How can I totally disable a port on the back of my PC?

Here’s the deal, as succinct as I can make it: My new Gateway computer (Windows XP Home, Pentium 4, blah blah blah) has two monitor ports on the back of the unit. One of them is labeled (on the graph that came with it) “Monitor Port”, and one is labeled “Monitor Port (Optional. If available connect monitor here)”.

Now, when the computer arrived (I bought it new four months ago) there was a black piece of plastic over the port labeled “Monitor Port”, that is, the main one. It said “Do not remove”, so I plugged the monitor into the secondary one.

As a result, the computer thinks there are two monitors plugged into it (I know this because when I go to Device Manager and Display Settings there are two monitors listed) and therefore I have to start the computer twice every day to get the monitor to come on. In other words, I have to start the computer, then turn if off and turn it back on to get the monitor to come on, because (my theory is) the computer is trying to turn on the “main” monitor first, but of course there is no main monitor, because nothing’s plugged into that port.

So, I tried plugging it in there… didn’t work. It freaked out, confirming that I probably shouldn’t have removed the plastic thing, but I at least wanted to try. So my question is: Is there a way to completely disable this “main port”, the one that had the plastic thing over it, so the computer doesn’t even know it’s there? That way (hopefully) it would just recognize the secondary monitor in the first place(?)

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

right click desktop -> properties -> settings.

Click monitor 1 then click monitor 2. What do the display options say? and is monitor 2 hazed out? If one is hazed out then your computer doesn’t think theres 2 monitors it means your computer is capable of having 2 monitors.

Hitting identify will make sure if you’re on monitor 1 or monitor 2.

If you’re on monitor 2 you can simply check the “use this device as primary monitor” on monitor 1, then uncheck the extend my windows desktop to this monitor.

At this point the monitor should darken. You should be able then to move the monitor cable over to the main monitor port(I only suggest this because the secondary port is either a second port on the main video card, in which case it doesn’t matter, or it’s an onboard video card in which case you’re probably losing graphics performance).

hrm… yea… that should work.

Assuming your saying (I think) you have 2 video cards. The onboard MB based one (covered) and a secondary video card (the one you use) in an AGP slot in line with the PCI slots.

In these cases usually the MB BIOS will be smart enough to deactivate the onboard video if an AGP card is present. In some cases a MB jumper needs to be moved and/or onboard video needs to be de-sactivated in the BIOS settings.

Double check your manual re defeating the onboard video.

On a side note, it is not unusual for a PC to seem to have multiple monitors installed on it. I’ve seen systems with as many as 5 or 6 “Plug and play” or “default” monitors installed. Going into save mode will reveal them all. You can safely remove them all, and then reboot. Windows will detect a single monitor and install it.

How or why they all get in there is beyond me. They even seem to like to come back. However, they do not seem to have any effect on PC performance. Thanks Microsoft.

If this is the case, there could also be a BIOS setting to tell the computer which video card to use at startup.

It’s too early in the morning. I should clarify to say the option would be called something like “Select startup video” and wouldn’t entirely disable the onboard video. So if you’re looking for a “disable” option and it’s not there, the “select” option might be.
I’ll go back to bed now.

Thanks for the suggestions so far, guys. I should have said up front though, that I’m by no means a computer whiz, so I’d like to ask for clarification before I go changing my BIOS.

Harmonix, Yes, two monitors show up and Number 2 is hazed out. Strangly enough, “Identify” proves that I’m on Monitor 1, but the monitor is actually plugged into the Secondary slot! So, uh, I dunno.

astro, I have no idea if I have 2 video cards or not. I searched my manual (and my PC) for “onboard video” and only got instructions on how to install 2 monitors.

kinoons, when you said “save mode”, did you mean “safe mode”? I mean I really don’t know. I assume you did… so you’re saying I should restart in safe mode and just delete all the monitors listed? But will that really disable the whole port?

cstamets, I went into BIOS and the closest thing I could find was “Video Configuration”. I chose that one, and there was an item called “Primary Video Adaptor”. Is this what you’re talking about? It gives me 3 options under that heading: “Auto”, “Ext PCIE Graphics (PEG)”, and “Ext PCIE Graphics”. Since I have no idea what these mean, I’d rather not change it until I know I’m supposed to.

Keep in mind that when I bought the computer, it arrived with a plastic thing over the main slot that said “Do Not Remove”. Therefore I don’t really think I’m supposed to have anything in that port. What I would rather do is find a way to only use the secondary port, and make the computer not even recognize the main one.

I did mean safe mode, thankyou for reading through my typo.

Many video cards now come with multiple outputs to run multiple monitors. If this is the case (the two connectors are right next to one another, not in different areas on the back of the case) it is not necessary to disable the second port, the video card is smart enough to know if you have one monitor or two.

Any new system that has both on board AGP and an AGP slot should be able to auto-detect if you have a card in the AGP slot, and disable the on board video appropriately.

click monitor 1 then click monitor 2. If they’re both on the same video card then it doesn’t matter which slot you’re using. If they’re different then post it up here.