Please help! TH2GO Digital Not working

[Drewsta]

Hi guys, Ive just loaded my Th2go Digital and wanted to test the 2 screens i have currently for my MIP. I loaded the cd and followed the guide and found when it came to connecting my screens it got interesting. I have a 8800 gt 512mb graphics card with dual DVI outputs. Off the first output on the graphics card i have an LG 22 inch monitor i use for things like this and initial setup etc. The Captains screen is a standard MAG 19 inch 4:3 running at 60 hz. The middle screen is a dell 19 inch 4:3 also running at 60hz and both have a resolution of 1280x1024. From the second dvi output on the graphics card is the TH2go short DVI cable included going to the Th2go box. On the Th2go box pos 1 is the Mag 19 inch and from Pos 3 is the Dell 19 inch. Note: both 19 inch monitors are analogue plugs attached to the Th2go box with DVI adapters. The Dell 19 Inch monitor is also using the analogue short cable that came with the Th2go. (Confused yet?) So when it came to detecting the monitors it only detected the Dell monitor attached to Pos 3 which remained black. However the Mag screen in Pos 1 that it hasn't detected is on and displaying the desktop background? I know the Dell screen works because when I rebooted the 2 screens on the Mip both light up and had the initial boot up writing across both of them, then when the windows logo comes up the 22 inch comes on, the Mag 19 inch stays on with the desktop background and the dell goes off? I'm confused and don't know what to do. I apologise for the way this is written but if i can get some help on this I wanted you to know exactly what I'm doing this end.

Thanks for any help.
Drewsta

[BHawthorne]

Question, what sort of cable do you have between the TH2G and your video card?

I've never seen the Digital version of the TH2G work with a DVI to analog VGA adapter before. That's not to say it doesn't work, but I've never seen it work that way before. I'm going out on a limb to point out it might be called the Digital edition for a reason. Analog VGA and Digital DVI/HDMI are 2 different animals.

I do have a TH2G Analog just sitting around. If this ends up being the issue, would you consider some sort of trade?

[Drewsta]

It does say on the instructions that if you need to use the adapters you can? Can you use a widescreen aswell as normal 4:3 screens? If I can't use the adapters, that seems rather silly and I've wasted alot of money on the Th2go plus the $200 odd dollars on the monitors. I trult hope this is not the case and there is a work around or something iv'e missed.

Fingers crossed.
Drewsta

[BHawthorne]

It does say on the instructions that if you need to use the adapters you can? Can you use a widescreen aswell as normal 4:3 screens? If I can't use the adapters, that seems rather silly and I've wasted alot of money on the Th2go plus the $200 odd dollars on the monitors. I trult hope this is not the case and there is a work around or something iv'e missed.

Fingers crossed.
Drewsta

Ah if it says it can, it probably can. I was just batting around ideas. I've only used analog displays with the analog version and digital displays with the digital version though. My personal experience is limited to those configurations.

The cable between the TH2G and the video card if using dvi requires it to be a dual-dvi cable. Might check the pin configuration on your cable to make sure it is.

[JimmyGerrard]

I have the same problem with my digital edition, when I go in to the Matrox set-up 2 of my Acer monitors are detected and get the green tick, the third is read in the description box but gets a red cross every time. I have been backwards and forwards with Matrox and they cannot find a solution either.

Thankfully I can still use all three screens so at least they work, although I cannot get the better resolution they released which is a shame. My Acer monitors are all VGA so each has a VGA>DVI connector, and the unit itself runs off of my GTX295. It's very odd that 2 are detected and one isn't, no matter how many times I swap the connection points around etc. :-(

[Crescent]

I did read somewhere that the Acer monitors do not allow the correct refresh rate that is required for the digital TH2GO or something like that...just a guess of course.

[JimmyGerrard]

I did read somewhere that the Acer monitors do not allow the correct refresh rate that is required for the digital TH2GO or something like that...just a guess of course.

Thanks Crescent, interesting. All three monitors are identical so it's strange that two are recognised and one isn't. Argh.

[Crescent]

Are they all running at the same refresh rate?

[JimmyGerrard]

Thanks for your help!

Yes, I have put all settings as identical, except there is one difference between the two that work and the one that doesn't...

When I go through the monitor settings for the two that work I get to the last menu and it reads as follows:

1280 x 1024
H: 63Hz
V: 59Hz
Analog
S/N ETLAZ090027400520D3800

However, the one that's causing me problems reads slightly differently.

1280 x 1024
H: 63Hz
V: 59Hz
Analog
S/N ET U F1B4639F

Not sure if it's related but that's the only difference I can see.

[BHawthorne]

The best forum for TH2G help would be WSGF. They specialize in this stuff. There is a thread in the link below that shows a compatability list for displays and TH2G Digital.

http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=59

[Drewsta]

Thanks for the replies guys, I'm still hopeful I can find a solution to my problem. I guess my next thing is to change a few cables around and see if that fixes anything. I am using the supplied DVI short cable to link my video card and the Th2go box and I thought that that would have been dual DVI? I only need 3 screens to run at 1280x1024 which is 1x forward visuals, 1xmiddle screen and 1 x overhead. The captains split FO screen will come off the other dvi output on the 8800gt because i believe you can't split monitors from a Th2go, havent tried. If I can't get the Th2go to work for me I'll have to sell it soon and buy a cheap second computer with another dual output video card and then go that way. It's amazing the amount of trouble people are having with this bit of kit! I'm sure it works perfectly for alot of you aswell. I was a little dumb going into this part as I thought you just attached your monitors and hey presto. Hmm..not quite. So my project has come to a hault until i can get this rectified. :(

If anyone else has any input or experience with a similar Th2go setup, please feel free to feed me what ever you know :)

To put it simple I am trying to run

1 x 19 inch 4:3 (1280x1024) from the first DVI output on 8800gt

1x MATROX Supplied DVI cable from 2nd output on 8800gt to Th2go box

From Th2go box ....1 x 19 inch Dell 4:3 (1280x1024)
....1 x 22 inch LG Widescreen (1280x1024)
....1x DLP Projector for forward vis (1280x1024)

The 19 inch screens only have analogue cables and can only be attached to the Th2go with DVI-Analogue adapters. The 22inch is DVI and the projector can be too. Should this setup work? Or is there something I don't know or asking too much of the Th2go?

Cheers
Drewsta

[BHawthorne]

Ya, the short cable is a dual-dvi. Hrrrm, that's not even trying to do a problematic resolution. 3840x1024 should be able to be done by about display variation. 5040x1050 is the resolution most people have problems with.

[Sean Nixon]

Have you managed to sort your problem out yet?

I fired up my new TH2G for the first time today and didn't encounter any problems like you, but I am running three identical projectors from it.

Like you I have a stand alone monitor on one of my graphics card DVI outputs, which is what I class the 'main' screen, the one windows boots to, with the start button/taskbar, etc. and the TH2G is on the other DVI output.

When the TH2G finished it's installation, I noticed that only the centre projector appeared to be displaying an image, a copy of the windows desktop wallpaper. The outer screens were, at first glance, blank. But on closer viewing, the centre image was displaying the wallpaper at 1024 pixels wide, which is the projectors native resolution, and the outer 2 were displaying a slim sliver of image, each 128 pixels wide, to make up the 1280 image displaying on the stand alone monitor. But if I dragged a window off the side of the 'main' monitor, it showed up in the blank area of, in my case, the left projector.

So although it appeared not to be working, it actually was.

I've not tried the dual monitor setup like yours, and I also notice the manual recommends monitors of the same type, which you aren't using, but I've got spare monitors I can hook up in dual mode and see if I can replicate your problem and help sort it if you want. It's a fantastic piece of kit when it's working.

Sean

[john van berkel]

hi
sorry to say but you need indeed 3 identical screens to get the best result :( I had buy myself 1 samsung what I already had before i did buy the TH2GO digital and did buy 2 acer vga monitors i had to sell them and buy myself 2 extra samsungs
they work like a charm with 5040 1050 resolution perfectly :-D

[BHawthorne]

they work like a charm with 5040 1050 resolution perfectly :-D

You're one of the rare exceptions to the norm then. The last year has been a trainwreck as far as video card driver compatability and TH2G Digital. My drivers are also working fine at the moment. As with every game, none of them behave the same, so amount of success varies.