HDMI to VGA Problems - HELP PLEASE!!

diagonlane · Aug 12, 2013

Hello, this is my first post on this website and I was really hoping that someone could help me out with a problem I've been having.

Alright, so about a week ago I decided it was about time I reset my computer to factory settings as it hadn't been running as well as it had been. My computer was using a dual monitor setup with one screen at 1600x900 and the other at 1440x900, the two monitors are hooked up differently though. One through a LONTIUM HDMI to VGA converter, and the other through a DVI to VGA converter. My computer is the HP ENVY Phoenix Desktop, I'll include all of the specs at the end, Now everything had been working just fine with my monitors, both were displaying at the the said resolutions, but ever since the I restored my system it won't allow me to change one of the monitors to it's former resolution. I searched the internet for hours, and tried a few programs including several builds of Powerstrip, and a program called Display Changer, hoping I could force the resolution to its former glory. Nothing seemed to work though. But I had the bright idea of changing the the inputs or plugging them back in. Now I came to find that the HDMI to VGA converter was the input that wouldn't return to its previous resolution, so I tried to switch the inputs, the DVI to VGA output with the HDMI to VGA output, but instead of fixing the problem it just reversed the monitors so that the one that had been a smaller resolution was now at ITS former resolution and the other monitor was forced to the resolution the other was at. This isn't exactly the easiest thing to explain but I was hoping that someone could make my year and let me know if there is an answer to my problem, If you have ANY questions about details I may have left out just ask them, Thanks!

3rd Gen Intel® Core™ i5-3570 processor
Features a 6MB cache and 3.4GHz processor speed with Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz.
Intel® Core™ i5 processor
Features smart 4-way processing performance with a speed boost.
Intel® Turbo Boost Technology
Automatically speeds up your processor when your PC needs extra performance.
10GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM
For multitasking power, expandable to 32GB.
Multiformat DVD±RW/CD-RW drive with double-layer support
Records up to 8.5GB of data or 4 hours of video using compatible DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL media; also supports DVD-RAM.
2TB Serial ATA hard drive (7200 rpm)
Offers spacious storage and fast read/write times. A 16GB solid state drive cache enables enhanced performance.
AMD Radeon HD 7670 graphics
Feature 1GB dedicated video memory for lush images.
15-in-1 front-panel media reader
Supports SmartMedia, xD-Picture Card, MultiMediaCard, Reduced-Size MultiMediaCard, MultiMediaCard mobile, MultiMediaCard Plus, Secure Digital, miniSD, Compact Flash I/II and Microdrive formats.
Also supports Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, Memory Stick Duo and Memory Stick PRO Duo formats.
2 USB 3.0 and 6 USB 2.0 ports
For fast digital video, audio and data transfer.
Built-in high-speed wireless LAN (802.11a/b/g/n)
Connect to the Internet without wires.
Bluetooth 4.0 interface
Easily link with other Bluetooth-enabled devices, such as a mobile phone or MP3 player.
Built-in 10/100/1000Base-T Ethernet LAN
For quick and easy wired Web connection.
Microsoft Windows 8 operating system preinstalled
Provides a stable platform for word processing, Web navigation, gaming, media storage and more.

clutchc · Aug 12, 2013

When you said you "restored your computer to factory settings", what exactly did you do? Clean install the OS? Do a restore from the restore partition?

diagonlane · Aug 12, 2013

I booted to the menu and selected recovery partition, so it installed a clean version of Windows 8 with everything that came with the computer.

clutchc · Aug 12, 2013

Run Windows update and get all the latest updates to the OS installed before using the 2nd monitor. Then install the latest gfx driver from AMD for your graphics card: http://sites.amd.com/us/game/downloads/Pages/downloads.aspx
If you are a gamer, download/install the application profiles too. Then try using the 2nd monitor. VGA (analog) monitors can be a pain normally, not to mention when they are run from a digital (HDMI/DVI) output through an digital to analog adapter. Don't your monitors have digital inputs?

diagonlane · Aug 12, 2013

Alright, well I downloaded the latest AMD driver, and installed every update windows had to offer, and it still just isn't seeming to work. I appreciate your help and hope you can help me find a solution. And no, my monitors are both VGA monitors, and don't have a digital input. It's not the VGA to DVI adapter though, it's the VGA to HDMI, because if i switch the inputs it's always the monitor connected to the HDMI that has a problem.

diagonlane · Aug 12, 2013

I figured that posting the specific monitors might help, so here they are. I bought monitor 1 along with this computer, and monitor 2 was just sitting in my basement so I figured I may as well try and hook it up, and it worked. Er well. Used to work.
http://us.aoc.com/monitor_displays/e2051sn Monitor 1
http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/review/acer/x193w/220803/ Monitor 2

clutchc · Aug 12, 2013

You must have already had the windows updates done previously. They don't download and install that fast.
What happens if you connect one of the monitors to the VGA port on the card?

diagonlane · Aug 12, 2013

There isn't a VGA port on the card, there's only an HDMI, some weird "e port" (unsure as to what output it is), and a DVI port.

clutchc · Aug 13, 2013

Oh. Then your card has a Display Port ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DisplayPort ) instead of the VGA. Bad luck. Most HD 7670s came with HDMI, DVI, and VGA.
I've never used one of those HDMI to VGA converters, so I'm not sure if there is something we're overlooking there or not. I can see where converting a digital signal to analog could be problematic, though. With the DVI/VGA adapter, there is no conversion. The DVI port on the gfx card has both digital and analog signals present. But, if the converter worked before the factory reset, one would think it should still work now.

I tried going over your explanation in the original post to understand exactly what you were experiencing. But I'm still confused. Are you saying that the HDMI/VGA output always controls the resolution for both monitors? Whatever it's outputting, the DVI/VGA follows?

One thing I'd do is be sure any programs you installed to try to remedy the problem are thoroughly uninstalled. In fact I'd run CCleaner afterwards just make sure it didn't leave remnants of it self in the Registry.
http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner

diagonlane · Aug 13, 2013

Yeah, that's what I would have thought but I just can't seem to figure out why it wouldn't. The HDMI/VGA output is always the smaller resolution on the monitor. For example, if I were to take the VGA from the VGA/DVI and swap the two, the monitor that WAS hooked up to the DVI/VGA would no longer be at a larger resolution, and the HDMI/VGA would shrink it down even though it could display at a higher resolution. Alright I'll run that, thanks again for the help.

clutchc · Aug 13, 2013

Try this:
Go into your Catalyst Control Center after you have both displays on and working. Have them set to "extend the desktop". In CCC, open "My digital flat Panels" and click on "Properties". In there, you should be able to adjust the individual monitor's display characteristics. (Unless the HDMI/VGA converter confuses the CCC).

diagonlane · Aug 13, 2013

http://imgur.com/ZWtlMI7
I went to Catalyst Control Center from my Desktop, and this is all that showed up. How would I get to "extend the desktop"?

clutchc · Aug 13, 2013

Aha. You must not have downloaded the latest driver (including the latest CCC) from the AMD website, after all. That looks like the version that came with HP. This is what the latest version from AMD looks like:

[/URL] Uploaded with ImageShack.us[/img]

If you don't want to go to the extent of uninstalling the old version and downloading/installing the newer version, what happens when you click on "Multi Desktop" or Desktop Manager" in your HP version.

diagonlane · Aug 14, 2013

Well I did, I downloaded this one, http://imgur.com/foMfuYh from the link you gave me, I then uninstalled the HP version, and went to the desktop and saw that CCC was no longer there, http://imgur.com/dTnEELG and then installed the driver I downloaded, http://imgur.com/OIt3yxe but CCC was still no longer at my desktop when I right clicked it? Should I restart my computer?

clutchc · Aug 14, 2013

After the installation, it should have required a restart anyway. I just wonder if the HP version was an incomplete uninstall; leaving remnants of itself still in the Registry. Yes, a restart is required to "activate" the new CCC and driver. Let me know what happens after a restart. If you have issues, I'll walk you through a total cleaning of the old driver.

diagonlane · Aug 14, 2013

Well I restarted after the install, and there still is no CCC on the desktop, not the HP one, or the ATI one, so could you walk me through cleaning the old driver?

clutchc · Aug 14, 2013

There are a couple ways we can do this. Let's start with the easiest way and see if it does the job. Download and ren AMD's Catalyst Uninstall Utility: http://sites.amd.com/us/game/downloads/Pages/catalyst-uninstall-utility.aspx
It should require a re-boot when finished. Then install the new driver/CCC.

Personally, I would run CCleaner after the AMD uninstall pgm/re-boot. ( http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner )

clutchc · Aug 14, 2013

Btw, you never did tell me what happened when you click on "Multi Desktop" or Desktop Manager" in your HP version.

diagonlane · Aug 14, 2013

It was basically just stuff to create a secondary desktop screen, that you could scroll through, and utilities to maximize windows. Alright thanks, i'll get on that now, I'll follow up on this shortly with the status of everything.

diagonlane · Aug 14, 2013

Okay so i ran the uninstaller, and it appeared to work, er well do something for that matter. It removed the driver for my monitor and reduced its resolution, I'm assuming it reduced the resolution because the driver is now the "Microsoft Basic Display Driver" and it's listing my monitor as a Generic Non-Pnp Monitor. Afterwards I ran the driver installer and nothing happened, it's still not showing up when I right click the desktop either. Any suggestions?

clutchc · Aug 15, 2013

Run CCleaner and see how much many registry errors it finds.

diagonlane · Aug 15, 2013

It found a lot, upwards of 87. Now what? Should I try and install CCC again?

clutchc · Aug 15, 2013

You may have to run CCleaner more than once. Run CCleaner until it comes back clean. Reboot. Then I would uninstall the graphic driver/CCC again if it shows up in Control Panel/Programs and Features. It might be present, just not allowed to be active with the remnants of the HP/AMD driver still present.

Then Download Driver Sweeper: http://www.techspot.com/downloads/4266-driver-sweeper.html
Boot to Safe Mode and run Driver Sweeper. Have it find and remove any AMD, Nvidia, and ATI graphic driver remnants it finds. Reboot and re-install the latest AMD graphics driver for your card and OS: http://sites.amd.com/us/game/downloads/Pages/downloads.aspx

Be sure you follow the all the steps in that order. And be sure you grab the correct driver from the link I sent.

diagonlane · Aug 15, 2013

I followed every step, and then when I went to download the CCC from the website it appeared to install but i can't seem to find any software to open, and I still don't have a CCC option when I right click the desktop. All I can think of is that I'm downloading the wrong driver? Which one would you go to on there based on my computer specs? They're in the first post

clutchc · Aug 15, 2013

Are you sure your graphic card is the HD 7670? Run GPU-Z and have it ID the card for sure.
http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/

HDMI to VGA Problems - HELP PLEASE!!

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