60 replies to this topic

[roxy]

The new GTX 285 card is installed and according to Device Manager it's alive and well.

So far, so good, but the problem now is getting the monitors sorted out. 😢 The PF is displayed on my BG monitor and BG image is on the DMD monitor. The PF monitor displays the start up and the Hyperpin logo and then goes dark. The Display Manger shows all 3 monitors but the #1 PF monitor is shown inactive and I've tried multiple times, unsuccessfully, to activate it. The PF is connected to the 285 and the BG and DMD monitors are connected to the 275 card.

I am hoping you good people out there in VP land have a solution. Thank you.

[TT11]

Make sure you have the 3 monitors 1/2/3 next to each other in Device Manager set as the same level with your PF being 1 / BG being 2 / DMD being 3.  Has your Hyperpin settings.ini got the three monitor settings?  If all else fails I would disconnect the BG and DMD GPU and just get the PF card up and running before adding the 2nd GPU.

[roxy]

All 3 monitors show up in Device Manager and I have tried all arrangements and the PF monitor #1 remains inactive. I have tried disconnecting the BG and PF monitors with no improvement. The DMD is almost impossible to get to so it was not tried.

I feel I am so close and very frustrated. Is there some way to delete monitors ? Is there some way to "make active" the #1 PF monitor ?

[roxy]

Update:
Working in the NVIDIA Control Panel, Monitor #1 (the PF monitor) is now the primary display and the PF image is where it should be. The problem now is the BG is #3 and the DMD is #2 and they only show the Hyperpin logo. How do we reverse them to what they should be ? 2 steps forward, 1 step back.

How do you make monitor #1 (the PF monitor) the primary display ?
#1 is now active and arranged properly in the display settings but is listed as a secondary monitor. Monitor #2 (the BG monitor) is shown as the primary one and displays the play field image. The DMD #3 monitor displays the back glass image.
Hopefully we can finally bring this baby home and I will quit bugging you kind people. Thank you.

Edited by roxy, 29 September 2017 - 10:42 PM.

[FreeLunch]

It's been awhile since I've used Windows XP but this should be right. https://www.microsof...s.mspx?mfr=true

[STV]

Advice:   stop using hyperspin temporarily.   Run the vpinballx.exe directly and get things set correctly there.    FreeLunch's link is good for getting to the place where you can line up the monitors correctly.

 

After that is working then we could focus on hyperspin

[roxy]

Thank you for your help. A lot of trying with little progress.

Working in Windows XP, Display Manager, all arrangements of 3 monitors were tried with the same outcome : PF #1, DMD #2, BG#3. No matter what I try I can not get the BG to come up as #2.

In the NVIDEA Control Panel I tried different items in the pull down menu and the BG stayed at #3. In Hyperpin the BG has the Hyperpin logo, the DMD has the BG image, and the PF has the PF image. In just VP it's the same except it freezes up and the only out is to unplug the machine.

In Device Manager, for some reason, it shows 5 monitors, 2 default monitors (GTX275) and 3 plug and play (2 - GTX 275 and 1 - GTX 285). I hope this information is of some value in helping you kind and knowledgeable people steer me towards the solution to the problem.
Thank you.

[TT11]

I have found that many older video cards make the DVI output as the prime (no .1) output device.  Then comes HDMI followed by VGA and in that order.  I'd still try just a 2 monitor/output setup via Visual Pinball as what STV said first and then try adding the DMD #3...  Do you have DVI, HDMI and VGA outputs on your cards?

[roxy]

The PF monitor was connected to the new GTX 285 card exactly as it was to the old GTX 285 card. The BG and DMD monitors were connected to the GTX 275 card and were not altered.

The new 285 does not have a VGA (if that's the round one). I apologize for my lack of terminology. As best I can tell, the 285 connection is a 24 pin connector and the 275 has two 24 pin connectors. (DMD and BG)
I reassembled my cabinet so getting to the cards is difficult but I am willing to give it a try. I am not sure the specific steps I should follow. Again, I apologize for my lack of knowledge but I am pretty good at following directions.

Should I do the following ?
- disconnect the DMD cable from the 275 after grounding myself
- turn on the computer
- go to Display Manager
- hopefully see PF as #1 and BG as #2
- add back the DMD
- hopefully see the DMD as #3
Realizing it takes considerable effort, should I give it a try ?
I appreciate your patience.

[GSGregg]

Hi, roxy;

 

Sorry to join late, but I haven't done any troubleshooting for quite a while, I have only one monitor for my XP-run desktop and my memory is very dim (like my wit...)

 

The XFX GTX285 you linked to at Amazon has two Dual-link DVI-I outputs and a seven-pin S-Video socket, as does the EVGA 275 that I found elsewhere; the extra four pins on DVI-I carry red, green, blue and ground analog video signals (VGA equivalent) which is what S-Video does, although the signal is split into only two parts---black-and-white, its ground, and chroma (color) and its ground. Sounds to me that connecting a VGA monitor, if you are using one, through a DVI-I adapter would be superior. Of course, if all three of your monitors are digital (connected or adapted through HDMI, Display Port, or the 24-pin sections of DVI, you can disregard anything analog.

 

http://nvidia.custhe...dvi-i-and-dvi-d

 

A user a while back had lots of problems building his cab, and monitor numbers were far from the least of them.....dstott posted this and very well could have saved the day:

 

http://www.vpforums....788#entry344355

 

I'm not sure of the following , so would those more rustproof please look it over ?

 

There's also something gnawing at the inside of my head about disconnecting all but the #1 / Primary / Playfield monitor, then proceeding to hook up the rest AFTER ascertaining that #1's listed and functioning as it should be. In Device Manager, select Disable this Device in each monitor's Properties (NOT THE PLAYFIELD MONITOR), then re-enable the monitor for BG and ensure that it assumes #2 position. Finally, re-enable the DMD monitor and welcome it to #3 status. 

 

Referring back to dstott's quoted post, I guess the wacky numbers show only in screenres.text, and elsewhere remains normal?

 

Gregg

[STV]

Wait, could it be that you just need to drag the monitors into their proper order?   Get to the display manager and literally drag the screens around to where they need to be.

Here's a shot of mine.   Get the playfield furthest left, the BG monitor next and then the DMD monitor.   In my rig, playfield is #3, BG is #2, and DMD is #1 as shown below.

[Brer Frog]

I play mainly desktop but once in a while try full screen with 2 monitors. Originally playfield monitor was #1 and backglass monitor was #2 and all was good. Until I reinstalled Windows 7. Then the playfield became #2. I tried to change things in the registry & device manager but to no avail, playfield was stuck as #2.

But it really didn’t matter. As STV says, just make sure the monitors are positioned in the proper order as shown in the display panel.

Here’s a thread I started because I was having difficulties. My postings will probably sound confusing but look at messages #3 and #4, maybe they will help.
http://www.vpforums....showtopic=36995
 

[roxy]

Thanks to all of you, especially for your patience. I am not sure if the problem is with my cabinet or with me but I have a pretty good idea. I am a data gatherer and you good people are the brains - so here is the data.

I rearranged the 3 monitors again trying all permutations. 2,3,1, and 1,3,2, yielded PF and BG properly and the Hyperpin logo on the DMD. All other combinations had a proper PF but the other images were misplaced in some way. Identifying the monitors for all combinations, resulted in the constant PF is 1, DMD is 2, BG is 3. That is one thing that has never changed.

In Device Manger I disabled one to all GTX 275 monitors in sequence leaving just the GTX 285, PF monitor. Nothing changed. I deleted the monitors as above and nothing changed. All 3 monitors were shown in Display Manager throughout the process. Upon restart, everything reverted back.

In Hyperpin the BG and PF look normal and the DMD has a partial BG image. When I try to start the game, all is not well. The PF is distorted, the game will not play, and the only way to exit is to unplug the cabinet. My guess is the DMD's partial BG is the active one and the image on the BG is the static Hyperpin one. In VP, everything is the same except there is just a Hyperpin logo on the BG.

There's the data. Is a solution out there ? Is there a bigger problem lurking in the background ? Regardless, I want you to know I appreciate all your help and perseverance on my behalf.

[Brer Frog]

I never tried 3 monitors nor Hyperpin so can't provide any input along those lines.

 

But it appears the monitors should be arranged 1,3,2 in the display panel. That seems pretty much a given at this point.

 

Have you posted your screenres.txt somewhere for folks to look at? I apologize if I missed it.

[TT11]

roxy - you keep referring to what Hyperpin does...... I would try all of this stuff running just Visual Pinball by itself and then check your Windows settings and not do it using Hyperpin as the front end.  You have installed a new video card and just because it is the same as the old one, doe not mean it will just work.  Reason being - it - (Hyperpin) also has it's own settings if they are wrong, from your old setup, this could be what is messing with your new setup....

[roxy]

The screenres.txt info is as follows with 6 zeros listed under the 2.
1920
1080
800
600
2

The cabinet opens in Hyperpin showing the first table and everything seems to be fine - BG and PF are in the proper place and it will rotate to other tables. When I push the start button, that's when things go haywire.

When I try to run in just in Visual Pinball, I have not been able to pull up any Window settings at any step. If I click on play, the PF table comes up and a partial BG image shows on the DMD. It then becomes completely unresponsive and must be unplugged to exit. Is there someway to get to settings that apply to just VP ?

[gtxjoe]

Change the value 2 in your screenres.txt from 1 - 15 until the backglass shows up on the correct screen

[roxy]

Progress ! I finally got to play some pinball. 😃 Thank you.
I have gotten to number 5 in changing the screenres.txt from 1 to 15, with some positive results in VP, when I got to value 4. Some games played fine (AbraCaDabra, Aztec, Blue Chip, Charlie's Angels, Domino, et al). Other games were unplayable, PF was messed up, and often with error messages (Adams Family, Creature from Black Lagoon, Kings and Queens, Al's Garage Band, et al).

At value 5 the results were essentially the same except Kings and Queens worked fine. The results seem to be the same in Hyperpin before I wore myself out. I will continue with 6 to 15, if needed, when I get my second wind. Is there a magic number where all the tables will be happy once again ? Thank you again !

[Thalamus]

http://vpuniverse.co...nt&comment=8366

 

Might be to some help for you ?

[roxy]

Changing the screenres.txt value from 6 to 15 had about the same results as the previous values so I have settled on 5 for now.

I unsuccessfully tried to apply the DMD information from the helpful link, provided by Thalamus, due to my limited understanding. Where do I locate the pinmame controller? How do I find the DMD ? How should the error messages and tables crashing be dealt with ? What can be done to get me back to where most all tables would play routinely ? Is this too much to hope for ?

I imagine this thread is getting old for all of you helpful people. I feel I have overstayed my welcome and should just hang an "out of order" sign on my machine like they did in bygone days. I greatly appreciate all your efforts on my behalf. For those of us in the USA, it is a really good feeling knowing there are such helpful people throughout this world. Thank you.