JohnK 2002-03-24 20:02
Older readers might remember I've been running two monitors on a pair of Matrox G200 cards for some time and have been very (well, reasonably!) happy.
I now have a new system and was sold a dual-head Matrox G550 to meet my two monitor need.
Both monitors come up fine, but the Matrox dual-head software seems to lack something! I presume because the monitors are off one graphics card Windows multi-monitor is not invoked?
This means I have to put up with maximised windows spreading right acroos two monitors with all dialog boxes popping up in the join between the two screens, and the taks bar spreads right across the bottom of the two screens, one of which is 19", the other 17" presenting a bizarre effect. In addition I don't seem to be able to do separate resolution settings on each monitor.
Have I been mis-sold this card. I want two monitors with an extended desktop. I'd hoped with Windows 2000 I might get some slightly better usage, instead of which I've got a much more primitive set of features.
Suggestions anyone?
JohnK
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Lanlan 2002-03-25 01:01
From what I read in the past, you can't have two seperate screen resolutions in Win2k. I had the same problem with an old Geforce2 Twinview video card in win2k where the popups would come up between the screens and the taskbar stretches along the bottom of both screens. The workaround you ask?
Install WinXP! :)
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Christian Studer 2002-03-25 01:21
Matrox has true multi-monitor support on Windows 2000, see the FAQ for details.
During driver installation, you'll be asked if you want to install advanced multi-monitor support for Windows 2000 (or something similar). Answer yes. After installation, check advanced display properties and look for the dualhead options. You should be able to choose a mode that allows independent resolutions.
Christian Studer - www.realtimesoft.com
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JohnK 2002-03-25 05:26
Thanks for the replies.
Christian, I took your advice and downloaded the latest drivers from Matrox. After carefully de-installing and then installing the new ones, I still can't get it to behave any differently.
I've been through all the options in the Dual-Head and Advanced dialogs but with no success.
The Matrox software will only let me put the secondary monitor to the right or below the primary (I chose the Right).
The task bar still extends right across both monitors, meaning the Start button and the System Tray icons are as far apart as a mouse can get.
And all the dialog boxes come up centred on the join between the monitors!
Although it says I can select the resolution for Monitor 2, after Applying, nothing happens so I've still got a 19" and a 17" set to the same resolution.
Either I'm doing something wrong, or I'm going to have to get another Graphics card to get things back to a reasonable working environment. Does anybody still do reasonable PCI Graphics cards?
More help and advice pls.
P.s. When I said it was Win2k, I should have said Win2k Professional (that is, NT based).
JohnK
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Christian Studer 2002-03-25 06:11
Not sure what's going wrong, I installed a G450 on Windows 2000 Pro once, and following the steps listed above enabled true multi-monitor support (two monitors listed in Display Properties, independent resolutions, taskbar only on one monitor etc).
You may want to contact Matrox support.
Christian Studer - www.realtimesoft.com
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Deepak 2002-03-26 15:05
I have a G450 AGP under w2k..
I think you need to goto display, then under the matrox tab, there is a place where you have to TURN ON support for Dual-Head (same menu as turning on/off DVD-MAX & Cloning..)
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Axident 2002-03-26 20:07
You do have to enable the dualhead options. Once you do that you should be able to bring up an option box that'll let you choose how apps open and to bring up dialog boxes in the window the mouse is in. right click on Matrox Powerbox in your taskbar, select multimonitor options, the stuff you need should be in there.
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Torrence 2002-04-02 02:31
I have solved this problem with Win 2000.
#1Go to the Matrox.com sight and download the version 582 drivers for Win2k.
#2 Uninstall all existing drivers.
#3 Install the utilities only from your Matrox CD Rom.(don't install the drivers)
#4 install the new 582 drivers for Win2k.
You will be asked if you want to be able to provide different color and resolution for each monitor. Answere "yes" Your tool bar will then come back to one monitor only and you will be able to see both monitors in the monitor "settings" section instead of just one. You can then configure them independently as you please. I hope that is clear and helps.
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Torrence 2002-04-02 02:34
PS Follow up:
I mentioned to uninstall the existing drivers from your CD Rom. You also need ot uninstall ALL of the other Matrox software and start over completely from scratch.
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JohnK 2002-04-09 22:05
Many thanks to everyone who contributed to the above.
I've successfully installed the 582 software and it does indeed solve the restrictions so I'm a happy bunny once again.
Its amazing how much my business processes had been speeded up using two monitors - You don't notice until you have to revert to one!
Special thanks to Christian for keeping this site running and being a regular contributor to answer problems.
JohnK
p.s. I know I shouldn't say this, but I didn't even re-install or de-install the drivers. Just ran setup.exe with 582 and it all turned out fine. Just watch those dialog boxes though, one wrong answer can throw the whole thing!
JohnK
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