Monitor unable to display at max resolution in some circumstances 2

[Nebulosity]

My monitor (Acer H243H) is SOMETIMES unable to be set to its maximum resolution and refresh rate when connected to my laptop computer (Dell Studio 1737) using HDMI - unless I open the laptop computer first. Specifically,
- If I start or restart the computer without opening up the computer, I don't have the options to adjust the monitor to its max.
- If I open the laptop computer - now using both displays - I CAN set the monitor to its maximum
- If I then close the computer, the monitor maintains its maximum settings
- When I reboot, this process repeats again

I use Vista Home Premium 64-bit
The monitor's max settings are 1920x1080/75Hz.
The laptop display's maximum settings are 1440x900/60Hz.

I've toyed around with settings in Vista's Display Settings Control panel, the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator for mobile Control Pane, and the Acer eDisplay Management utility. I've tried these with the computer open (using both displays) and with it closed.

Quite honestly, it became confusing and overwhelming trying to track what happened differently in each scenario with different settings.

In the end, I simply have the problem described above - I can't get max resolution or refresh rate unless I first open my laptop - which is inconvenient in my setting.

Should I have to do this? This is the first peripheral monitor I've ever used with a laptop, so may it's normal?

I've attached a PDF with screenshots that I think will be helpful.

BTW, Acer's tech support is useless. First, it's extremely difficult to find a Web location for their USA support. When I finally did (through archive.org, I think), the support analyst and I carried on an email conversation. After much elementary troubleshooting and bad advice, he actually said to me "Acer technicians cannot know about all of Acer's products." And that was the close of the case!

Thanks for any help you can provide!

jb

 

[kjv1611]

First thing to try is to make sure you have the latest drivers for the display adapter, chipset, and monitor (if the monitor has a separate driver avaialble - some do). Get the display and chipset drivers from Intel, or at least use their tool to check your hardware and tell whether you have the latest or not. Check Acer's webite, or do a Google search for your monitor model # and Vista driver.

Get all of those updated, and then you can proceed to other troubleshooting options.

However, it may just be a design flaw, possibly, from the way it sounds. I'd say after the drivers, I'd poke around a little in the BIOS settings to see if there are any applicable options there. If one seems like it might be, try changing it and see what you get.. Just be weary of things you don't understand. If you don't know what something means, definitely go look it up. You don't want to mess around too much in the BIOS settings without knowing what you're doing... good thing for that with Dells is that they generally have the stuff that could cause damage pretty well locked up where you can't access them anyway.

 

[rclarke250]

If you are running the laptop closed, no need to run multiple monitor settings to clone windows, There should be a
setting in the bios to choose which display is the main display.

 

[Nebulosity]

kjv1611 and rclarke250 -

Thank you both for your suggestions. I thought I had replied to kjv1611 yesterday, but I must have not completed the submission.

[kjv1611 - I know the meaning of your screen name. We are kindred spirits!]

I have done the things you suggested in the my troubleshooting process. The drivers are all up-to-date. And I have a decent understanding of most CMOS options, but none seem to be related to this.

I'm interested in something you said, rclarkr250. I never use two monitors at the same time. I set it up for two monitors because I thought that otherwise, when I'm mobile, the laptop display might not work. Is that not the case? How would it handle the different capabilities of each display if I only set up the external monitor?

This is my first time ever using a peripheral monitor on a laptop, so I'm probably misunderstanding the way it works.

At the moment, it feels like the problem is related to some strange disagreement between the three control panels.

What would you suggest next?

Blessings,

jb

 

[kjv1611]

I usually think of this first hand, but didn't this time. I do think it's hardware-related, but as another test, you could try running a Ubuntu from a CD (after it boots up, and loads up initially, your first screen will ask you if you want to Try it or Install... you tell it that you want to Try, and within a couple minutes, you've basically got the full Ubuntu Linux OS running from CD). If it runs without issues under Linux, then perhaps is a driver or software issue. Then, if you can't find a solution pretty quickly afterwards, it may be time for a fresh install, and then see how that goes.

Also, within Windows, it wouldn't hurt to take a peak under the event viewer, Windows System Logs, and see if there are any critical or error messages there on a recurring basis. If this is a recurring problem, then the message should be there multiple times.

 

[Nebulosity]

kjv1611 -

Thanks for your continued help. I have to admit that I'm nearing the edge of my expertise here. But I can follow instructions.

As for trying it in Ubuntu, that's probably more hassle than I want to go through. I'm not used to Linux (used Solaris Unix a little years ago, but that’s as close as I've come). If need be, I'll just continue opening and closing my laptop on boot-up. It does make sense that trying it in Linux would help pinpoint the problem, though.

I don't normally use any of the Windows administrative tools, but I did pull up the event viewer and look at the system logs. I reviewed the system error messages (is it normal for there to be a lot of them throughout a 1.5-year history of the computer??).

One that I did find interesting on 07/12/2010 - which is probably the last time I booted - reads like this:

-----
The server {C2BFE331-6739-4270-86C9-493D9A04CD38} did not register with DCOM within the required timeout.
-----

Not sure what you need to know about it, but I copied the details as text and have pasted them here:

-----
Log Name: System
Source: Microsoft-Windows-DistributedCOM
Date: 7/12/2010 10:36:08 AM
Event ID: 10010
Task Category: None
Level: Error
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: Office-PC
Description:
The server {C2BFE331-6739-4270-86C9-493D9A04CD38} did not register with DCOM within the required timeout.
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="

http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">

<System>
<Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-DistributedCOM" Guid="{1B562E86-B7AA-4131-BADC-B6F3A001407E}" EventSourceName="DCOM" />
<EventID Qualifiers="49152">10010</EventID>
<Version>0</Version>
<Level>2</Level>
<Task>0</Task>
<Opcode>0</Opcode>
<Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2010-07-12T14:36:08.000Z" />
<EventRecordID>314002</EventRecordID>
<Correlation />
<Execution ProcessID="0" ThreadID="0" />
<Channel>System</Channel>
<Computer>Office-PC</Computer>
<Security />
</System>
<EventData>
<Data Name="param1">{C2BFE331-6739-4270-86C9-493D9A04CD38}</Data>
</EventData>
</Event>
-----

The reason I found this interesting is when I search for C2BFE331-6739-4270-86C9-493D9A04CD38 in the registry, it is associated with both:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\igfxsrvc.DispayConfig.1
...and
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\igfxsrvc.DisplayConfig

The "DisplayConfig" part of those made me think it might be related. From what I can find, igfxsrvc is part of the Intel Common User Interface.

When I search for that within the logs, I see this same error recurring a few times (07/02, 06/24, 06/02, 05/12, and 04/28). I've tried to figure out when I first installed the monitor to see if the dates coincide, but it would have been near 04/01.

Do these things provide any insight, or am I following the wrong path?

jb

 

[rclarke250]

Just found this at microsoft answers, sounds promising.

This problem occurs when the monitor driver is unloaded when the lid of the computer closes. In this case, the Transient Multi-monitor Manager (TMM) reduces the resolution to the default resolution because it cannot verify the monitor.

To work around this problem, stop the TMM (Transient Multi-monitor Manager) service. To do this, use one of the following methods.
Method 1: Use Task Scheduler
1. Click Start , type Task Scheduler in the Start Search box, and then click Task Scheduler in the Programs list.
2. Expand Task Scheduler Library, expand Microsoft, expand Windows, and then click MobilePC.
3. Right-click TMM, and then click Disable.

Notes • If the TMM task is not displayed, right-click MobilePC, point to View, and then click Show Hidden Tasks.
• This fix does not disable any of the docking features on the portable computer. If you find that an external monitor does not work correctly, you can re-enable the TMM task.

Method 2: Use a script
1. Click Start , type cmd in the Start Search box, and then click cmd in the Programs list.

If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Continue.
2. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
Schtasks /End /TN “\Microsoft\Windows\MobilePC\TMM”

 

[kjv1611]

rclarke250's last post sounds very promising indeed. Let us know how that one works out.

On the Ubuntu thing, if you can handle signing up here, and posting here, you can handle using Ubuntu as a test, I promise. IF you want to go that route, follow these instructions. I PROMISE it's super easy!

Required:
1. You
2. Computer
3. CD Burner (DVD Burner will burn CDs as well)
4. Broadband Internet Connection
5. A Blank CD-R

Process:
1. Go to

http://www.ubuntu.com

2. Click "Download now" or whatever the big download button says.
3. Follow any instructions, get the download started - don't worry about the torrent links, that's another story.
4. While that's downloading, go download ImgBurn and install it with default options - uncheck any toolbar/homepage options if there are any.
5. When Ubuntu's image file has finished downloading, open/run ImgBurn
6. Click the button to browse for your image file - browse to your Ubunutu Image file you just downloaded.
6. Choose your burner if you have more than one
7. Click "Burn" or whatever when that option is enabled.
8. When finished, if the CD was ejected, put it back in.
9. Reboot the computer, change your boot options in BIOS or boot loader menu if necessary (you can try without messing with anything if you'd rather - depends on how your system was setup)
10. You'll be prompted eventually from Ubuntu to select your language, English will probably be default. Select that.
11. Later, you'll be asked if you want to Try or Install, simply click on Try
12. Within seconds you'll be at a full-blown operating system, Ubuntu Linux. Honestly, for the basic stuff it works similarly (user experience) to Windows. You should be able to quickly figure out how to move around enough to test the display.

That MAY sound complicated if you've never done it, but I can't PROMISE you enough that if you can sign up on a forum board, create an account, and post a question, that you can do this.

Many of the modern Linux distros are nothing like what Linux used to be like. They are far more user friendly than ever before, in my opinion. No, they are not Windows, but on a usability scale, they are getting really close. From my little bits of tinkering with different things, I'd go Linux before I went Mac, and I'd almost go Linux at times. There are some things I find better in Ubuntu and Mandriva Linux in particular, than Windows. However, for day-to-day usage, I think it's still going to be hard, at least for some time yet, to beat Windows. Macs, though pretty, I think are more difficult to pick up and learn.

Of course, none of that has directly anything to do with the problem at hand.

Anyway, the latest version of Ubuntu is very pretty. The only thing really odd about it, I think, this go round was that some genius decided to move the maximize/close buttons to the left side of the top of the window from the right. Man, talking about this just reminds me how much I have been wanting to set up my "main" system as multi-boot... just have to find the time...

I MUST hush now.

 

[Nebulosity]

rclarke250:

Wow, that really does sound like the issue I'm facing! Thank you for digging that up.

I've disabled TMM (using the Task Scheduler method). I'll need to reboot to see if it fixed the problem. Can't reboot just yet, but later this afternoon I will and will definitely update this post.

jb

 

[Nebulosity]

Thanks kjv1611!

It's more about the time involved, less about the technical ability. I've been a PC user since DOS 3, but learned (self-taught) both Mac and Solaris well enough to support applications on them in a previous job. I'm sure I can do it, its just about time. Or maybe laziness

You've convinced me, though, that it's super easy.

Tell you what, if the other solutions don't fix it, I'll do the Ubuntu thing.

Thanks again!

jb

 

[kjv1611]

Yeah, the Ubunutu thing would be worth it at some poing, fix or no fix, just to see what the new Linux Distros can look like. Ubuntu and Mandriva both are VERY good as far as hardware support and ease of use. Far better than any I tried to mess with even over just the past probably 7 or 8 years.

 

[Nebulosity]

rclarke250:

BINGO!!! I have a 90% resolution, and it came by simply turning of TMM!

After rebooting I've tried it every which way. Boot just with the external monitor, boot with the laptop display while the external monitor is unplugged, boot with both, boot with the external display and then unplug it to see if the laptop still works, and boot with just the laptop and then plug the monitor in.

In every case, the external display and the laptop display work at their native (maximum) resolutions. Yeah!

Why do I say a "90% resolution?" Because for some pesky reason I don't have the option to set the external monitor's refresh to 75Hz. The highest setting I'm presented with is 60Hz (which corresponds with the laptop's max. Coincidence?).

I've tried in both Windows control panel and Intel's (the Acer tool doesn't even include refresh settings). Neither provides anything above 75Hz. Yet I know before that 75Hz was an option in some scenarios, even though I could never get it to stick.

So close.

Any ideas on the refresh?

jb

 

[kjv1611]

On the max resolution, if you go to advanced properties under your display properties, and go under monitor, there is a place where you can uncheck "only show resolutions this monitor can handle", and then change the settings. For whatever reason, Windows seems to misread monitor's max settings on occasion.

 

[Nebulosity]

kjv1611 -

For the record, I believe you neant to be saying "refresh rate" rather than "resolution."

I remembered once seeing what you described, so I hopped on over to the Monitor control panel. There is a checkbox that says "Hide modes that this monitor cannot display."

However, that checkbox is greyed out (and is also unchecked).

Under the "Adapter" tab of that same control panel, there is a button called "List All Modes." When I click that, I get a long list of options such as:
- 1920 by 1080, True Color (32 bit), 60 Hertz
- 1920 by 1080, True Color (32 bit), 30 Hertz (Interlaced)

Etc.

75Hrtz doesn't show up there, either. Strange...

 

[rclarke250]

You may have to actually dig up the drivers for the monitor, strange as it is, windows will sometimes not give all the modes, if it sees it as generic.

 

[Nebulosity]

The driver installed actually is the current driver from Acer. To verify this, I went to the Monitor paart of the Control Panel nd verified that it is called Acer H243H, then did Properties and so on and "Update driver." It says I have the latest.

To add to this strangeness, even though "60 hertz" is the maximum choice, I notice that it keeps reverting to 59 hertz after I set it for 60 and save/apply it. It's actually been doing this all along, even before I submitted this problem, but I didn't want to complicate the problem description. I thought that would go away if the rest was fixed. It didn't.

59 hertz seems like a pretty odd number to even be in that list, doesn't it?

Is there a registry tweak I could do or something to that effect?

jb

 

[micker377]

59 hertz:

I may be way off base here, but 59 hertz is what fluorescent lights really run at. Is it possible this is an "anti-flicker" setting? What "Power Settings" are set under Power? Try something besides "Home/Office" settings. See if that makes any difference.

 

[Nebulosity]

micker377 -

Thanks for chiming in on this. Since my last post I've been on an adventure. It started with me going to Dell's support site and, in connection with my particular model of computer, they offered a newer version of the Intel graphics software. so I downloaded and installed it. That crippled me pretty badly - the external monitor then only displayed in 8-bit color and only at 1440 resolution. Nothing else could be set. There seemed to be no direct way to revert. After trying everything else, I used System Restore to return to the state of the problem before I did that. But for some reason the Acer control software wouldn't load - I'd get ""eDisplay Management has stopped working" when I booted, and all I could do was close it. So I used Revo Uninstall to uninstall it completely, then reinstalled. Same thing. I contacted Acer support and they wrote back saying (in bad English) that I am in warranty, but because this is a software issue I'd have to pay them for support. ARGH!

That software doesn't seem to be necessary - it was actually a decent tool for adjusting the colors and such, but that's all.

More directly to your suggestion, in Vista I don't have profiles like "Home/Office." But I did check my power settings, both specific to the monitor (in Intel's panel) and overall for the system (in Vista's panel). Essentially, everything is set to "recommended" or "balanced" settings, and looking at the details I don't see anything that looks like changing it would affect anything. It was definitely worth looking into, though. Thanks.

Here's the current state of my problem:
When using only the Acer monitor, the settings are 1920x1080 and 60hz. That is the maximum refresh rate that both Intel and Vista give me the option to choose. It no longer goes back to 59hz, but they don't allow me to set at 75hz either.

When BOTH displays are in use, oddly I can set 75hz refresh rate but the maximum resolution available is 1440x900!

That, moreover, is even stranger. If I use Vista's control panel it shows that I have multiple displays with the external as #1, but when I look at the details of display #2 it says it's set for 640x480, 8 bit, and 60hz! I can use the slider and change those settings, but after clicking "Apply" it goes right back to where it was. Those settings are simply not reflecting reality, though. With both displays in use, the built-in is displaying at what I think is actually 1440. That concerns me differently, too. Is it displaying the same settings as the external monitor? If so, it's running at 75hz, which is beyond the 60hz capability of the built in.

If I pull the HDMI cable and use the built-in display alone, it's at 1440 and 60hz. Oddly, at that point Intel realizes there's only 1 display available, but Vista still things there's two. The first one is correct, the second one is stuck at 800x600. By "stuck" I mean the slider doesn't work. I can't adjust it.

This is a very strange set of problems and is baffling my little pea brain!

Thanks for everyone's help.

 

[kjv1611]

Someone may have already mentioned this before, so forgive me if I forgot. Have you tried looking at the LCD model itself, and then searching on any model/part #s you have for a Vista driver? For Vista in particular, I've seen more issues with Monitor drivers (LCDs in particular) than other versions of Windows. It wouldn't' hurt looking for another MONITOR driver, not the same as the Intel graphics driver.

Also, if you didn't already do it, verify your chipset driver(s) is up to date.

 

[kjv1611]

Also, if it were me, and if it were really important to try and get this feature working, then I'd (pretty soon) try just a clean install of Vista if possible without all the Acer extra software. Then if you can't get online, find the appropriate network adapter driver(s), update those; and then use Intel's own driver finder utility to update any chipset, graphics drivers; and then do Windows Update for drivers.

If you only have a restore disk or partition, then try running

http://www.pcdecrapifier.com

after install to clean up all the extra junk.