Why does Windows shuffle all my applications across all my screens if I turn one off?

[Red Squirrel]

Every now and then at work one of our monitors just goes black, no idea why, we've been through many computers and many monitors but it still happens, there is something about this environment that causes that to happen, it happens to all of us. Sometimes the monitor comes back, but other times the only way to get the monitor back is to turn it off and then back on, but then all hell breaks loose. If I turn off a monitor, Windows will then blank out all my monitors for about a minute and just shuffle all my windows all over the place, in some cases it will even place some in "dark" zones that I can't reach and I end up having to reboot because I have no way to reach it and some of our apps won't let you login twice to it.

Is there a way to stop Windows from screwing around like that just because a monitor gets turned off? We're running Windows 7 with 3 4k monitors and 1 normal monitor.

 

[VirtualLarry]

4K monitors are especially sensitive to signal-quality fluctuations. I would say to change to higher-quality HDMI2.0 or DP1.3 cables.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Yeah we're using DP, not sure what version or how good the quality is though. Though come to think of it... that is about the only thing that did not change throughout our upgrades, I think we've always used the same cables.

Considering the amount of grief this causes this is something I'd be willing to just buy my own cables for, I suppose it would work as a troubleshooting step at least. Any good recommendations on stuff to look for? Shielded etc? At least if it does nto fix the problem, that will give me some spare cables for at home.

Though it would be nice to find a fix to the problem where all my windows get shuffled all over the place if a monitor turns off. Sometimes the cleaning lady might accidentally turn one off, or I may even accidentally turn one off, it would be nice if it did not screw up everything.

This place is the only environment I've ever seen this happen at, I don't know why. We literally can't turn off our monitors, at all, because of it.

 

[VirtualLarry]

There are programs that maintain your screen workspaces when you lose a display.

As for cables, get the Accell *VESA-compliant* ones.

 

[PliotronX]

I wonder if there's some kind of deep sleep mode on the monitors that could be contributing to this. Display fusion should accomplish what you need and you can try before you buy.

 

[Red Squirrel]

The flicker seems to be triggered by static or any sudden movements, but it's very sporadic. Like I can move my chair a certain way and it will make it flicker. Or someone gets up or walks by etc. But it's not easily reproduced. It's always only 1 monitor and it will always be the same one. Even after going through several computers and monitors and even entire office setups (ex: completely disconnecting and reconnecting in another configuration) there is always 1 monitor that does it. Most of the time it flickers then comes back, but if it does not come back, the only way to get it to come back is to turn it off and then back on, then that causes all the other monitors to go haywire. Not sure why, in any other environment I've been in including my house, if I turn off a monitor the stuff says there.

We did have issues with sleep mode too at one point but turned that off.

 

[bbhaag]

Could it be a grounding issue? I know that there are ground testers available pretty cheap on Amazon. Perhaps it's not the monitors but the outlet you are plugging them into. That might explain why it seems to happen across multiple monitors and users.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Hmmm I do wonder, I will need to bring a tester from home. Everything is plugged in through cubicles but maybe somewhere along the line there is no proper ground connection.

 

[bbhaag]

Exactly and that might be why it seems to be jumping from one cube to the next. Anyway, if you have a tester at home it sounds like it would be worth looking into. Even if that isn't the problem it is one more idea you can check off the list.

 

[Puffnstuff]

When I ran two monitors on w10 it would botch my program minitab's window by trying to stretch it across both screens even though I was trying to keep it on my primary screen. This experience is why I moved to a single ultrawide display.

 

[Red Squirrel]

At home I actually did ditch my triple monitor setup for 3 separate machines with Synergy as even in Linux there are annoyances, mostly related to stuff not opening on the proper monitor. Like you click something in a program and the dialog ends up 3 screens down etc. Super irritating. The issues were not as bad as windows though, never had the whole shuffle thing happen. I don't get why no OS seems to be able to implement multi monitor properly in this day and age. Even my synergy setup has it's issues because Synergy crashes all the freaking time so I'm constantly fighting to keep it running. I'm probably going to look at going to a single 4k, as that is basically equivalent to 4 regular monitors.

 

[bbhaag]

Any luck with it maybe being an electrical issue? I know it was a long shot when I suggested it but I'm still kind of curious to know.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Did not get a chance to check yet, I have to remember to actually bring my tester to work lol.