# Peculiar monitor issue



## Wayne A. Pflughaupt (Apr 13, 2006)

Hello everyone,

I have a Dell laptop that’s a few years old connected to a docking station, so I can use a LG 24” monitor. I’ve been using the standard RGB connection, but switched to an DVI /HDMI cable – DVI on the docking station end, HDMI on the monitor. However, when I do this the picture shifts about an inch or so to the left. IOW, I have a vertical black band on the right side of the screen, and everything that should be on the left side of the screen, such as the Start button, is “buried” off the screen and inaccessible. I can’t find anything in the monitor’s menu to shift the picture. Any idea what’s going on here, or how to fix this?

Regards,
Wayne


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## RTS100x5 (Sep 12, 2009)

Are you using both the laptop and monitor simultaneously? If so you may want to switch to the monitor as the primary or have it be the only monitor in use....


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## Wayne A. Pflughaupt (Apr 13, 2006)

If you’re asking if I’m using the laptop monitor at the same time as the outboard monitor, the answer is no. The laptop is closed when it’s on the docking station and only the outboard monitor is in use. Both connection cables – RGB or DVI/HDMI - are connected between the docking station and the monitor.

Regards,
Wayne


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## Harpmaker (Oct 28, 2007)

My guess is that there is a problem in the DVI to HDMI conversion. :dontknow:

Are you using the latest drivers for your video card?


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## Infrasonic (Sep 28, 2010)

I'd try these steps: leave only the DVI cable connected, change the resolution (sometimes just back and forth will fix it) and make sure the refresh rate is set to 60hz.


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## Wayne A. Pflughaupt (Apr 13, 2006)

My understanding is that DVI is a digital output, like HDMI. However it also seems that there are different DVI connections. This is the DVI connection my Dell docking station is using (see picture below). Perhaps this particular DVI isn’t compatible with HDMI, so that why the adapter cable isn’t working?


Alternately – those of you who have monitors with DVI inputs, are they using this particular DVI, or another kind?











Regards, 
Wayne


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## lcaillo (May 2, 2006)

The video signal on HDMI is the same as it is on DVI. The difference is in the overall design of the interface. There are dual link DVI systems, as well as HDCP and connectivity differences. If you stripped out the video from HDMI and from DVI, however, it would be identically transmitted, using the same TMDI technique. Getting it from one device to the other depends on the rest of the interface as well, however, and that can vary considerably.


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## WooferHound (Dec 8, 2010)

I had a problem like this and it was an Underscan problem with the video card. I tried to reload the drivers from the disc that came with the video card but it did not work. I logged into the website for my card and had the drivers reinstalled from there and it started working fine.


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## Wayne A. Pflughaupt (Apr 13, 2006)

Harpmaker said:


> Are you using the latest drivers for your video card?





WooferHound said:


> I had a problem like this and it was an Underscan problem with the video card. I tried to reload the drivers from the disc that came with the video card but it did not work. I logged into the website for my card and had the drivers reinstalled from there and it started working fine.


 That did it! I had a little icon appear at the bottom right of my taskbar that said I had "4 PC issues to fix." I clicked on it, and one of the "issues" was that I needed to download the latest drivers for my video card. I did, and it fixed the problem with the HDMI/DVI cable. It’s working fine now – thanks for all the help and advice. :T

As a side benefit, the picture seems noticeably sharper compared to using the VGA cable.

Regards, 
Wayne


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