Ask a new question

Windows 8 not displaying second monitor on boot

I upgraded to Windows 8 a little while ago, and its mostly working great. The only problem I'm having (apart from something in Windows Update bricking my system whenever I update and having to do a system restore, but I've just turned that off for now) is that every single time I boot my second monitor just shows a black screen. The system POST information appears, followed by the Windows 8 loading screen, but as soon as I hit the unlock screen it just goes blank. Not switching off, the backlight is still going, but displaying a blank screen. Device manager and desktop properties and the Catalyst control center all still see it and think its working fine, but nothing. I restart and it comes up straight away. Every single time. I'm running the exact same hardware as I was on 7, with the latest AMD drivers so to me it has to be Windows 8 as the culprit. Any ideas?

Hi Danlevan,

Thank you for choosing Windows 8 and welcome to Microsoft Community Forums.

I see that the dual second monitor is not working in the dual monitor set up.

Let us work together to resolve this issue.

However, we need more information on this issue. Please answer the following questions.

1. Did you make any changes to the computer prior to this issue?

2.      What happened when you perform Windows update?

3.      Why did you have to perform system restore after windows update?
4. What is the make and model of the second monitor?

Here’s what you can try:

 

Method 1: Run hardware and Device troubleshooter

.

If your computer is having problems with a recently installed device or other hardware, try using the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter to fix the problem. It checks for common issues and makes sure that any new device or hardware attached to your computer was installed correctly.
Follow the steps given below:

 

a) Press Windows + W together.
b) Write Troubleshooting in the search box right up corner and hit enter.
c) Click on Troubleshooting tab.
d) Click on view all option on the upper left corner.
e) Select the Hardware and Device options from the list.
f) Click Next to run the Hardware and Device Troubleshooter.

Check for the issue if it persists then moves to the next method.


Method 2: Update the monitor drivers.


Go to the manufacturer’s website and install the latest drivers for the second monitor.

Refer to the article mentioned below for more information.

Connect multiple monitors to your PC


http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/how-connect-multiple-monitors

 

Beyond the basics.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-IN/windows-8/multiple-monitors#1TC=t1

 

Please get back to us with the results.

If you have any further questions about Windows 8, write to us anytime.

We are happy to help.

 

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

Thanks for the reply Karthik.

I'd gone through all that, but it turns out that it must have been a driver issue, as the most recent AMD beta driver has fixed the problem.

As for the system restores, something in Windows update was causing the system to blue screen immediately on boot, and wouldn't load into the OS or even safe mode. After a couple of tries Windows was automatically going into recovery mode. It's currently showing 37 items in there, and as I haven't the foggiest which of them was causing it, I'm somewhat reluctant to go through them one by one at the moment. It's possible it was tied to the driver issue, in which case it too might have fixed itself.

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

the most recent AMD beta driver has fixed the problem.


I must try that.   Thanks for the tip.

 

FWIW I had been assuming that what you were describing was normal.   E.g. if I want to see both screens at the same resolution as the primary I need to use Win-P, CursorUp, Enter.   But then it is just duplicated and looks terrible in the wide-screen monitor anyway.

 

 
---

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

hi 

           i have problem that i have vaio laptop its screen is broken . i have a secondarily screen but i have connected it start using. but i need to reinstall windows .I am using windows 8 original but i cannot see the botting steps in my secondarily screen i dont know when it will ask the product key so can u please replay this message . i need to use the secondarily screen as primary screen

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

 
 

Question Info

Last updated June 24, 2023 Views 6 Applies to: