Question Several monitors go black shortly after windows loads

[Markfw]

So I have several old systems, and I have swapped out every component. This is using Windows XP (required for the game I am playing) They are all Nvidia video cards. 9800 GTX+ and Quadro 4000. Old drivers (they have to be to support these cards). On a 27 inch led monitor all is fine. But I like 16:10 and the only monitors I can find are LCD + led backlight.

So, here is what happens. It loads windows, then loads the game, then all goes black, and the only way to see the screen is to reboot. It will do it every time. This is the oddest problem I have ever seen. And it worked for years. Just a week or so ago, it started doing this all of a sudden.

 

[ElFenix]

Not sure if its LED or LCD with LED backlight

other than OLED, which these monitors aren't, all so-called LED monitors are just LCDs with LED backlights. not that it matters to this issue.

edit: i see this was covered in an earlier post.

edit2: to get back to the problem:

I use a VGA cable with a dvi adapter.

are all the issues you're having while using this VGA cable with DVI adapter?

 

[Fallen Kell]

other than OLED, which these monitors aren't, all so-called LED monitors are just LCDs with LED backlights. not that it matters to this issue.

edit: i see this was covered in an earlier post.

 

[Markfw]

other than OLED, which these monitors aren't, all so-called LED monitors are just LCDs with LED backlights. not that it matters to this issue.

edit: i see this was covered in an earlier post.

edit2: to get back to the problem:

are all the issues you're having while using this VGA cable with DVI adapter?

I have tried DVI to DVI, but one of the two only has VGA and HDMI, so it has to use VGA, as the computer has a 9800 GTX+, ONLY DVI.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I have tried DVI to DVI, but one of the two only has VGA and HDMI, so it has to use VGA, as the computer has a 9800 GTX+, ONLY DVI.

I would actually recommend using DVI to HDMI.

 

[Fallen Kell]

I would actually recommend using DVI to HDMI.

I would also recommend switching to that. However it won't address the problem here other than help with image quality and delay (the VGA cable is using the analog RGB pins on the DVI-I/DVI-A connection on the graphics card, and thus is more prone to interference introduced to the signal as it travels across the cable and the added delay is from the monitor needing to convert the analog signal back to a digital signal since the display works entirely in the digital realm).

A DVI->HDMI or HDMI->DVI would preserve the signal in the digital realm (it is simply a pinout swap for where the wires are located). That said, you need to ensure the DVI connector on the graphics card is a DVI-I or DVI-D (almost all are, but there were some very early DVI connectors that were DVI-A).

 

[ElFenix]

can you remote into the computer while it's blanked?

 

[Markfw]

can you remote into the computer while it's blanked?

Its XP. I have no idea if that even possible or how.

 

[ElFenix]

Its XP. I have no idea if that even possible or how.

not sure this is available in xp home or if it's pro only


is it only one game that has this behavior? try finding all the config files for the game and deleting them, it could be setting an invalid mode.

 

[Fallen Kell]

Did you look at the post about the date/time bug I mentioned earlier? Please check that one by seeing if your system still works correctly when the date/time is still before Jan 1 2022 00:00 UTC (which is 5 hours ahead of EST, so Dec 31 2021 19:00 would be the time of the bug EST). It would have hit the bug 2 hours and 47 minutes or so before you started this thread. If that is when you started seeing the problem, it is very likely the culprit.

Edit:
....hmm... nevermind, I just looked at the first post again and you stated the problem began about a week or so before you started this thread.... I don't know of any date/time overflows that would have happened then (it doesn't correspond with any major reported date/time bugs or anticipated date/time bugs). The only ones from 2021 was an issue with Samsung's One UI which happened on the rollover to 2021, and an issue with Sony TVs getting/processing EPG data. It is entirely possible that some programmer created their own custom way of storing date/time info which could result in it causing an overflow like storing the date as the number of seconds from Nov 25, 1953 into a signed 32 bit integer (effectively causing the Unix Y2038 bug that will occur on Jan 19, 2038 to happen Dec 24, 2021...).

 

[Markfw]

OK, now I have a monitor that I LOVE, this 30 inch dell ultrasharp... PUT when I use the HDMI or displayport connections on the video card, NO audio ! I put it back to DVI, and another monitor, and I have audio. How do I fix this on XP ? Video card is various, currently K400 Nvidia quadro.

 

[VirtualLarry]

when I use the HDMI or displayport connections on the video card, NO audio ! I put it back to DVI, and another monitor, and I have audio. How do I fix this on XP ?

Change your Windows Audio output device.

 

[Markfw]

Change your Windows Audio output device.

Thanks, after more googleing, I figured it out in XP.

 

[ElFenix]

personally hate that about windows 10

"OH YOU PLUGGED IN A MONITOR OVER DISPLAYPORT/HDMI LETS CHANGE THAT TO BEING THE SOUND OUTPUT DESPITE THE FACT THAT IT DOESN'T HAVE SPEAKERS"

/goes into computer management and disables function 1 on pcie device 0 YET AGAIN!