mouse freezes/computer stuck when using dual screens

[acejin]

Hello everyone!

I recently purchased a new computer. The specs are as follows:

i7 4790K
Asrock z87 Extreme4 (using on board intel 4600)
Corsair Vengeance 8GB 1600mhz
Samsung ssd 850 evo 120GB
Seagate 2TB Barracuda
Seasonic G-550
Windows 8.1 X64
Samsung 2253 monitor (1680x1050)
Philips TV (1920x1080)

The issue I am having occurs as soon as I plug the HDMI cable between the computer and the TV, every display mode I choose except "duplicate", sucs as "extend","projector only", "disconnect projector" causing the computer to get stuck.

As soon as I change to one of the display modes I mentioned, I can move the mouse cursor for a few seconds (no matter the direction) and then the cursor just freezes and I have to restart the computer.

If I will not change the display mode to "duplicate" fast enough or disconnect the HDMI cable from the computer, then the problem will repeat itself and the computer will get stuck again.

I worked with the same monitors with the old computer and nothing like that ever happened.

Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[GreyCatz]

Hello acejin:

I also like to use external display devices with my new Lenovo Y50-70 every now and then, and this is what I do:

a) For my Samsung SyncMaster 2494HM monitor, I insert the HDMI and I get the laptop screen on the Samsung without any problem. Of course, I have to select "Duplicate" under Project and disable the sound on the laptop. If I select "Extend", I get whatever screen is not visible on the laptop on the Samsung. The mouse works fine, the keyboard is useless because any application I click will open on the laptop screen only. Seems weird, but I guess the feature is used for large-screen presentations.

b) For my Sony Bravia TV, I unplug the digital box HDMI cable and use the same slot for my laptop (otherwise, my TV won't transmit). The experience is smiliar to the Samsung.

Since you seem to have a similar PC setup as I do, including the externals, I suggest you:

1) update your device drivers for the Samsung and the Philips units. Visit the manufacturer's webpage or use the Device Manager.

2) open the Control Panel and click 'Change display settings' under Display. Under 'Advanced settings' you can make further adjustments to your PC to accommodate multiple resolutions.

As you know, both externals can be separately adjusted, and you probably need to tweak the On-Screen Display features. For the Philips, you use the remote control, and for the Samsung, you use the touch panel with the LED light.

I have to admit it sounds odd that your (brand) new PC actually freezes and needs to reboot; I would expect a black screen on the externals at the most.

One last thing: Just how old is your "old computer" and what are the specs for it? And do you still have it?

Well, it's been a long haul, and I hope you can find some useful information in the above. Please report back.

Cheers,
GreyCatz.

 

[acejin]

Hello acejin:

I also like to use external display devices with my new Lenovo Y50-70 every now and then, and this is what I do:

a) For my Samsung SyncMaster 2494HM monitor, I insert the HDMI and I get the laptop screen on the Samsung without any problem. Of course, I have to select "Duplicate" under Project and disable the sound on the laptop. If I select "Extend", I get whatever screen is not visible on the laptop on the Samsung. The mouse works fine, the keyboard is useless because any application I click will open on the laptop screen only. Seems weird, but I guess the feature is used for large-screen presentations.

b) For my Sony Bravia TV, I unplug the digital box HDMI cable and use the same slot for my laptop (otherwise, my TV won't transmit). The experience is smiliar to the Samsung.

Since you seem to have a similar PC setup as I do, including the externals, I suggest you:

1) update your device drivers for the Samsung and the Philips units. Visit the manufacturer's webpage or use the Device Manager.

2) open the Control Panel and click 'Change display settings' under Display. Under 'Advanced settings' you can make further adjustments to your PC to accommodate multiple resolutions.

As you know, both externals can be separately adjusted, and you probably need to tweak the On-Screen Display features. For the Philips, you use the remote control, and for the Samsung, you use the touch panel with the LED light.

I have to admit it sounds odd that your (brand) new PC actually freezes and needs to reboot; I would expect a black screen on the externals at the most.

One last thing: Just how old is your "old computer" and what are the specs for it? And do you still have it?

Well, it's been a long haul, and I hope you can find some useful information in the above. Please report back.

Cheers,
GreyCatz.

Thank you for the detailed response!

All drivers updated, including the bios.
The resolution settings are correct for each of the monitors, computer display on 1680x1050 and TV display on 1920x1080. I also tried to change the display settings for both monitors but nothing works.
When I connect the old computer everything works fine and nothing get stuck, It's really frustrating.

I just don't get it, duplicate mode works completely fine but all the other display modes causing the mouse and the computer to stuck. Do you think it could be a hardware fault?

Old computer specs are:
Intel Core 2 Duo E7200
ABIT IP35-E
G.skill DDR2 4096MB
Connect3D Radeon HD4850
Samsung 2253BW LCD 22
Western Digital 500GB
Seasonic 500W

Thank you for your help!

 

[GreyCatz]

Going by your z87 Extreme4 motherboard, I assume your new PC is a desktop. I can't see a graphics card on your new PC, leaving you with the onboard Intel 4600.

Personally, I would test the old Radeon HD 4850 card on your new PC, just to make sure you've covered every angle. According to Intel, if it's a PCI Express card, it will disable the onboard Intel unit, i.e. it's non-switchable.

And I don't mean to harp on about drivers, but have you checked this page?

http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support/highlights/graphics/4cp-hd4600gfx

Apparently, there are some issues with the Intel 4600 (lodged only yesterday) and this page contains more information.

Other than that, I'm afraid I've reached my limit. I hope that some of the other users on this site can help you.

Cheers,
GreyCatz.

PS: When you do get it to work, please post a brief report.

 

[acejin]

Going by your z87 Extreme4 motherboard, I assume your new PC is a desktop. I can't see a graphics card on your new PC, leaving you with the onboard Intel 4600.

Personally, I would test the old Radeon HD 4850 card on your new PC, just to make sure you've covered every angle. According to Intel, if it's a PCI Express card, it will disable the onboard Intel unit, i.e. it's non-switchable.

And I don't mean to harp on about drivers, but have you checked this page?

http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support/highlights/graphics/4cp-hd4600gfx

Apparently, there are some issues with the Intel 4600 (lodged only yesterday) and this page contains more information.

Other than that, I'm afraid I've reached my limit. I hope that some of the other users on this site can help you.

Cheers,
GreyCatz.

PS: When you do get it to work, please post a brief report.

Thank you for your help, I really appreciate it!

Well, I did what you suggested and connected the old graphic card (HD 4850) to my computer, and the most likely scenario happened - everything worked smoothly without any problem!

Another thing I want to point out, I tried to install the latest version of intel HD4600 graphic card and the computer once again got stuck in the middle of the installation, just after the monitor flickered during installation.

I would appreciate hearing your opinion!

 

[GreyCatz]

Well, this gets weirder by the hour!

So your new PC is technically OK, your old graphics card is OK. That's the good news. The not so good news is that you're probably right that it's a hardware issue. Click this link to Intel's forum and read the post by 'saneblane':

https://communities.intel.com/thread/54160

Please Note: I don't have the expertise to advise people to adjust system voltage from the BIOS, but apparently this was the only remedy in September 2014. Judging by my google search a few minutes ago, Intel hasn't solved the problem yet.

The flickering during installation you mentioned is widely discussed on many fora, but sadly nobody has come up with a workable let alone official solution.

My best shot at this point is: use the Radeon card and wait for Intel to come up with a solution that works.

Best regards,
GreyCatz.

 

[acejin]

Well, this gets weirder by the hour!

So your new PC is technically OK, your old graphics card is OK. That's the good news. The not so good news is that you're probably right that it's a hardware issue. Click this link to Intel's forum and read the post by 'saneblane':

https://communities.intel.com/thread/54160

Please Note: I don't have the expertise to advise people to adjust system voltage from the BIOS, but apparently this was the only remedy in September 2014. Judging by my google search a few minutes ago, Intel hasn't solved the problem yet.

The flickering during installation you mentioned is widely discussed on many fora, but sadly nobody has come up with a workable let alone official solution.

My best shot at this point is: use the Radeon card and wait for Intel to come up with a solution that works.

Best regards,
GreyCatz.

Thank you for your reply.

Honestly, I doubt that I have the same problem as described in Intel's forum. My problem appears only when I connect the computer to an external monitor, which is also a big problem for me, but the problem described at the link is much more serious in terms of how often and when it occurs.

For some reason I think the problem is related to intel HD4600 card compatibility with windows 8.1.
I think to install windows 7 on the computer just for testing, the only thing that confuses me is If the problem will also appears on windows 7, does this mean replacing the motherboard (same one) should solve the problem?


Thank you!

 

[GreyCatz]

Hopefully, you won't have to remove or install components - I mean, we both know it basically works. And maybe it's a case of Occam's Razor: the solution is so obvious we just can't see it!

Let's recap:
a) Your ASRock z87 Extreme4 motherboard has three HDMI ports: Does it matter which one you use?
b) Your Radeon HD 4850 graphics card uses DVI cables and works OK.
c) The only (major) difference between your setup and mine is that my Intel HD 4600 sits on a Lenovo motherboard and is switchable with the pre-installed nVidia GeForce GTX 860M card.

Did we miss anything?
1) Have you tried the pre-installed Intel HD Graphics Control Panel app? It lets you do the same as in Win8.1 but it might just be more receptive to your adjustments (because you're side-stepping Windows).
2) Testing on Win7 is certainly an option, but even if it works, we still haven't solved the original problem, which I'm sure is as annoying to you as it is to me...

Please let me know about your progress.
GreyCatz.

 

[acejin]

Hopefully, you won't have to remove or install components - I mean, we both know it basically works. And maybe it's a case of Occam's Razor: the solution is so obvious we just can't see it!

Let's recap:
a) Your ASRock z87 Extreme4 motherboard has three HDMI ports: Does it matter which one you use?
b) Your Radeon HD 4850 graphics card uses DVI cables and works OK.
c) The only (major) difference between your setup and mine is that my Intel HD 4600 sits on a Lenovo motherboard and is switchable with the pre-installed nVidia GeForce GTX 860M card.

Did we miss anything?
1) Have you tried the pre-installed Intel HD Graphics Control Panel app? It lets you do the same as in Win8.1 but it might just be more receptive to your adjustments (because you're side-stepping Windows).
2) Testing on Win7 is certainly an option, but even if it works, we still haven't solved the original problem, which I'm sure is as annoying to you as it is to me...

Please let me know about your progress.
GreyCatz.

I installed Windows 7 on a new partition and my thoughts were correct, everything worked smoothly without getting stuck. I think there is a problem of compatibility between the latest operating system (8.1) and the intel graphic card, I just can not think of anything else. I'm glad it's not related to the motherboard or at least that's what I think.

BTW, I want to try what you suggested, but how can I change the display modes through the Graphics Control Panel app?

Thank you very much!

 

[GreyCatz]

Hopefully, you won't have to remove or install components - I mean, we both know it basically works. And maybe it's a case of Occam's Razor: the solution is so obvious we just can't see it!

Let's recap:
a) Your ASRock z87 Extreme4 motherboard has three HDMI ports: Does it matter which one you use?
b) Your Radeon HD 4850 graphics card uses DVI cables and works OK.
c) The only (major) difference between your setup and mine is that my Intel HD 4600 sits on a Lenovo motherboard and is switchable with the pre-installed nVidia GeForce GTX 860M card.

Did we miss anything?
1) Have you tried the pre-installed Intel HD Graphics Control Panel app? It lets you do the same as in Win8.1 but it might just be more receptive to your adjustments (because you're side-stepping Windows).
2) Testing on Win7 is certainly an option, but even if it works, we still haven't solved the original problem, which I'm sure is as annoying to you as it is to me...

Please let me know about your progress.
GreyCatz.

I installed Windows 7 on a new partition and my thoughts were correct, everything worked smoothly without getting stuck. I think there is a problem of compatibility between the latest operating system (8.1) and the intel graphic card, I just can not think of anything else. I'm glad it's not related to the motherboard or at least that's what I think.

BTW, I want to try what you suggested, but how can I change the display modes through the Graphics Control Panel app?

Thank you very much!

Hello acejin,

The Intel utility should appear if you type "Intel graphics" in the Start menu search box. You should get a very distinctive Intel interface design in blue and white. Depending on your language, the top-left box should indicate Display or Monitor and then you can click a small down-arrow and select multiple displays. The terminology is sightly different but the functionality is basically the same.

To be honest, I forget if this utility was pre-installed, or if I downloaded it manually from Lenovo's support page, but try this link:

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/search?keyword=4th+Generation+Intel%C2%AE+Core%E2%84%A2+Processors+with+Intel%C2%AE+HD+Graphics+4600

You'll find drivers as recent as 10th April 2015. As I mentioned earlier, Intel has been struggling with all manner of issues, and maybe your problem is covered by this release.

Cheers,
GreyCatz.

 

[acejin]

Hopefully, you won't have to remove or install components - I mean, we both know it basically works. And maybe it's a case of Occam's Razor: the solution is so obvious we just can't see it!

Let's recap:
a) Your ASRock z87 Extreme4 motherboard has three HDMI ports: Does it matter which one you use?
b) Your Radeon HD 4850 graphics card uses DVI cables and works OK.
c) The only (major) difference between your setup and mine is that my Intel HD 4600 sits on a Lenovo motherboard and is switchable with the pre-installed nVidia GeForce GTX 860M card.

Did we miss anything?
1) Have you tried the pre-installed Intel HD Graphics Control Panel app? It lets you do the same as in Win8.1 but it might just be more receptive to your adjustments (because you're side-stepping Windows).
2) Testing on Win7 is certainly an option, but even if it works, we still haven't solved the original problem, which I'm sure is as annoying to you as it is to me...

Please let me know about your progress.
GreyCatz.

I installed Windows 7 on a new partition and my thoughts were correct, everything worked smoothly without getting stuck. I think there is a problem of compatibility between the latest operating system (8.1) and the intel graphic card, I just can not think of anything else. I'm glad it's not related to the motherboard or at least that's what I think.

BTW, I want to try what you suggested, but how can I change the display modes through the Graphics Control Panel app?

Thank you very much!

Hello acejin,

The Intel utility should appear if you type "Intel graphics" in the Start menu search box. You should get a very distinctive Intel interface design in blue and white. Depending on your language, the top-left box should indicate Display or Monitor and then you can click a small down-arrow and select multiple displays. The terminology is sightly different but the functionality is basically the same.

To be honest, I forget if this utility was pre-installed, or if I downloaded it manually from Lenovo's support page, but try this link:

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/search?keyword=4th+Generation+Intel%C2%AE+Core%E2%84%A2+Processors+with+Intel%C2%AE+HD+Graphics+4600

You'll find drivers as recent as 10th April 2015. As I mentioned earlier, Intel has been struggling with all manner of issues, and maybe your problem is covered by this release.

Cheers,
GreyCatz.

Hi GreyCatz,

I can't believe I got to this moment, but I managed to solve the problem!

Out of desperation, I decided to read all your comments once again to see if I missed anything.
I went back to your second comment with your link to Intel's forum and read that someone from the forum suggested changing the voltage of the GPU.

Well, I couldn't find the option to change the voltage in the motherboard menu, but I went through the rest of the settings and found something interesting called "VT-D" (Intel® Virtualization Technology).

After enabled this option and returned to windows, I plugged the HDMI cable and changed the display mode, usually after 5 seconds the computer was stuck, but this time nothing happened and after working smoothly over an hour I realized that problem solved, THANK TO YOU!!!

I have no idea what is VT-D, but it worked for me.
Thank you for all your help, I really appreciate it!

 

[GreyCatz]

Hopefully, you won't have to remove or install components - I mean, we both know it basically works. And maybe it's a case of Occam's Razor: the solution is so obvious we just can't see it!

Let's recap:
a) Your ASRock z87 Extreme4 motherboard has three HDMI ports: Does it matter which one you use?
b) Your Radeon HD 4850 graphics card uses DVI cables and works OK.
c) The only (major) difference between your setup and mine is that my Intel HD 4600 sits on a Lenovo motherboard and is switchable with the pre-installed nVidia GeForce GTX 860M card.

Did we miss anything?
1) Have you tried the pre-installed Intel HD Graphics Control Panel app? It lets you do the same as in Win8.1 but it might just be more receptive to your adjustments (because you're side-stepping Windows).
2) Testing on Win7 is certainly an option, but even if it works, we still haven't solved the original problem, which I'm sure is as annoying to you as it is to me...

Please let me know about your progress.
GreyCatz.

I installed Windows 7 on a new partition and my thoughts were correct, everything worked smoothly without getting stuck. I think there is a problem of compatibility between the latest operating system (8.1) and the intel graphic card, I just can not think of anything else. I'm glad it's not related to the motherboard or at least that's what I think.

BTW, I want to try what you suggested, but how can I change the display modes through the Graphics Control Panel app?

Thank you very much!

Hello acejin,

The Intel utility should appear if you type "Intel graphics" in the Start menu search box. You should get a very distinctive Intel interface design in blue and white. Depending on your language, the top-left box should indicate Display or Monitor and then you can click a small down-arrow and select multiple displays. The terminology is sightly different but the functionality is basically the same.

To be honest, I forget if this utility was pre-installed, or if I downloaded it manually from Lenovo's support page, but try this link:

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/search?keyword=4th+Generation+Intel%C2%AE+Core%E2%84%A2+Processors+with+Intel%C2%AE+HD+Graphics+4600

You'll find drivers as recent as 10th April 2015. As I mentioned earlier, Intel has been struggling with all manner of issues, and maybe your problem is covered by this release.

Cheers,
GreyCatz.

Hi GreyCatz,

I can't believe I got to this moment, but I managed to solve the problem!

Out of desperation, I decided to read all your comments once again to see if I missed anything.
I went back to your second comment with your link to Intel's forum and read that someone from the forum suggested changing the voltage of the GPU.

Well, I couldn't find the option to change the voltage in the motherboard menu, but I went through the rest of the settings and found something interesting called "VT-D" (Intel® Virtualization Technology).

After enabled this option and returned to windows, I plugged the HDMI cable and changed the display mode, usually after 5 seconds the computer was stuck, but this time nothing happened and after working smoothly over an hour I realized that problem solved, THANK TO YOU!!!

I have no idea what is VT-D, but it worked for me.
Thank you for all your help, I really appreciate it!

Hello acejin,

I am so glad to hear this great news! There are few things more rewarding than solving a computer problem. I hope this will prove to be the remedy needed.

I've read about changing the GPU voltage on various sites, but to be honest, that's a zone of specialist knowledge that I'm not cleared for yet. Maybe I'll try it in future, but for now I'm not going to suggest this as an option.

But it turns out you didn't even have to do that - and I'll look into that VT-D option myself. And thanks for you best-vote!

Cheers,
GreyCatz.