T400 can't boot off DVI

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jonathanmedwards · #1 Post by **jonathanmedwards** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 7:59 pm

A docked T400 will not boot off an attached DVI monitor. You have to open the lid. There is a BIOS setting to boot off a VGA monitor (which works for DVI booting on my T60), but does not help the T400. Looks like a limitation of the BIOS.

jonathanmedwards · #2 Post by **jonathanmedwards** » Sat Sep 06, 2008 7:18 am

More problems. Waking from sleep in the dock doesn't pick up the DVI monitor resolution. It needs to be manually adjusted every time. Ejecting from the dock no longer goes into sleep mode. The laptop is still running with the lid closed. You need to manually open the lid, wait while it sorts itself out, then close again to go to sleep.

Did Lenovo even test the new T's in a dock? All these problems make the new models marginally usable for dockers. I am debating returning mine, as it will surely take months to get any fixes.

kingweb · #3 Post by **kingweb** » Sat Sep 06, 2008 3:19 pm

I use 2 monitors on my dock, so it isn't a big deal for me since the VGA is the main one for me. However, I did notice the fact the the resolution is not correct and starts with the laptop's res (1440x900) and then switches to my external monitors' res (1920x1200). This cause all maximized windows to shrink. A little annoying.

I think that there is a solution, in the BIOS, there is a setting for which is the boot monitor or graphics card. I will try it later, and update the thread.

awolfe63 · #4 Post by **awolfe63** » Sun Sep 07, 2008 1:46 pm

Mine is in the shop at the moment - but I saw the same issue. I think it is a BIOS setting. You need to set DVI as the default boot. On earlier generations, if you did that and there was no DVI it would boot to LCD. I'm hoping this works that way as well.

Older machines also stayed awake on undock by default. Set your preference (under XP at least) in the Power Manager Hibernate/suspend options tab.

kingweb · #5 Post by **kingweb** » Sun Sep 07, 2008 2:09 pm

Ok, I tried the settings in the BIOS and it boots on the external VGA monitor which is better, but then it switches back to the laptop monitor which ends up messing up the reolution. So it is useless.

jonathanmedwards · #6 Post by **jonathanmedwards** » Sun Sep 07, 2008 4:28 pm

BIOS now only has choice between internal and VGA for boot. Setting it to VGA doesn't use DVI (though I note that the same setting on my T60 does).

Yes, I fixed the undock setting. Only remaining problem is inability to boot off DVI. Called support and they said they are working on a BIOS fix.

awolfe63 wrote:Mine is in the shop at the moment - but I saw the same issue. I think it is a BIOS setting. You need to set DVI as the default boot. On earlier generations, if you did that and there was no DVI it would boot to LCD. I'm hoping this works that way as well.

Older machines also stayed awake on undock by default. Set your preference (under XP at least) in the Power Manager Hibernate/suspend options tab.

lponz7 · #7 Post by **lponz7** » Tue Sep 09, 2008 1:53 pm

Apologies, as this is also posted on a related thread, but certainly fits here as well:

Because, as noted, there is no boot to DVI option in the BIOS, I had to switch my external LCD monitor to VGA. By selecting VGA as the boot display device, the start-up splash screen and log-in screen show up on my external monitor (have not yet tried connecting DVI cable and booting with lid open as right now external monitor is on a stand over the dock).

At any rate, the issue I have is that, when docked, the computer switches from discrete to integrated graphics (which is the exact opposite of what one would want when docked and, therefore, on AC power). When I try to switch to high performance, I receive a message that high-performance graphics cannot be enabled until I disconnect the external display. When I undock and boot, I'm back to discrete graphics.

Mon dieu--what gives here? Is this because my connection to the external monitor is VGA? Can we expect a BIOS update that allows DVI as the boot display device--like has existed for over a year for the T6x! will fix all or any of these problems? In the meantime, any recommendations appreciated. Thanks. lponz7

lponz

DirkM · #8 Post by **DirkM** » Sat Nov 01, 2008 9:18 am

Is there any update on this? We have many T42 and T60 users who are now upgrading to T400 and even with BIOS 1.15 and the newest ATI driver, booting on DVI is not possible on Vista Enterprise.

derekpowell · #9 Post by **derekpowell** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 8:40 pm

not sure of a fix, but I tried something which (sort of) worked.

I boot the system docked with the lid closed and wait until I hear the Vista startup sound. Then I enter the password, and once it loads the main shell, the external monitor wakes up! This is all done with the lid closed.

Those of you who don't use a startup password might have one less step to do.

DirkM · #10 Post by **DirkM** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 9:53 pm

I figured out that disabling switchable graphics allows to select DVI as boot screen (after another reboot and visit to the BIOS). That makes the DVI monitor act just like on a T61 while wihtout the power savings advantages of the switchable graphics.

kingweb · #11 Post by **kingweb** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 1:22 am

I wonder if that will solve al the other problems with using external monitors.
Every time I turn on the computer with external monitors, it's a complete lottery as to what will happen.

Dellboy · #12 Post by **Dellboy** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 9:58 am

Hi guys... digging up an old post. Been 2 years since the last post, is there any update on this problem? I am still not seeing the win7 splash screen on boot on the external monitor connected via dvi

T400 can't boot off DVI

T400 can't boot off DVI

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external display with dock issues

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