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
    2009-11-18T01:50:52+00:00

    I would like an answer to this as well, although I don't use a KVM i can see that my problem is closely related and a fix to the KVM-problem would solve my issue as well I'm guessing.

    My issue is that every time i turn my monitor off, Windows 7 rearrange and resize my desktop windows. This probably happens because win7 change the resolution of the desktop when the monitor gets 'un-plugged' (in reality just turned off).

    This is pretty much the same thing as all the ppl above me are describing, windows 7 is messing up screen resolution when it detects hardware beeing switched arround. A very simple fix to this is to turn that off! As described above, this can be worked around by minimizing all windows before i turn the monitor off, which lead me to the conclusion that it should be an extremely easy thing to fix.

    Please give us the option to turn the automatic screen resolution change-thing off.

    I agree.  This is the kind of thing that must be controllable by a registry setting somewhere.  Help!

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  2. Anonymous
    2009-11-16T17:47:55+00:00

    I have all the above problems, which happen repeatedly. In addition sometimes the background will go black. So far a switch user, and select my own userID will resolve the problem.

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  3. Anonymous
    2009-11-16T12:50:53+00:00

    i am another person having resolution change using a kvm switch .

    please someone help !

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  4. Anonymous
    2009-11-15T22:08:46+00:00

    Where oh where is the resident moderator hiding?

    We really need some help here.

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  5. Anonymous
    2009-11-15T16:19:40+00:00

    I'm sorry - but this is not an acceptable answer.

    In addition to Windows 7 being affected - this also affects Windows 2008 R2.  Now - you're telling the thousands of IT Data Centers that they have to upgrade all of their older KVM's in order to use 2008 R2???  Ok - which KVM Company are you getting kickbacks from?  I don't know of any Company Data centers that don't have KVM's so that they can control multiple servers from one console.

    BTW:  This isn't just in Windows 7/2008 R2 - the problem, to a lesser extent, exists in Vista/2008 as well.

    Under Windows XP I was able to restart a computer - switch to another while it was restarting - and then return after it had completed restarting and it's resolution would be to what I had set it to.  Under Vista/2008 - that stopped working - it would reset to the default resolution - but only on a reboot.  This was minorly annoying...

    Under Windows 7 it's now so much worse.  I can't even install 7 on one of my PC's (NVidia GEForce 7900GS) without disconnecting it completely from the KVM.  It goes through the install - however once it hits the windows environment it goes completely black.  On that particiular PC I had to downgrade to the last NVidia Vista driver (before they started supporting Win7) in order to at least get my system visible.

    Microsoft's stance is that Windows 7 is suppose to fix all the issues that people had upgrading to Vista.  Well one of the biggest issues was backward's compatibility with older hardware.  Based on that - this answer should also not be acceptable to Microsoft

    FIX THE ISSUE or provide us a registry setting/hack to stop the functionality...

    Joseph W. Leathlean

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