Thinkpads Forum

[Mods, if there's a better W530 section, I couldn't find it. Please feel free to move as appropriate.]

Today I just tried to connect my W530 with Nvidia graphics via a cable, theoretically a 4k capable minidisplayport to HDMI cable, to a 24" Toshiba TV with HDMI inputs.

The phrases "No joy" and "Something simple, stupid" comes to mind.

The best I could get, muddling around with the settings in Win10, was for the Intel graphics adapter to rear its head and admit that "monitor#2" now existed. But the best I could see was a BLANK desktop, except for a fully populated task bar. Somewhere...either this is a problem of the Nvidia card not supporting the displayport? Or a resolution issue? Which seems odd, since that task bar was there in all of its glory. Just no desktop, and no apps.

HELP?!

I really can't use the built-in display anymore, I was hoping that the mdp would let me use the HDMI input on a larger conventional monitor, or an existing TV. And I fully confess, I haven't messed with external monitor adapters in a decade.

And then, icing on the cake...when I was done, the TV "forgot" the signal from the cable box, pretending it was blown out until the box was reinitialized and re-acquired. Ah, technology, marvelous. Did I mention...HELP?! Please?

Try setting the output resolution to either 480p, 720p or 1080p. Ensure the refresh rate is 60Hz.
Sounds like your TV is not happy with the signal being received.

Can you try with another TV?

You should be able to get video working at least. Whether or not audio will work is another question.

hellosailor wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 13, 2019 4:22 pm

The best I could get, muddling around with the settings in Win10, was for the Intel graphics adapter to rear its head and admit that "monitor#2" now existed. But the best I could see was a BLANK desktop, except for a fully populated task bar. Somewhere...either this is a problem of the Nvidia card not supporting the displayport? Or a resolution issue? Which seems odd, since that task bar was there in all of its glory. Just no desktop, and no apps.

Sounds like there is no issue. Empty desktop, no apps just means that it was set to extended desktop, and the primary desktop was still sent to monitor #1.

Hit Win+P and try to choose 'Duplicate' or 'Second Screen Only'.

Thanks guys, I think dr nailed it!

Oh DUH, who ever heard of Win+P ?? A shortcut to settings that apparently just aren't in someplace logical, like the display settings or the control panel? (Sigh)

Sure enough Win+P shows I'm set to "primary only" and that probably is all it needs.

On trying another TV or resolutions: Resolution was fine, after all, the task bar was there in its full glory.

I didn't want to start pulling apart the "installed" TVs that are hard to get behind, which left just this one as a likely test bed. I'm trying to see if using a 24" monitor will let me work with the computer without needing as much of the low-vision accessibility kludges, especially in browsers. Next step up is to try a 32" although I'm darn if I know where I'd be able to use it...maybe Samsung will release an accordion folding model.(G)

What web designers, even ones employed by multinational corporations, don't seem to realize, is that if a visitor is using enlarged viewing settings, that literally blows away the right and bottom part of the browser screen. Little things like a "SUBMIT" button simply don't appear--and unless you're looking carefully for the disappearing scroll bars (in the new browsers) there's also no reason to even suspect something has just been pushed out of sight.

Then there's the folks who use oh-so-stylish grey type on grey backgrounds, or typography like WIRED, designed for young hipsters and, ironically, making their Kindle version illegible to many others.

dr-
If I leave the display set up for duplicate (laptop+external) is there any harm in that? Am I using more power, generating more heat, burdening the CPU, any reason to enable the extra video when I'm not using it?

If it makes your life any easier Fn+F7 should also do the same as Win+P.

Thanks, but F7 and FN+F7 both do nothing here in Win10.

A quirk about Win+P: the laptop screen drops to a smaller image area, black shadowboxed on both sides, when I have it set for "Duplicate", even though the laptop has nothing connected to it.

Is there a setting someplace that is telling it what a theoretical second monitor has been set to, controlling the resolution?

hellosailor wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 14, 2019 1:16 pm

Oh DUH, who ever heard of Win+P ?? A shortcut to settings that apparently just aren't in someplace logical, like the display settings or the control panel? (Sigh)

The shortcut has been around since Windows 7 was introduced (like 10 years ago?), and in any case, all the options can be configured through the Display Settings anyways, it just takes a few more clicks to set it up, and is (apparently) easy to miss/misunderstand?

When Microsoft Word for Windows version 6.0, and Microsoft Word version 6.0, were both released around 1986, I had 1200 pages of fine documentation to read, and I got a chance to find every feature in each program. Which was the norm back then.

In fact, Windows used to come with documentation.

Now that everyone has just decided to emulate Zork (poke around, see what's under every rock) I'm sure I've missed a lot of things. I never had the need to explore that feature before. Unlike most equities traders, I don't need three screens on my desk, ergh, lap.

And "Display settings" here (which is a machine stuck at Win10 v.1511 for reasons no one at MS can explain) only shows options for the built-in display, at least, when nothing external is connected. It does NOT offer the same four choices that Win+P offers under the exact same conditions.

There appear to be many glitches between versions of Win10, and many more caused by Lenono's lack of Win10 drivers, or failure of Win10 drivers. It will be pushing me into a newer machine, at which point I'll reluctantly be looking at splitting into "the legacy machine" versus "the new machine and new monitor" (probably) that will require some dedicated real estate.

But between Lenono's failure to really release Win10 support (for instance, screen brightness, caps-lock, other on-screen indicators no longer appear) and Win10's curious issues (five MS reps told me the secret path to install the (different) upgrades that would solve my problems, and in each case, the upgrade blew away the boot files and left me with no computer, fortunately I keep a backup)...I'm going to be riding two chariots, Ben-Hur style, for a ways to come.

I especially love it when Gargoyle claims that Outlook is a security risk...or the bank or someplace else I might want to reach online says my browser is too old to support--despite it being a current and widely supported browser. And Gargoyle Contacts SO professionally tells me I have only 64 contacts for almost 30 seconds before it finds the remaining thousands, oops. And then, reloads and refreshes the entire screen after each LETTER is typed on a contact update.

All this stuff...It just ain't explained.

Thanks for the assist!