Win2k + dual monitors - worked great until re-install

[dcdalton]

I hope someone out there can help cause my head hurts from beating it on the desk!
My primary developer machine was really getting messy so I decided to whack it out & put a fresh load of win2k in it today.

Now I also have to preface this by saying this machine has been running dual video cards for almost a year now without so much as a whimper. It was so easy to get going the first time it was scarey! Anyways, I dumped the hdds, fresh load of 2k - SP2, all the driver & core programs... I left the PCI card out during the install, as I did last time...no problem UNTIL, I put the PCI video card back in... COMPLETE LOCK UP at the "white screen of pain" (windows 2000 start screen)
Ive tried both cards seperately ... no problem, Ive tried going in in safe mode...everything I can think of with no luck at all...ONE TIME it made it into windows & then shut the AGP card off so I had to hard boot.... I dont get it NOTHING HAS CHANGED.

Here's the system stats:

Asus A7N8X mobo (with latest bios flash)
1 gb PC2700 DDR 333
AMD XP2500
"Mad Dog" Geforce Raptor Ti 4200 AGP video card
Trident Blade 3D PCI video card

I HAVE to get this thing going again, I use my second monitor as much as my first...if anyone has a clue please HOLLER! Thanks much!

 

[DigitAlex]

I have tried many stuff with 98 / 2K / Linux / BeOS and multimon.

With 2k, to have multimon working you have to be the following situation :

Your secondary video card has to be able to disable the VGA so the obvious answer is "yes, your trident card can because it worked before !!!"


Example :

1 AGP 3D video card (can disable VGA)
1 PCI crappy 2d video card (can not)

you HAVE to set primary display adapter to PCI in the BIOS, so the BIOS boot will be shown on the monitor connected to the PCI adapter.
Then you have to set primary adapter to your AGP card IN W2k.

If you don't set primary to PCI in the BIOS you'll only have your AGP card, for example.

For 3 monitors, you have to use at least one of the PCI cards taht can disable VGA by itself, so that you set primary to PCI (the other card), etc ...

An article on the problem can be found in MS KB, don't have the link any more, sorry ...

If these settings are wrong, you can end up beign totally screwed.

My advise :

1) Remove the pci card
2) Boot Windows
3) Install drivers for AGP card
4) Shut down
5) Set primary display to PCI in the BIOS
6) Activate allocate IRQ to PCI VGA if disabled
7) Put the PCI card
8) Boot Win2k (should boot without problems, try safe mode if not)
9) Install drivers if needed, set "extend my desktop" and the other stuff

All should be fine this way

 

[dcdalton]

Found the problem

I found the problem .... I had loaded Windows 2000 Corporate edition (Another fine MS Product), not the standard pro edition. Wiped it, re-loaded it with the right one & bang no more problems.... thanks for the tips though.

 

[SOcRatEs]

Would this apply as well to onboard

Would this apply as well to onboard pci video?
my bios has the option of primary adapter pci/agp
intel d815eea pent 3 866
agp card: 3dfx 3500 tv
Or do you think two separate video's 1-pci 1-agp would meet the requirements?
I would like to run dual monitors but have'nt ventured to far in that direction as yet.
Thx!