Ultra wierd problem, need help fast! (there's a beer or 2 in it ;))

[autopilot]

Right, I'll buy a couple of beers for the person who can tell me what is wrong with my new setup (via paypal that is ). Coz i'll damned if i can sort it.

Ok, just got an Abit AN8 Ultra, A643700, 2x512 Corsair TwinX RAM and an XFX 6600gt.

Installed it all without any problems and it booted first time. Then installed Windows XP. Then I installed SP2 and the motherboard drivers. Great, everything going well i thought. Then i installed the lastest Forceware drivers. I rebooted, watched the POST screen and the Windows splash logo, then just as the splash screen disapears as normal just before the welcome screen should appear my Iiyama TFT goes say's "NO SIGNAL".
I kept rebooting but this always happened at the same point so i started in safe mode. Worked ok in safe mode (VGA) so i removed the drivers and tried the ones in the box - same problem.

I then thought it might be my PSU. I tried another higher rated one, but still had the same problem. So i reseated my GFX card, reset the BIOS and tried again with the minimum of hardware installed. Still no joy. So at this point i started to think the card was at fault. But then i remembered i had an old CRT monitor. I plugged it in (using a DVI-VGA adaptor) and it all worked fine. I then also tried a TV on the TV-OUT. Tis also worked fine.

So, I faulty TFT then maybe i thought. I thought this odd as it worked until the upgrade. SO i took the monitor to my local computer store and tried my monitor and DVI cable on one of thier machines with a DVI card. It worked fine!

So where the hell do i go from here?

Just to recap;

Monitor/cable works fine on other PC with 6600gt DVI
CRT works fine, as does TV out.
Have tried 2 PSU's
Have reset the CMOS a few times.
I have tried both DVI ports.
i have tried with and without the iiyama drivers
I have tried 2 sets of forceware drivers
I have even tried running it as dual monitor - both work fine, but only the CRT gets to the welcome screen and desktop.

I am so confused, why won't my GFX card an monitor work together in any mode other than VGA?

Please help if you can, there's a couple of beers in it for ya!

[Dougal]

Is there an option to force DVI mode on the TFT?

[autopilot]

Don't think thats it as it worked fine on another 6600GT with DVI.

[Clstrphbc_donut]

Refresh rate set too high? Use a CRT and make sure XP is using 60hz or lower, and the res is set to that of your TFT.

[Dougal]

In addition to donut, check the res too.

[autopilot]

It's set to 60 for the TFT and thats the only option it gives me anyway.

i have also noticed that if i try and select anything above 1024x768 (32bit) on the CRT, the CRT also cuts out. Now that makes me wonder if the GFX card is faulty and won't work at high resolutions.

I am at my wits end here. If I RMA the GFX card back to Scan, and they have no problems with it they will charge me for checking it. Then they will probably send me the same card back and I will be back to square one. What have i done, why did i not just stick to my old system

[alexander]

I think Dougal is an alcoholic.

[Dougal]

I think Dougal is an alcoholic.

o.O

[Dougal]

Anyway, back to the problem.

It does sound defective.

Is the problem the same on both ports?

I haven't used an nVidia in a while, but I know that with the ATi control panel there's a way to select the correct monitor for the refresh rates and vertical freqncies and so on.

Can you see if this works? The card may not be detecting your monitor correctly. May need a driver from the manufacturer ( I know ith my old CRT i needed a driver to get 1280x1024 out of it.

[autopilot]

i have not bothered installing my sound card again, as i was trying it with the minimum installed hardware when checking if it was a PSU issue. It did not work with it in or out. I have just done a complete format/reinstall - same problems still. I have tried with and without the monitor Drivers. What is there left to try?

[Dougal]

What model iiyama do you have?

[autopilot]

Prolite E431S

[Dougal]

Just wondering.

Could it be the colour depth?

Try taking it down to 256 in safe mode and then reboot.

[autopilot]

tried that already

[Dougal]

Ah well, looks like I aim not gettin beer.

Be a gfx fault.

[autopilot]

The more and more i look at it, the more i think it has to be a gfx card fault. Someone on another forum said they had a card with a faulty RAMDAC, which would only output a VGA analogue signal and not a DVI.

That would make sence, in that i may have to opposite problem; no DVI, just analogue i think.

Can anyone confirm just what happens when a DVI-VGA adaptor is used? I mean, the CRT monitor obviously can't acept a digital signal and the simple adaptor surely cant be converting the digital signal to analogue. So the gfx card must be recognising that an analogue CRT monitor is connected and switching to output an analogue mode, yes?

If thats the case that may explain why it work's on my old CRT monitor but not the TFT with DVI. What do you think?