GTX 980 problem with DVI port on dual monitor setup

[Lo Zeno]

Hello,
I just installed a GeForce GTX 980 on my machine. After a lot of troubling (involving updating the UEFI and installing other updates as well), it is finally working (and games look wonderful) BUT...
...I have two monitors, with my previous GPU (Radeon HD 6990) they both worked fine; with the GTX 980, only one works, the one connected via the single HDMI port. The other one is connected via the DVI port using a HDMI to DVI adapter. If I swap them, it's always the one attached to the DVI port that doesn't work.
The two monitor have identical brand and model, they were bought at the same time.

Oddly enough, browsing internet I found a ♥♥♥♥load of forums where people complained that the DP ports of the GTX 970 and 980 didn't work, and resorted to use the DVI port; instead, my problem is about the DVI port.

The port itself is not faulty, because at boot I see the boot screen and windows loading screen on the monitor connected through the DVI port; after windows loads and prompts me to enter the password, instead, the DVI monitor gives me the "no signal" message and the HDMI monitor starts working.

If I keep only the DVI monitor connected, when windows prompts to enter the password the picture disappears and I can't see anything.

If anyone has any idea about what I can do, it would be greatly appreciated (I can live with one monitor when I'm playing games, but for work I got a little addicted to having two monitors to organize my windows)

[Carlsberg]

Check your nvidia control panel settings, under display/setup multiple monitors. And in manage 3D settings under multi display/mixed gpu ensure its not on single display performance mode.

Maybe the adapter? or maybe your connecting dual-dvi to dvi and it just doesn't work? Maybe you have Displayport? that would be a better way to connect.

All I can think of right now.

[Lo Zeno]

In nVidia Control Panel, the second monitor is listed just as "digital monitor" and doesn't allow me to change anything, not even the resolution; 3D settings, multi display/mixed gpu is set to "Multiple Display Performance Mode".
I have two adapters (my previous GPU had 2 DVI ports so I bought 2 adapters for my HDMI cables), and switching it doesn't seem to make any difference. I would be surprised if it did, because 1 minute before installing the new GPU I was using both of them with the old GPU and both worked fine.

I'm 100% sure I'm not connecting dual-dvi to dvi, yes. My monitor has a DisplayPort, but reading on the internet everyone is having issues with DisplayPort on GTX 970 and GTX 980, so I'm kind of afraid it won't help. I've ordered a DP-to-DP cable from amazon and tomorrow I should be able to test it.

It's the first time I use an NVidia GPU (no particular reasons, just that every time I had to buy a new GPU the best price/performance ratio was on a Radeon in those particular moments) so I'm a bit in the dark as to where to fiddle with the settings.

[idimpulse]

Lo,

Did you find a solution for this problem yet? I am having a similar same issue on a GTX 980 card. Whichever monitor is plugged in HDMI works fine, but whatever is plugged into DVI will not work until I physically unplug the cable and plug it back in one the machine is booted. Both monitors worked great with my 780, but as soon as I swapped cards, everything DVI stopped.

[Azza ☠]

Install your monitor drivers for both screens.

Ensure your graphic card drivers are up-to-date, full installed and fully working.

Are you using DVI-i (analog and digital) or DVI-d (digital only) port?

Note the difference between them. Ideally you would want digital signal, so both can do, unless your monitors are running analog only (or it's trying to use that rather than digital). I think all GTX 980 have a DVI-i, therefore make sure signal is using digital (if the monitor can toggle).

Display port shouldn't have issues, using that. Then again all are working fine and 100% on mine (Asus Strix), it might depend on your model. What port you use shouldn't matter at all, until you get to Nvidia Surround (3 or more monitors), then the website itself suggests what connection layouts are possible (6 of them). This is probably what people are complaining about, they are just unaware the center monitor needs to be connected to the first card in a SLI, etc. Shouldn't affect you with just two monitors.

Adapters are the main concern, if possible go direct. HDMI to HDMI - or Duel-DVI cable - or Display Port cable. Display Port is meant to be the best. HDMI and DVI compare the same, except HDMI also carries audio signal to the monitor, something which 99.9% of users won't need anyways. It's best to use Duel-DVI cable or Display Port in most cases, no adapter/converters (it's only like $15 max per cable anyways).

[Long Ago [Linux]]

Actually DVI to HDMI cable can support digital audio depending upon the card and maybe the cable. While using digital audio on a wireless headset and its battery ran down, I disconnected it and was quite surprised when Linux automatically switched to digital audio coming out of my HDTV speakers instead of my analog stereo 2.1 system. GTX 550 Ti with DVI to HDMI cable to 1080p HDTV.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visual_Interface#DVI_and_HDMI_compatibility
See paragraph after bullet list.

I was thinking about getting a GTX 970, but was not sure if my PSU or PC from 2010 were up to it (PCIe version? No UEFI), so I just got a GTX 750 Ti for now. It uses half the power of my GTX 550 Ti, so my entire PC uses little more total than the 145 watts of a 970 alone (i5 650 3.2 GHz w/GTX 750 Ti uses not much over 150 watts max AC input on Kill A Watt meter).

[Lo Zeno]

@idimpulse: sorry I never updated.
I bought a DP to DP cable, to connect my second monitor without any adapter, but it didn't fix the problem. The second monitor started working when, after a few days, I had to make a skype video call and I turned on the webcam (which is integrated in my first monitor): when I switched the webcam on, both screens turned black, then flashed, then suddenly both worked at the same time.
I don't know why, and honestly... at that point I didn't care why, I was just glad that it was working! Since then (beginning of December) everything seems to work fine, I was a little hesitant to install the latest update to the NVidia drivers so I selected the "clean install" options to be safe, and things are still working.

[.]

Howdy not sure if your problem is the same as mine but i had all sorts of crazy issues and also included monitors not being detected. Tuns out i had a power supply problem, i just wanted to put this in here because alot of people are having issues but no one really talks about the PSU being an issue.

[_I_]

moving the taskbar to a monitor does not make that monitor #1
go to the nvidia control panel and set the main monitor to #1

[z3t-1x]

Originally posted by Carlsberg:

Check your nvidia control panel settings, under display/setup multiple monitors. And in manage 3D settings under multi display/mixed gpu ensure its not on single display performance mode.

Maybe the adapter? or maybe your connecting dual-dvi to dvi and it just doesn't work? Maybe you have Displayport? that would be a better way to connect.

All I can think of right now.

Thank you!

[jeffski]

Originally posted by Carlsberg:

Check your nvidia control panel settings, under display/setup multiple monitors. And in manage 3D settings under multi display/mixed gpu ensure its not on single display performance mode.

Maybe the adapter? or maybe your connecting dual-dvi to dvi and it just doesn't work? Maybe you have Displayport? that would be a better way to connect.

All I can think of right now.

YEP! ( :
Nvidia Control Panel > Display > Set up multiple displays
There was a box that said "select the display you want to use" and some how my one of my monitors box was unchecked.
Thanks!

[dOOmshrOOm]

I just wanted to add my own experience as I'm starting to wonder if the problem is with the 980s/980ti's. I'm running SLI with two 980ti's and experience the issue somewhat frequently using 2 displayports on 2 samsung 24inch 4k monitors. I'm starting to see a trend in steam forums as well as google searches that this is a problem on the 980 gpu's. All my settings checkout and both monitors were easily picked up when I first installed them as they are identical.

[Xerain House]

The only solution I have found to this problem is to lower the resolution on the second screen. As such I believe it is a problem with the card not properly allocating processing power to the 'displayport' monitors. I do not know if using a different resolution on the main monitor will affect anything since I am restricted to low-resolution monitors. The current resolutions are 1440x900 and 1280x800.

[King Zero]

Has ANYONE found a solution to this? I am having the same xact issue, and it seems this is common. If i boot from the DVI once it hits the windows login, it shuts off the screen/DRops the signal.

however if connected via HDMi it works fine/Good.

I have used DVI and HDMI as dual monitors for 10 years now, and with this new card.. I am stuck with 1.

The way it drops off when i hit the login screen, tells me it could be a driver issue?


Has anyoine actually fixed this?

[_I_]

can also be the way bios hands it off to the os, update bios and drivers

[emoticorpse]

Originally posted by King_Jae:

Has ANYONE found a solution to this? I am having the same xact issue, and it seems this is common. If i boot from the DVI once it hits the windows login, it shuts off the screen/DRops the signal.

however if connected via HDMi it works fine/Good.

I have used DVI and HDMI as dual monitors for 10 years now, and with this new card.. I am stuck with 1.

The way it drops off when i hit the login screen, tells me it could be a driver issue?


Has anyoine actually fixed this?

Check your Windows services (if you're on windows). Look for services that deal with like user manager, user profile service and stuff like that.

I ran into a situation similar where immediately after logon my monitor would disconnect and I'd have to disconnect the second monitor and reboot in order to use my primary monitor. I would have to format/restore in order to fix it. It was that serious. Spent some time and ended up realizing that normal default Windows services didn't cause this. Reason it kept happening was because I did massive service tweaking and disabled like everything I knew I didn't need. I think I had to just stop touching a couple of services that had to do with like multiple users or something. Something weird about my setup is that in the multiple monitor config the left one is 2 and the right one is 1 always and I hate that but doesn't really affect me too much.

Also, just to be sure the second monitor IS on and on the Input of PC output and not powered off and you just can't see it set as the primary monitor display that you can't see since it's powered off?.