop. I figured this was a video card issue...

    On XP switching user and logging in/out was lightning fast (stationary), and on vista logging in/switching user did not take as much time on my laptop.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 6
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
       #8

    Resolved


    Hey all, I got this problem resolved with a little help from the Microsoft support team -- I still think the dev team needs to release a patch... but:

    1. Boot in safe mode, see if you can switch users without trouble (you 95% will be able to)
    2. If safe mode user switching works, then you have a problem with a third party service.
    3. Follow these steps to perform a clean boot and isolate some of the processes that might be troublesome:
    How to troubleshoot a problem by performing a clean boot in Windows Vista or in Windows 7

    Hope it works for you all too
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 722
    Windows 7 Professional 64bit
       #9

    I have this problem to, but i also had it on Vista
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 6
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
       #10

    It's back... wtf.

    Why don't they just PATCH IT?
      My Computer


 
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