Windows 7 Dual Monitors - Turning off a monitor causes desktop to rearrange resulting in significant amounts of lost productivity.

Anonymous
2010-02-03T17:25:23+00:00

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

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2015-02-28T12:44:10+00:00

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!

http://www.ninjacrab.com/persistent-windows/

Was this answer helpful?

30+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments

68 additional answers

Sort by: Oldest
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2015-05-01T07:35:16+00:00

    Baokeyai,  Seems to work for me.  Thank you.  I change my layout frequently and it would help if it would save my changes automatically.  But not the Windows re-arrangement, of course :-)

    Best regards

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2015-07-17T05:38:13+00:00

    I can confirm that it works like a charm - problem solved once and for all!!. Many thanks Baokeyai!! :-)

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Deleted

    This answer has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The answer was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.

    Comments have been turned off. Learn more

  4. Anonymous
    2015-07-17T08:11:00+00:00

    Well I am on Windows 8.1 and Catalyst 15.6 with my 3 monitors in Eyefinity.

    The way I worked around it is by never turning off monitors. If even one monitor is off, then entire desktop will be messed up.

    They do go to screen saver, and down to standby, so they are kind of off, but I cant press the powerbutton to turn them off completely.

    Switching to Windows 10 in a few days.

    Also gonna change to Nvidia card later this year and go back to singlemonitorsetup with the Acer X34 Predator G-sync.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments