Dual Monitor Problems

I was running win7 beta on this exact same computer setup back in the beta days. Everything worked perfectly then. Once I upgraded to my x64 retail win7 copy, my 2nd monitor went wonky on me. I know the monitor is not at fault, I have tested both extensively, both monitors work just fine on multiple computers for extended periods of time when running solo. However, when running dual setup on this box, my viewsonic goes all blinky on me. Its kind of hard to describe. Its not flickering per-say, its more like blinking or flashing. I can get the monitor to stop for a bit by turning it on and off again, but it eventually goes blinky again. To restate: it is not the monitor. If i unhook the other monitor and leave everything else the same, it is magically fixed. I have latest drivers for every possible piece of hardware in and out of my box that i can find. BIOS's have been flashed, etc. I have tested the video card as well, it doesn't seem to have this issues with any other setup. I am thoroughly stumped. I've even tested the RAM. Everything checks out. =P

Setup is:
ASUS P5N-T Deluxe
Core2Duo E6750
4GB RAM
EVGA Nvidia GeForce 9600GT 512MB
Samsung SyncMaster 204B Monitor (set as primary display)
ViewSonic VP2030B (set as secondary display)
running Windows 7 Pro x64

If anyone has had a similar issue and/or has a fix for this, please let me know. I have searched through these forums (and others) and have not yet found a satisfactory solution, however, I may have missed one... hopefully.

Did the dual monitor set up ever work on 7 RTM (retail copy)?

How are the monitors connected? VGA, DVI, or both?

Swap the monitors connections on the card, Does the problem happen on the second monitor? Tells me if problem is hardware related.

Have you rolled back, or tried older drivers? I had an AiO HP which started flickering with the newest drivers, installed old (original) drivers and issue went away. It was NVidia graphics drivers...


Below are the drivers which fixed MY problem:
ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softlib/software10/COL23616/pv-61183-1/sp37385.exe

Hi! Thanks for the reply.

The dual setup worked under beta, but ever since I installed the retail, I've had this issue. So, no, I guess it never worked under retail. =P

Both monitors are connected via DVI.

I have swapped the connections, as well as the cables, as well as which monitor was primary, all on separate occasions, to rule them out. Still happens - but only on the Viewsonic. Have used every viewsonic driver in existence (that I know about), including no driver (PnP monitor drivers). I have also tried using all the same drivers I had back in the beta to try to reproduce the exact setup that did work. No dice.

I have tried it with the default drivers that come with a vanilla Win7 install, as well as multiple versions of newer drivers.

I will check drivers again, but I wont hold my breath.

Any other questions?

Is that monitor running at the correct (native) resolution and refresh rate?

yes, it is running at 1600x1200 (which is both its native and max resolution) at 60hz

Well I don't know then? Maybe go into your power options settings in the control panel and set it turn off display to never.

yea - tried that too. major bummer huh? lol

I guess i'll just wait till nvidia releases a new driver and see if it gets fixed or not. =P

I'm running the GeForce 257.21 Win7 64bit drivers on a GT220 with two I-Inc 19 inch LCD's. One on DVI and one on VGA with no problems. Maybe the video card is on the way out and its just a coincidence that its doing it now that you have the retail version of windows 7. I think you said you tested it in other scenarios but did you test it in another PC?

Does sound like video card getting hot when second monitor is hooked up and make sure you are useing 64 bit drivers and the monitor drivers are installed