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I have a problem with Windows 7 and my KVM switch (Iogear model# gcs1764) which is makes switching via KVM an absolute nightmare. The iogear KVM does not use drivers nor are any available on their website.
Here's what happens:
I switch from Win 7 (2 monitors) to XP (1 monitor) via KVM. When I switch back to Win 7 (2 monitors) sometimes Win 7 will throw my desktop to the 2nd monitor (1st monitor goes blank) and opening up display settings only shows the 2nd monitor as existing. It's as if the 1st monitor is now unplugged which it isn't. At this point I have to go into display settings, click Detect, and then it re-detects my 1st monitor and "extends" my desktop back out over 2 monitors. All windows have now been thrown to my 1st monitor and i have to rearrange all my work back across 2 monitors. This is why KVM switching in Win 7 makes my work life a living nightmare. This isn't all of it either...
When everything gets thrown to my first monitor, it takes any windows that were maximized and resizes them to about 1/4 my screen size. Due to compatibility issues between Win 7 and SQL Server Management Studio, Management Studio has a redraw bug that doesn't "re-size" the query window correctly. So even though I maximize the app, when I start typing in the query window my text disappears about 1/4 the way across the whole window. The only way to fix this is to save all my work, close the app, and then re-open the app with all my work. So basically every time I switch computers there's about a 1/5 chance I have rinse and repeat everything I just typed above. Fun times.
So are there any future fixes planned for this? I have tried everything and nothing fixes this problem. I have all the latest Nvidia drivers (my card: Nvidia GTS 250).
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.
For those like FatOldSun and Cray54 experiencing this problem without a KVM it might be worthwhile adding your issue to these threads where the same problem has been reported but not in relation to a KVM.
I wonder if Microsoft is ignoring this problem because KVM's are less pervasive than people with multiple monitors - or even people with a single monitor! ;)
I have no KVM, just a nVidia GeForce 7600GT with two DVI outputs. I have a Samsung SyncMaster 215TW in the first DVI port, and nothing in the other. The resolution is 1680x1050 (recommended). I have Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.
If I switch off my monitor for a moment and switch it back on, no problem. If I switch it off for several minutes and switch back on, I'm usually presented with a black screen. I know that Windows is still running because I can shut it down cleanly by pressing the Power button, and I can also shut it down by pressing Alt-F4, I can also hear sound if an application is playing sounds. I have no "sleep" or "hibernate" switched on, and the power settings have been set so nothing is switched off.
The only way I can get around this problem is to go to the Switch User screen before I switch off the monitor. I have a Creative webcam with face-recognition login so when I switch the monitor back on, the "look at the camera" screen always appears although it's quite often a much lower resolution than it should be. When my face is recognised, the Windows desktop always returns back to the correct resolution.
Another thing I've found is that if I login remotely to my PC using LogMeIn, I cannot use it because Windows is continually adjusting the screen resolution in the face recogntion screen. It changes it quicker than LogMeIn can draw the screen, and it can be anything from 640x480 to 1680x1050. If I'm lucky enough to click in the right place to restart Windows, once it has restarted I can connect back up to it using LogMeIn and it works fine.
If the monitor is switched off when I first boot up the PC, I also get a black screen and have to shutdown and reboot to get a picture.
So there is definitely an issue with Windows 7 and how it deals with the resolution when it can't detect a monitor, and how it recovers to the correct resolution when the monitor is switched on. If there was a way to force a resolution and not try to detect something all the time, I'm sure that would fix the problem. I'm sure it's all down to this EDID but that's as far as I know.
I have a similar but opposite problem. When I was first beta testing Windows 7 (primarily for media center) I could turn off my projector and have everything automatically move to my other monitor. Now, Windows always recognizes the projector (on or off) and I have to manually change monitors. I want to force Windows to treat the projector as disconnected when it is turned off… I hope the fix that solves the above problems will be applicable to my situation as well.
Windows 7 is pretty great in general, but the lack of user customization available in both the OS and the media center leave something to be desired.
-Chris
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There's a problem here, and it doesn't have anything to do with KVM switches... My scenario is similar, but I'm not using a KVM. I've got a dual monitor NVidia GT220 video card. Monitor #1 is connected with the DVI connector. Monitor #2 uses the standard VGA connector. When Windows 7 goes into SLEEP mode, all applications are moved onto monitor #1 and I see that when the computer wakes up. SO... this isn't JUST a KVM. Buying a new KVM won't solve the problem.
As a further test, if I cut the power to both monitors, and then restore power to monitor #2 using the vga connector, I see that the computer can only see that there is one monitor connected to the computer.
Surely there is some way to prevent Windows 7 from totally ignoring the sleeping or disconnected monitor (connected via the DVI connector) and resetting where all of the applications are. You would think that Windows wouldn't move the windows before sleep mode starts, or before the computer is completely awake. What gives?
EDIT 1/12/2010: Problem SOLVED.
I did a windows update and installed new NVidia drivers on the box - and the problem has gone away. I can now cut power to the monitors, turn them off, or let the computer go to sleep, and all windows will stay positioned correctly. Perhaps this is just a driver issue.
