Dell - Analog display is fine but no digital signal

[redbourn]

Hi,

I have a Dell 2209WA and Nvidia GeForce GTS 450

All is fine using the analog connection but when I try the digital one the message is "no signal".

In Device Manager under monitors the Dell only shows (analog).

Any help would be much appreciated.

Michael

 

[Barhumbug]

The Dell 2209WA uses a DVI-D input, so you should use the cable that comes with the monitor and you may need to manually select the input from the On Screen Display menu (in case the AUTO settings isn't working).
If that still doesn't work, then I would suspect a faulty monitor port or cable.

 

[redbourn]

The Dell 2209WA uses a DVI-D input, so you should use the cable that comes with the monitor and you may need to manually select the input from the On Screen Display menu (in case the AUTO settings isn't working).
If that still doesn't work, then I would suspect a faulty monitor port or cable.

Thanks for the reply. I'm using the original cable and if I manually switch I get the "no signal" message. I had a repair done on the PC recently an am wondering if the problem could be a bios setting?

 

[Barhumbug]

I doubt its the bios if the GeForce GTS 450 is working in analog mode. It could be the GeForce GTS 450 itself, but that also seems unlikely. The graphics cards usually output to both ports (DVI and VGA) simultaneously, and I never heard of a graphics driver causing a problem with output. Having said that, try changing the graphics driver (upgrade or even downgrade) and see if that makes a difference.
You should also, if possible, try the monitor on DVI on a different PC, as this will help identify whether or not the problem is with the monitor or your PC.

 

[redbourn]

I doubt its the bios if the GeForce GTS 450 is working in analog mode. It could be the GeForce GTS 450 itself, but that also seems unlikely. The graphics cards usually output to both ports (DVI and VGA) simultaneously, and I never heard of a graphics driver causing a problem with output. Having said that, try changing the graphics driver (upgrade or even downgrade) and see if that makes a difference.
You should also, if possible, try the monitor on DVI on a different PC, as this will help identify whether or not the problem is with the monitor or your PC.

Thanks. I don't have another PC to try it on so I'll have to give it some thought and use the analog connection for now; which is very good by the way.

I want to use two monitors which is the main reason that I'm trying to solve the problem.

My 2nd monitor is analog only and the Dell has two inputs, one digital and the other analog.

 

[Barhumbug]

I'm sure any PC repair shop will test the monitor for you (maybe for free?) as it would only take a couple of minutes to find out. Good luck.

 

[redbourn]

I'm sure any PC repair shop will test the monitor for you (maybe for free?) as it would only take a couple of minutes to find out. Good luck.

Thanks,

Michael

P.S. I just moved from Tel Aviv to Lisbon so I guess if this is the only glitch (everything else is in good shape) I should consider myself lucky ;-)

 

[redbourn]

I took the monitor into a local shop and using the cable that came from Dell and previously worked, there was no digital signal.

The guy looked at the pin configuration and plugged in a different cable and it worked.

He then tried another cable with the same configuration as the Dell one and it didn't work.

So which pin configuration works?

The cable that works has four extra pins, two up and two down, above and below the flat pin.

He hadn't got a cable to sell me and it seemed odd to buy one that's different to the Dell one.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Michael

 

[Barhumbug]

Sounds like the monitor has a standard DVI-I port, and not a DVI-D port as the manual, and cable suggests. Check this out:
http://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/221/~/what-is-the-difference-between-dvi-i-and-dvi-d%3F

Interestingly, the DVI-I cable also carries the analog signal, so I suspect that is all that is working on your monitor, and the digital input has packed up and only the analog input is working.
DVI-I cables are easy to come by (except from the shop you went to!) but I suspect that the signal will be no better than the analog. I suggest you stick to your analog cable until you want to replace the monitor. You could run two monitors, but they'll be in analog mode.

At the end of the day, will you ever really notice the difference between digital and analog? I doubt it.

 

[redbourn]

Sounds like the monitor has a standard DVI-I port, and not a DVI-D port as the manual, and cable suggests. Check this out:
http://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/221/~/what-is-the-difference-between-dvi-i-and-dvi-d%3F

Interestingly, the DVI-I cable also carries the analog signal, so I suspect that is all that is working on your monitor, and the digital input has packed up and only the analog input is working.
DVI-I cables are easy to come by (except from the shop you went to!) but I suspect that the signal will be no better than the analog. I suggest you stick to your analog cable until you want to replace the monitor. You could run two monitors, but they'll be in analog mode.

At the end of the day, will you ever really notice the difference between digital and analog? I doubt it.

The analog is excellent but I want to use two monitors and my pc has an analog and a digital output - so what is the solution?

Thanks,

MIchael

 

[bystander]

I once gave an old monitor to my brother. They only had VGA as an option, while I used DVI-D. When I first hooked it up, it would not recognize the analog signal of their PC. I forget exactly what had to be done, but I believe I simply rebooted his PC after turning off the monitor and it switched modes. There may have also been a setting on the monitor to change connection types. Check through the monitors setting menu on the display itself. This is required on my TV.

 

[Barhumbug]

Like I said, it may be that the digital port has failed on your present monitor. Use the analog cable for that one, and a new DVI cable for the second monitor. If the second monitor is purchased new it may well come with a DVI cable in the box.

 

[redbourn]

Like I said, it may be that the digital port has failed on your present monitor. Use the analog cable for that one, and a new DVI cable for the second monitor. If the second monitor is purchased new it may well come with a DVI cable in the box.

I have both monitors working now.

I'm using an analog to analog cable on the Dell and an analog to digital cable on the 2nd monitor.

The second monitor is an old one that doesn't have a digital socket.

The second monitor is fine for my purposes though, the main one of which is to display Photoshop's tools on it.

Thanks for the help,

Michael