This maybe something dumb and you may have overlooked but when you are looking at the display settings it is set up to have a dual monitor set-up for output purposes right?  I remember when i was in college the IT department always had problems connecting laptops to projectors while keeping the screen on the laptop cause none of them understood how to change the settings and just assumed it always should just work if plugged in.

Once booted up can you use either the vga or dvi output or does only one of those work after the computer is on?  (have only one plugged into the computer at a time and even try both monitors on both ports and which ones work when?)

Are you using 2 monitors and the laptop screen or just 2 monitors and acting as if the laptop is a desktop but able to be easily transported and used?

Might be a setting on the monitors also try going through their menus and resetting them back to factory settings and see if that fixes the problem?


Could be a whole list of other things but that is what comes to mind to check first.

Quote from: Alphamazing on December 21, 2009, 12:06:06 AM

The thing is... if something was fried in the monitor, why will it display through DVI during pre-startup and if the video card driver is uninstalled?

Thats the point i am trying to tell you.  When the drivers kick in.. It apparently requires a talk with the monitor.. it sends the signal.. the monitor does not talk back.. well.. ok..you dont exist.

During boot up.. all you are seeing is the output from the computer.. once the driver kicks in.. it begins to get a bit more complicated.   So this driver apparently requires a signal returned by the monitor to say.. hey i am here my name is lenovo 22".   that signal is not being sent by the monitor..so your video card says..ok nothing is there .. i sent a request and i get nothing back.

Other computer  video card may decide to go..ok got nothing back from the monitor..BUT... i see that something is connected..i will use a default driver for the monitor. 

Either way.. the only way for you to resolve this issue is to find another computer with same vid card as yours and plug your monitor to it..   the concept of  it works on another computer just doesnt mean anything unless you keep constant what matters..which is the vide card. and the monitor.   



The answer is there.. you just dont want to believe it.   

What made you think that a cat chewing your DVI cable might cause a software issue? 

Since your laptop outputs DVI to other monitors and both of your monitors work with other computers and a new cable didn't fix the problem, that means your cat didn't cause your problem.  It was just a coincidence.  YOUR CAT IS INNOCENT!

From here the most likely culprit is a corrupted or wrong video driver.  When you hook-up other monitors, your laptop must be using a different driver for that particular brand and model.  The only way I'd know for sure is to hook-up another monitor that is the exact same brand and model, ensuring the same driver is called.  Otherwise, what you're saying is impossible I'd say.  Best of luck.

Quote from: Bluehaze on December 21, 2009, 03:52:17 PM
Thats the point i am trying to tell you.  When the drivers kick in.. It apparently requires a talk with the monitor.. it sends the signal.. the monitor does not talk back.. well.. ok..you dont exist.

Ahh, I see what you're saying now.

I've got to give my big monitor back to work, since I can't keep working through next semester (already working 60+ hour weeks, can't fit in another 10+), so I'll just have a single monitor and my laptop screen to work with. Ah well. Maybe when I get a new monitor the problem will fix itself.

Quote from: bill14224 on December 21, 2009, 08:08:17 PM
What made you think that a cat chewing your DVI cable might cause a software issue? 

Because he chewed on the cable, and the monitor went crazy. It's as if he possibly shorted something.

Did you ever try VGA instead of DVI on the monitor with the issue?

Quote from: meri on December 28, 2009, 01:56:10 PM
Did you ever try VGA instead of DVI on the monitor with the issue?

Neither monitor will respond with DVI. Both work with VGA.