Hard Light Productions Forums

Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: karajorma on July 05, 2012, 07:27:33 am

Title: Dual Monitors -> Single Monitor = Perfect Storm
Post by: karajorma on July 05, 2012, 07:27:33 am
Okay, this one is odd. At my last job I had a dual monitor setup using the laptop's own screen and the one I borrowed from the computer my employer gave me. Since I just changed jobs I have now moved to an apartment where I only have the laptop display (for a few days more at least).

Some of you may have guessed where this is going. Many of the applications I'm running are opening their windows on the other, now non-existant monitor. Well I'm able to get most of them back in place using the ALT + Space + M combo and then moving them back onto the actual display. The problem comes with my winamp window (and probably others I have yet to discover). Winamp wasn't set to fullscreen but was sized at a considerably larger size than my laptops maximum vertical resolution. So I can't move the window back onto my main display as it's too big. Nor do I appear to be able to resize it using the ALT + Space + S combo.

Basically I have an invisible, unviewable window.  :banghead:

Any ideas?
Title: Re: Dual Monitors -> Single Monitor = Perfect Storm
Post by: The E on July 05, 2012, 08:01:14 am
On windows 7, use Win + Up to maximize, or Win + Left/Right to size it to take up one half of the screen.
Title: Re: Dual Monitors -> Single Monitor = Perfect Storm
Post by: karajorma on July 05, 2012, 08:04:54 am
Does absolutely nothing to this window as far as I can tell.  I did forget to mention I was on Windows 7 earlier though.
Title: Re: Dual Monitors -> Single Monitor = Perfect Storm
Post by: LHN91 on July 05, 2012, 08:15:26 am
Some laptops do not re-detect screens automatically, so your laptop may believe that there is still a screen over there to render to. Try going into either Control Panel -> Display or whichever control panel comes with whatever GPU you're running, and forcing a screen detection. It generally works on my AMD based laptop.
Title: Re: Dual Monitors -> Single Monitor = Perfect Storm
Post by: Jeff Vader on July 05, 2012, 08:17:23 am
I should be doing something important so I ended up googling for this issue. Someone claims to have "solved" the same issue by changing the screen resolution to something else so that Winamp becomes visible, and then changing the resolution back to what it was.
Title: Re: Dual Monitors -> Single Monitor = Perfect Storm
Post by: headdie on July 05, 2012, 08:19:47 am
Does absolutely nothing to this window as far as I can tell.  I did forget to mention I was on Windows 7 earlier though.

winamp is a pain in the ass for this kind of thing, I went from a CRT which i usually ran at something like 1152x864 to my now flat panel which natives at 1024x768 (it was free and takes up much less desk space so I aint complaining) in the end i had to go beyind native to fix it.

Just googled "winamp gone from dual screen to single screen" and got this (http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?t=333679) which lead to this potential solution (http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?threadid=164598)
Title: Re: Dual Monitors -> Single Monitor = Perfect Storm
Post by: karajorma on July 05, 2012, 08:28:45 am
That did indeed fix it for Winamp. I was looking for a more general solution since I'm sure I'll run into other programs with this issue (It took me over half an hour to get the Events Editor back in FRED!).
Title: Re: Dual Monitors -> Single Monitor = Perfect Storm
Post by: mormon_boy on July 05, 2012, 11:29:15 am
my solution:
1. go to a thrift store
2. buy the cheapest compatible montior you can find

a CRT should only be like $10 tops if your lucky enough to find a LCD you could be looking at $20-$50
Title: Re: Dual Monitors -> Single Monitor = Perfect Storm
Post by: Sandwich on July 05, 2012, 12:55:58 pm
Try changing the laptop screen's resolution; I think every time the resolution changes, Windows gathers together all the windows that are beyond the new screen area.
Title: Re: Dual Monitors -> Single Monitor = Perfect Storm
Post by: BloodEagle on July 05, 2012, 02:18:22 pm
There should be a way to tell all windows to arrange themselves in a cascade fashion.

Yeah, right click on the taskbar.
Title: Re: Dual Monitors -> Single Monitor = Perfect Storm
Post by: achtung on July 05, 2012, 06:04:02 pm
Hope you aren't stuck with a single monitor for too long, it really sucks. I'm back to a single monitor as well. :(
Title: Re: Dual Monitors -> Single Monitor = Perfect Storm
Post by: karajorma on July 05, 2012, 07:02:34 pm
I have a second monitor, but the other PC needs it (I have to use this PC for internet since I can't connect my laptop at the moment, long story!).

Even doing a temporary reconnect didn't help cause it's not the same make and model so Windows was putting the screen on what basically amounted to a 3rd non-existent monitor even when the other two were connected. So far Winamp is still the only thing to really give me trouble but with the exception of the winamp specific fix that was posted earlier, none of the other suggestions posted worked. If another program has the same issue, I could be screwed.
Title: Re: Dual Monitors -> Single Monitor = Perfect Storm
Post by: Davros on July 06, 2012, 05:40:43 am
do you have amd graphics ?
hydravision will limit apps to 1 screen
nvidia users have nview

maybe desktops will do the job
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/cc817881
Title: Re: Dual Monitors -> Single Monitor = Perfect Storm
Post by: karajorma on July 06, 2012, 05:58:54 am
Well the problem is sorted for now. We'll see if I can keep it that way.
Title: Re: Dual Monitors -> Single Monitor = Perfect Storm
Post by: Cyker on July 06, 2012, 08:21:43 am
Yeah, this is a really stupid Windows 7 bug; In XP anything off screen would be bumped back and crammed into the right side of the screen when the res shrunk, but due to the new rendering system in Win7 that no longer happens most of the time - I know a few people who have to run some apps maximized because otherwise they're always off screen :lol:

With most stuff you can just do the Cascade/Tile trick mentioned above, but for 'special' windows like WinAMP, XMplay etc. it's a bit trickier.

Easiest way is to track down where the app stores its startup co-ordinates and nuke them. (Usually an INI file or registry entry)

Failing that, if you can plug it into another monitor or even a TV, that is a simpler way to get it back.
I'm not sure about this phantom 3rd monitor thing you describe; Not seen that before!

Some people have had luck changing the rez to something else and then back again but I've not had much luck with that.

If you have a display driver that supports a virtual viewport, you can make a fake res which extends far enough for you to get the missing window back, then just move the mouse to the right so the viewport scrolls to it.
Title: Re: Dual Monitors -> Single Monitor = Perfect Storm
Post by: jr2 on July 06, 2012, 04:25:17 pm
Heh

Try this:

1) Get CCleaner

2)
(http://i49.tinypic.com/5jtgrr.jpg)