PsychOfMSE

So I've been trying to enable dual monitor support on my inspiron 8500 with a ATi radeon mobility 9000 video card. I've got the Radeon 9000 catalyst 6.1 driver that has been modded with Mobility Modder installed. My external monitor is a NEC MultiSync 75. When I open display prefrences the external monitor is recognized but every time I check "Extend my windows desktop onto this monitor" my screen will flash and then come back on, but my external monitor will show nothing and the box for extending the desktop is unchecked again.

When I reboot the monitor will flick on quickly then go back into standby mode.

Help! This is giving me an extreme migrane...almost as bad as trying to get dual monitors working in Ubuntu!! AHHH!!

Dyre Straits

The impression I get from what you describe is that this notebook simply doesn't have enough power to supply for both displays. The NEC must be demanding more power than what can be provided.

I'm not that experienced with notebooks, but, the symptoms you provide just seem to be saying, "not enough power."

The NEC MultiSync 75 (I'm using an NEC MultiSync E1100+, myself) is a CRT monitor and they do require some substantial powerage. So, that's my first guess as to what could be causing the problem.

What happens if you try to set up the NEC as the Primary without using the LCD?

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PsychOfMSE

it will not allow me to set up the monitor as the primary display. I think you hit the nail on the head with the power issues. The laptop won't recognize the AC adapter, but will still power up. It's my girl's old laptop and i didn't want to see it thrown away. Hopefully a new adapter will fix all the problems. I can't believe after days of headaches and driver issues that it turned out to be the damn power cord.

Thanks a million

Dyre Straits

Once you get the power adapter issue resolved, please let us know if that's what fixed it.

Good luck!

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