KVM switch + Windows 7 creates monitor switching nightmare

Anonymous
2009-10-29T16:44:18+00:00

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).

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Devices and drivers

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  1. Anonymous
    2010-11-17T21:50:29+00:00

    I think I've found a solution!  My KVM/dual monitor setup was working just fine for over a year, and all of a sudden I started having this issue.  The solution that worked for me:

     

    -Show all ghosted and disconnected devices in devicemanager per http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315539

    -Uninstall all monitors

    -Reboot

     

    After Windows came up and detected my monitors, my KVM setup worked perfectly.  Yay!

    OMG YOU ARE MY HERO

    well it worked once but as soon as I use the kvm a second time it does the same thing. I did notice that telling device manager to look for new hardward finds the other monitor again.

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  2. Anonymous
    2010-11-17T22:22:27+00:00

    Here is a workaround that will get you a shortcut you can exec to bring your monitor back:

    1: dl the devcon utility: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q311272

    2:unzip and copy the x86 devcon exe to your windows/system32 directory.

    3: create a shortcut whose target is "devcon rescan" no quotes

    Then make it sticky to your start menu so you can hit it on the fly, all your windows will shift to the primary monitor but at least it brings the monitor back without hunting through 2 levels of menus.

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  3. Anonymous
    2010-11-19T03:59:00+00:00

    See I would maybe maybe buy into the Microsoft "its the KVM" explination if for the past 6 months that I was running windows 7 my KVM worked fine.  then out of the blue about a month ago this same thing started happening to me.  this is frustrating me to no end.

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  4. Anonymous
    2010-12-07T01:57:57+00:00

    I'm not 100% sure this is the best solution, but it is one that works perfectly for me. I have multiple computers all connecting to the same KVM and have the same auto change resolution issue. Running a process logger, the igfxsrvc.exe process runs when the monitor changes and adjusts the screen resolution accordingly. I renamed this file from igfxsrvc.exe to igfxsrvcx.exe which prevents it from running. Problem solved. switching computers no longer causes Windows to auto resize the display. Rebooting the machine works fine. The only drawback to this solution is that you will get an error in your System Event logs that indicate that it was not able to start the DCOM server igfxsrvc.exe.

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  5. Anonymous
    2010-12-17T15:04:59+00:00

    I'm not 100% sure this is the best solution, but it is one that works perfectly for me. I have multiple computers all connecting to the same KVM and have the same auto change resolution issue. Running a process logger, the igfxsrvc.exe process runs when the monitor changes and adjusts the screen resolution accordingly. I renamed this file from igfxsrvc.exe to igfxsrvcx.exe which prevents it from running. Problem solved. switching computers no longer causes Windows to auto resize the display. Rebooting the machine works fine. The only drawback to this solution is that you will get an error in your System Event logs that indicate that it was not able to start the DCOM server igfxsrvc.exe.

    Thanks for the suggestion. Tried renaming that file but no luck though.

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