What do I need to do to prep a system for connecting to a television (system specs below)? I can get to a desktop in safe mode. But when I boot normally, I get the initial Windows chime, then the blocky Windows logo and progress-like bar on the black background, then as it moves to the next stage of loading (i.e., where it would normally switch to the blue-background Windows loading screen) I stop getting signal to the display and nothing appears. If I hard reboot (i.e., hit the reset switch n the case) I can see the POST screens and eventually get the “Windows did not start normally” prompt. From there it’s a loop—I can boot into Safe mode or fail to load normally.
If it makes any difference (or adds insult to injury), I can get boot into a Live Session (i.e., boot from CD, no install) of Ubuntu 8.04.
Given the above, I’m thinking I’m probably overlooking something basic, like carrying the two (oh, those poor flightless waterfowl!). I am going to try going into Add/Remove programs to remove the ATI drivers and see if that will at least let me boot normally. Any other suggestions?
System specs:
XP Pro; ATI 4850 graphics card; ATI-branded DVI-HDMI adapter; into the HDMI port of an Onkyo receiver, out via HDMI to a Mitsubishi DLP WD-Y577 rear projection screen. Both the receiver and the television can take up to 1920x1080 input. I have also had a Win 7 laptop connected to the receiver without a problem.
Nope. Even with all ATI drivers (Catalyst and otherwise) uninstalled, I can get to Safe mode, can get the first part of the boot screen (black background), but not past that – right after the first chime, the receiver reads “no signal.”
To quickly answer a couple hardware questions:
Both the receiver and the television can take 1080p.
We use this setup for a Blu-Ray player, Roku, etc. without a problem. We also use a laptop to connect in the same way we’re trying to get the desktop to work. (Though the laptop is running Win 7).
Here is why I think I’m just overlooking something simple:
After futzing with a few other things (including trying different cables), I connected both the CRT and the television at the same time. Using the Window’s preferences (not Catalyst Control), I switched the television to main display and the resolution to 1920x1068. I now have video on both screens; the taskbar and icons on the television, a bare desktop on the CRT.
But when I reboot after disconnecting the CRT, I once again get nothing to the television. :mad:
Have you tried bypassing the Onkyo and hooking the PC directly to the TV? There sometimes can be wonkiness with HDMI handshaking that can cause problems between specific devices.
How, I’m not exactly sure. Or rather, I’m not sure what the issue was in the first place. Perhaps it was just a matter of doing things in the right order. Anyway, in case someone comes along with a similar problem I might as well leave what breadcrumbs as I can.
So when we last left… I had the TV and the CRT monitor both working. I got there via Windows’ desktop preferences advanced settings. A host of things didn’t work, and much frustration ensued.
I then went back to the Catalyst Control Center. Within that, under Displays Manager>Displays properties, I made a series of changes (stupidly, I didn’t write down each step) until it too had the TV as primary, the CRT as secondary, and the desktop from the primary extended (but not cloned) to the CRT.
From there, I right-clicked on the display map (over on the right side of the screen) and unchecked “enable.” I was only able to do that once the TV had both “enabled” and “primary” checked. As soon as the CRT was disabled, its screen went blank and all I had was the TV.
It’s been stable since last night. I’ve rebooted and cold booted, and it’s still showing up on the television. I’ve increased a few of the defaults (i.e., system font size) to make it a bit easier on the eyes, but it’s coming through at 1080p.
Half Life, for the record, kicks ass on a 57” screen and 5.1 sound.