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BIF
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Buggered up one of my displays; how to reset "can rotate"?

Fri Mar 16, 2012 3:21 am

Hello!

I was playing around with my ATI Radeon 57xx card and my Syncmaster 213T display and now the display only operates in landscape mode even though it's fully capable of running in portrait mode (which is how it has been physically turned for ages now). Here are some details:

1. I'm running Windows 7 64 bit, and I have the latest version of Catylist control center and the latest ATI drivers (just downloaded them last night).
2. The monitor in question is attached to the PC as follows: ATI Displayport --> Displayport-to-DVI adapter --> DVI port on monitor.
3. The Displayport-to-DVI adapter is a passive model.
4. It was working fine in this arrangement in portrait mode until I messed around with Catylist earlier in the evening to see what kind of error I'd get if I tried to turn on Eyefinity even though my monitors are not set to the same resolutions.

Boy, that was a mistake, eek! :o

So I've screwed it up and now neither Catylist nor the Windows Control Panel "change resolution" applet shows the "portrait" or "landscape" modes for this monitor and it is stuck running in Landscape mode attached to the computer in this way.

The dropdown button simply does not display when the monitor is active. The button is not just greyed out...it's not there at all. I have tried shutting off the monitor, unplugging the DVI cable to the monitor, "disconnecting" it in Windows and rebooting, reconnecting, etcetera. Thus far Windows seems to be remembering that monitor and refusing to let me rotate the display for that monitor by itself.

I have not yet tried to remove the Displayport adapter or plutting the display into the other DVI output port on the 57xx.

At one point, I tried duplicate "1+3" setup to make two monitors display in portrait mode. My Syncmaster is left, and my Dell is right, both are turned to portrait and have similar (but not the same) resolution settings. This seemed to work...the Syncmaster went along for the ride and displayed in portrait. But running left and right in duplicate is not what I want.

I'm sure I just buggered up some setting either in the Windows Registry or someplace in the guts that maintain and remember information about specific monitors that have been hooked up. I believe there's a bit someplace that says "can rotate this screen" and it's probably 0 or 1...and it probably got set to 0 by accident. Whatever it is, it's persistent across a system boot.

I have a small hunch that I may be able to get back to factory default by uninstalling all ATI drivers and Catalyst software, then rebooting before reinstalling. But that's pretty harsh, and I'd like to find a simpler way first. If one exists.

Any thoughts?

By the way, the monitor works in portrait via VGA to a second computer. So I know it can display in portrait just fine.

Thanks!
 
BIF
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Re: Buggered up one of my displays; how to reset "can rotate

Fri Mar 16, 2012 3:41 am

I kind-of-sort-of fixed it myself.

1. I unplugged the passive displayport dongle and plugged the Syncmaster directly into an available DVI port on the 5700.

2. I used Catalyst to pair monitors 1 and 3 (my syncmaster and HP, left and center respectively). Applied. This invoked Eyefinity.

3. Then I rotated the paired monitors with Catalyst. As I expected, it rotated both displays, so now the Syncmaster was correct (portrait) and the HP, a landscape model, was now incorrect (also displaying in portrait).

4. I used Windows applet to de-pair the two monitors. To my dismay, they both reverted back to landscape.

5. Still in Windows resolution applet, I clicked on the Syncmaster to see what my options would be. To my elation, the Syncmaster now had a "rotate" button which not only existed (unlike before), but it was also not greyed out!

I quickly selected and applied rotation to the Syncmaster.

All is well now.

Very weird.

But this exercise, in addition to causing lost sleep, taught me some things.

1. Eyefinity apparently tries to work even if your monitors are not matched in resolutions.
2. Persistence and curiosity can break things!
3. Persistence and curiousity can sometimes pay off.
4. Don't mess with your displays when it's bedtime. :lol:
 
JustAnEngineer
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Re: Buggered up one of my displays; how to reset "can rotate

Fri Mar 16, 2012 4:45 am

BIF wrote:
4. Don't mess with your displays when it's bedtime. :lol:
That's good advice.


I'm surprised that you're using a "passive" DisplayPort-to-DVI adapter.
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Re: Buggered up one of my displays; how to reset "can rotate

Fri Mar 16, 2012 7:40 am

JustAnEngineer wrote:
I'm surprised that you're using a "passive" DisplayPort-to-DVI adapter.

Why use the more expensive active type if the video card has a dual-mode port (which is capable of using a passive one)?
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BIF
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Re: Buggered up one of my displays; how to reset "can rotate

Sat Mar 17, 2012 9:27 am

Well, the passive dongle didn't get me three concurrent monitors with this particular radeon card, although it DOES allow flexibility for that display port port. It was a worthwhile exercise.

I need to source an active dongle to ensure that I won't be required to buy a monitor with a display port port on it. Just trying to ensure future flexibility... :)
 
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Re: Buggered up one of my displays; how to reset "can rotate

Sat Mar 17, 2012 9:33 am

MiniDisplayPort-to-DVI active adapters cost only $29.
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BIF
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Re: Buggered up one of my displays; how to reset "can rotate

Sat Mar 17, 2012 10:07 am

Interesting!

That's the same brand that I have, Startech. I don't have a mini-displayport, I have the regular size displayport. So I just searched on those keywords.

The plugs look just like mine except that the pictures for the search I did say "Active" on the package label, whereas mine only say "AV Cable" and describes the plugs.

I think I'll order one of each (since I now have more than one PC with Radeon graphics and DisplayPort ports). We'll see what happens. Thanks!
Last edited by BIF on Sat Mar 17, 2012 10:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
 
BIF
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Re: Buggered up one of my displays; how to reset "can rotate

Sat Mar 17, 2012 10:10 am

just brew it! wrote:
JustAnEngineer wrote:
I'm surprised that you're using a "passive" DisplayPort-to-DVI adapter.

Why use the more expensive active type if the video card has a dual-mode port (which is capable of using a passive one)?


To clarify an earlier comment I made, I think my HP laptop has such a dual-mode port because I'm able to drive three monitors with that one. But I'm sure that my desktop's older 75XX card does not. With that system, I can drive two monitors (including or not including the monitor on the DisplayPort dongle, but not all three). I think I bought this 57xx card back in 2009 or 2010. I will probably not try to include it in my new system build.
 
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Re: Buggered up one of my displays; how to reset "can rotate

Sat Mar 17, 2012 10:49 am

As an aside, dual-mode ports are supposed to have a DP++ logo next to them, as shown on this Wikipedia page. Any port with this logo should be able to work with passive adapters. DP++ ports are capable of detecting when they're connected to a DVI display, and switching themselves to DVI mode; this allows them to work with passive adapters (which don't contain any electronics, they just convert from one pinout/connector to the other). Non-DP++ ports can only speak DisplayPort protocol, so they require an active adapter (which has a converter chip in it).
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