Solved No display on external monitors - Oh boy I've done it now

[GreyFox7]

I have been using one or two external monitors with a USB docking station. I had all the monitors set in extended mode and the monitor connected via DVI-d was set as the main monitor. The other monitor was connected to the HDMI connector on the dock.

My main external monitor also has a DisplayPort connection so I decided to see if it made any real difference if connected directly to the SP3 DisplayPort. I had the dock disconnected and just connected the cable. It worked fine but didn't make any noticeable difference.

Now when I connect the dock neither monitor works, just black screen but they are detected and the display switches from the SP3 the the Main external monitor. Of course I can't see anything and if I open the display control panel it goes to the Main (black screen) monitor so I can't make any changes. if I remove the dock it switches back to the SP3 display fine but then the other monitors are gone and I still can't change anything.

So how do I delete or modify my Dual/Multi monitor config?

Never been down this road before... if anyone has suggestions they would be appreciated ... otherwise ill be back with how I've fixed it at some point

Note this is the first time I connected the dock since yesterdays updates but I doubt that's the cause.

 

[sharpuser]

Sounds like you should remove that docking station from the Device Manager, and start over.

 

[GreyFox7]

Sounds like you should remove that docking station from the Device Manager, and start over.

No joy with that. I removed it, rebooted, reinstalled and its the same, even remembered the extended display settings vs mirrored. The monitor also detects signal, switching the color of the power indicator and lighting the soundbar indicator... still black screen.

I have switched the monitors now so the second display is on the DVI-d connector and the other monitor is off, which is allowing the SP3 display to remain as the Main display and I can troubleshoot with the dock plugged in. The monitors are different models

Anyone know where these display profiles are stored ??? Id like to nuke them.

 

[ctitanic]

Unfortunately I'm a mobile type, I don't like leashes in my SP3 My guess is that you need to update the drivers for those monitors once they are connected to your Surface.

 

[GreyFox7]

Unfortunately I'm a mobile type, I don't like leashes in my SP3 My guess is that you need to update the drivers for those monitors once they are connected to your Surface.

Thanks, I have done that... still not working. curiously if I uninstall the dock the monitor indicates its got no signal.

reinstalling returns me to the same point with black screen and its remembering the configuration of mirrored or extended. Windows sees the monitor and has the correct model and resolution listed for the display. tried deleting the monitor and redetecting it, no change.

 

[Eanderson]

This same thing happened to me. My monitors would get a signal, but would be completely black. I uninstalled and reinstalled displaylink. I also downloaded drivers for my monitors, they were just listed as a generic monitor under device manager.

 

[GreyFox7]

Ok, got the display back. After several attempts at removing the docking station, displayink driver, monitor drivers etc to no avail I decided to plug the one monitor back into the displayport so I could remove that since that's what started this mess (you cannot remove it while it not connected because its not listed).

That made things a little worse, which sometimes is a good thing. I started seeing remnants on the external screen and the mouse was hard to see, turning invisible at times. If I changed from mirrored to extended the mouse would flash on the second screen. aha, the display driver is the issue. since I had tried to update the display driver which just said you have the latest. I recalled a thread yesterday about a different Intel driver. I installed that driver and the external display is now working.

http://www.surfaceforums.net/threads/surface-pro-3-i7-hd5000-graphics-panel-lost.10359/

Still don't know where this configuration information is stored, I'm sure if I could have found it and deleted it things would have returned to normal.

Caution to anyone mixing Displayport with other monitors.

 

[GreyFox7]

Well, not everything is quite right yet. clearly uninstalling things is not removing all the configuration information and that is the crux of the problem. The configuration got hosed when I connected my monitor to the DisplayPort and there doesn't appear to be a way to clean it up.

This is looking like a REFRESH is the only way to get back to sanity. :-(

 

[GreyFox7]

The REFRESH did the trick.

First I decided to try going back to the last restore point... before all of yesterdays updates...
It backed out all of that ... still didn't fix it.

Then I did the Refresh... yea, problem fixed.
Next I had to do 42 updates since I refreshed ... caveat it preserves all your files, and reinstalls all your store Apps and makes a list for you of all the Apps you have installed from downloaded programs and such including Office 2013.

The REFRESH process was pretty good but I have 2 dozen programs to reinstall... mostly small utilities and Office. That said, I wouldn't do it casually.

 

[Contact]

Is there a way to use the "Win+P" keyboard shortcut to extend the display and then get access to the settings with the monitor plugged in? A refresh seems a little crazy

 

[GreyFox7]

Is there a way to use the "Win+P" keyboard shortcut to extend the display and then get access to the settings with the monitor plugged in? A refresh seems a little crazy

Ha, yeah I tried the win + P and every other combination.

After installing the Intel HD Display driver I got the display back but the resolution wasn't right and it said it was generic monitor even after I reinstalled the specific monitor driver. The whole issue is just because it leaves crap there rather than cleaning it out when you uninstall and there's no Reset All displays option.

 

[Contact]

Glad you got it fixed!