I've written a little utility to address this issue. It's still very thrown together, but opensource, so you can compile from sources if you've got any security concerns.
Hope it works out for you!
Windows 7 Dual Monitors - Turning off a monitor causes desktop to rearrange resulting in significant amounts of lost productivity.
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Anonymous
I have 2 monitors connected to a nVidia FX 580 card running Windows 7 Pro 64-bit. One monitor is connected via DVI and the other via DP (Display Port).
If I turn off the DP monitor, I hear the windows sound indicating hardware was "removed". When I turn the monitor back on, I hear the new hardware sound, windows re-detects the monitor as if I just installed it, and my entire desktop icon layout and any windows I had open are then all rearranged and takes a significant amount of time re-organizing to get back to where I was.
I leave my PC on 24hrs a day for several reasons - and for years have always just turned my monitors off when not in use.
I need to be able to turn off my monitors without windows deciding that I have "removed" a monitor.
I work for a medical imaging software company where we provide complete hardware and software solutions for use in Radiology departments in hospitals. These systems typically have 3 or 4 monitors connected, all via DP these days. Because of the possibility of the users desktop getting messed up if they happen to turn off a monitor, we are unable to install systems with Windows 7.
While many may see this as nothing more then a inconvenience, this is a show-stopper as far as we are concerned. As of yet I have not found a workable solution to this issue.
So here's the question: How do we disable this new behavior in Windows 7 and allow it to understand that the monitor hasn't gone away and that the desktop should not be rearranged simply because the monitor was turned off?
Thank you.
Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Devices and drivers
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Anonymous
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Anonymous
2016-05-13T06:11:13+00:00 I have a simpler solution. Your primary monitor, where you have the icons, you need to plug in to the Display Port, which operates in the graphics card as the first (main). You will know this by watching the Windows logo at startup, which appears always on the monitor connected to the first port DP.
For me, on two monitors work perfectly.
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Anonymous
2016-04-05T05:02:01+00:00 FYI: I had tried everything listed here but nothing worked, drivers, Windows updates.. you name it.
Finally, the only solution was to buy a cheap hardware adapter that fixed the issue completely.
Look up "Monitor Detect Killer" it solved the problem completely.
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Anonymous
2016-04-03T15:13:45+00:00 6 years after this thread was started the problem still persists. I'm using the latest update to Windows 10 with 2 monitors via DVI and DP. I manage multiple servers via RDP connections and have each window carefully positioned. Each time Windows turns off a monitor to save power it moved all the windows onto just one monitor and doesn't move them back when the other monitor comes back on.
I can disable power saving to ensure the monitors are kept on 24 x 7 x 365 but that's a waste of energy.
MICROSOFT: Please fix this age old problem and add a new checkbox in the Display control panel that prevents automatic re-arranging of windows* when monitors in a multi-monitor setup are switched off or put into power saving mode.
*This means all apps including 3rd party windows
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Anonymous
2016-03-17T08:20:07+00:00 I too leave my monitors on all of the time. What a waste of energy. I'm getting ready to upgrade to Windows 10 and had hoped this had been fixed. But Microsoft never fails to disappoint when it comes to things users care about.
Question: Does anyone know if I plug in one of the headless video adapters in a spare video port if this will keep the problem from happening? Then Windows would think there was a monitor turned on even if I turn off my main monitor.