VGA Connection Issues

[Randomyze]

Hello,

I have an HP w2207 that I have been using for years and about a year ago I swapped out my trusted and true VGA cable (with DVI adapter) to use an HDMI Cable because apparently AMD won't let you play old 4:3 games in fixed aspect ratio unless you use an HDMI cable (I don't get it either).

Anyway now that I am done with my old game I want use my VGA cable again but for some reason after the Windows loading screen finishes the screen goes black and my monitor goes to sleep. I can load windows up in safe mode just fine using the VGA cable and have hooked the monitor up to my 8 year old laptop and had no issues so the cable and monitor works as well as the adapter.

I do not have another monitor to do testing with and have already uninstalled and tried using different driver versions. Right now I am running the default windows drivers and have uninstalled all ati/amd related software and cleaned the registry with CCleaner.

I just want to be able to use the computer with my VGA cable instead of an HDMI (the HDMI connection on the back of the monitor is loose and I get a bad signal at times unless I wiggle it).

I run Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
My video card is a Radeon HD 4600

Thanks.

 

[Core]

Boot into safe mode and check display properties to make sure it doesn't have two displays configured and the wrong one set as primary. Sometimes switching outputs can confuse it into thinking you have two monitors (in this case one monitor using the HDMI output, the other using the DVI).

Doesn't sound like a hardware issue, just a config one.

 

[Randomyze]

That was one of the first things I tried. It only shows the one screen available in safe mode however i did notice that it only has 4:3 resolutions available (16:10 are not there) but I think that's just the way safe mode is.

I've spent around 3 hours in total trying all the simple solutions I can think of trouble shooting. Thanks for the help, let's narrow this down

 

[Core]

Just to be clear about this: The first connection is from the HD4600's DVI port to the monitor's VGA port, using a DVI-VGA adapter and a VGA cable? And the second connection used was just a HDMI cable from the HD4600's HDMI port to the monitor's HDMI port?

 

[Randomyze]

Sorry I should have clarifyed. The 4600 has 2 DVI ports. The Monitor has a HDMI port and a VGA port. So I use an HDMI cable with a HDMI-DVI adapter when using HDMI. When I use VGA I use the VGA Cable attached to a VGA-DVI adapter. I have tried unplugging them both one at a time or having them both in at the same time and have been unable to fix the issue. I should also note that when windows is in safe mode it will only detect one at a time.

 

[Core]

I don't know what all measures you have attempted so I'll just throw ideas out there.

You could try VGA mode by pressing F8 during boot and selecting Enable VGA Mode or Low-Res Mode. It may allow you to change settings the normal safe mode doesn't. If the option isn't visible try pressing F6 instead. In display settings set the resolution to the lowest possible and make sure the refresh rate is the exact same as your monitor's, likely 60 Hz. Boot normally. If it works now, adjust resolution to monitor native.