nVidia Card Driver Problem connecting to a TV

[thenumberthirteen]

Hi. I hope you guys can help. I'm having a problem connecting my PC to my TV.

Whenever I connect the PC to the TV (via a VGA cable) I get a message on the TV saying "Not Supported" which is the message you get when the TV doesn't support that resolution.

The thing is I know it CAN support that resolution as I've hooked PCs up to it in the past at that resolution, and it states clearly in the TV's manual which resolution it supports.

The thing is I can boot it in Safe Mode (you only get the message when the windows desktop appears), and it works fine (you can change the resolution with no problems). However you can't boot it in low-res mode.

This sounds like a driver issue, and if you disable the GPU's drivers (by using Device Manager) it all works fine.

I've updated, rolled back, and tried different drivers, but the problem persists.

Any ideas on what to do?

My card is an nVidia GeForce 9400GT, and the TV is a Hyundai HTLY37f2

 

[Snowalker]

Are you 100% certain you're are in a too high res? even if you think you're not lower it any see if it helps.

 

[BlueberryMUNCH]

OOH, I've had this same problem.
Adjust your resolution, that'll sort it.

Wait, scrap that, I thought you were connecting via HD.
All I can really suggest is to keep on trying at different resolutions? hmm...

 

[Zantos]

Try booting onto TV as a secondary screen (I'm pretty sure that card has 2 slots), use you monitor to adjust the res that it broadcasts to the TV. Then use the nvidia control panel (it's really quite a helpful little devil) to switch that to the default primary connection.

Failing that, try your TV settings to see if it'll have an option for PC settings where the PC can "Detect optimum resolution" (OWTTE), then it should take it's display mode directly as the GPU says.

 

[thenumberthirteen]

Are you 100% certain you're are in a too high res? even if you think you're not lower it any see if it helps.

100% sure. I've tried all the resolutions there are. That's not the issue. As I said it boots in safe mode, and with the GPU drivers disabled at the right resolution.

Try booting onto TV as a secondary screen (I'm pretty sure that card has 2 slots), use you monitor to adjust the res that it broadcasts to the TV. Then use the nvidia control panel (it's really quite a helpful little devil) to switch that to the default primary connection.

Failing that, try your TV settings to see if it'll have an option for PC settings where the PC can "Detect optimum resolution" (OWTTE), then it should take it's display mode directly as the GPU says.

It doesn't work as the HDMI cable doesn't work with the TV at all (not even the BIOS screen shows), and it doesn't detect the TV as a secondary screen.

 

[Snowalker]

Are you 100% certain you're are in a too high res? even if you think you're not lower it any see if it helps.

100% sure. I've tried all the resolutions there are. That's not the issue. As I said it boots in safe mode, and with the GPU drivers disabled at the right resolution.

But you do realize that booting in safe mode just drops it to the lowest possible res right? Thats why I think you have the resolution too high. Also, just try a different driver, its not like there only one driver for your card.

 

[thenumberthirteen]

Are you 100% certain you're are in a too high res? even if you think you're not lower it any see if it helps.

100% sure. I've tried all the resolutions there are. That's not the issue. As I said it boots in safe mode, and with the GPU drivers disabled at the right resolution.

But you do realize that booting in safe mode just drops it to the lowest possible res right? Thats why I think you have the resolution too high. Also, just try a different driver, its not like there only one driver for your card.

It doesnt drop it to low res. It works fine at 1024x768 in safe mode. I've also tried a dozen different drivers for the card.

I've been working on it today. The only way I got it to work was to connect another monitor via DVI cable, and set the tv as the primary monitor. Thing is the second you disconnect or turn off the other monitor you get the "Not Supported" message again.

 

[ThriKreen]

What other resolutions have you tried? Is the refresh rate 59Hz or 60Hz?

I know that my 720p HDTV, while it works at 1024x768, has to switch to 1360x768 or 1366x768 to work properly in HD mode.

Most HDTV's can support 1024x768, as they have to be able to handle 1280x720. Perhaps your TV might advertise as 1080 but it isn't, so when you use the higher resolutions, it flakes out.

 

[thenumberthirteen]

What other resolutions have you tried? Is the refresh rate 59Hz or 60Hz?

I know that my 720p HDTV, while it works at 1024x768, has to switch to 1360x768 or 1366x768 to work properly in HD mode.

Most HDTV's can support 1024x768, as they have to be able to handle 1280x720. Perhaps your TV might advertise as 1080 but it isn't, so when you use the higher resolutions, it flakes out.

I've tried all the resolutions specifically stated in the manual, and other ones just for the crack. The refresh rate is set to 60hz, however I read about a bug with nVidia cards and windows where the refresh rate can actually be 59hz when it says it's 60hz (this is apparently supposed to do with how Windows and TVs handle refresh rates between 59 and 60hz).

This is supposed to be a HTPC so I really NEED it to work with this TV. I've already dropped a good bundle of cash on the PC so far, and don't want to just go and buy another GPU.