Dual Display Not Working

[timpass]

Hello. I have suddenly encountered an issue with multiple workstations running various GeForce cards that no
longer detect a secondary display. It started after lightning knocked out power. One workstation would not
boot back up. Removing the GeForce GTX 970 card allowed it to start. I purchased a new GTX 970 card but it still will
not detect the secondary monitor in the HDMI port. Two other workstations booted back up and function
properly except for the dual display. One has a GeForce GT 530 (OEM) and the other has a GeForce GTX 745
(OEM). Another workstation running a Quaddro M2000 card is working fine. Any thoughts on what may have
failed on these different workstations? Possible solutions? Your help is much appreciated.  Thanks!

[MKazi]

@timpass

Let me take a moment to thank you for posting on the HP Support Forums. 

I understand that you have an HP ENVY Phoenix Desktop - 850-055qe PC. I read that post lightning knocked out power, the PCs stopped working.  Removing the GeForce GTX 970 made one of the PCs to start working and the other PCs booted and started to function. You purchased a new  GTX 970 card and installed it and still the PC does not detect an external monitor via HDMI. The other two workstations will not have dual display via GeForce GT 530 (OEM) and the GeForce GTX 745. I appreciate the steps you have performed and have certainly done a good job.You've done a remarkable job performing the steps. 

I would like to know the following information to assist you better:

• Did you try installing the GeForce GTX 970 video card in the other two PCs and check if the PCs boot up and perform dual display?
• Do the GeForce GT 530 (OEM) and the GeForce GTX 745 work in the first PC which did not boot up?

Meanwhile, I recommend you to perform the following steps to isolate the issue and arrive at a fix: 

Let us run a motherboard test on the PC. You may have to remove the GeForce GTX 970 video card out and then run the test because the PC does not boot up,

• Click Start , All Programs, PC Help & Tools, and Hardware Diagnostic Tools.
• If you are prompted for an Administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
• A window opens and displays a message to close all applications. Close all non-essential applications and click OK to continue.

Figure : Close all applications

Figure : Collecting information

• Step 3: Check Alert Messages

  Hardware Diagnostic Tools scans the computer for any disabled or misconfigured devices. Detected issues are displayed in the Alerts section at the top of the main page. Always check the Alerts first, the computer issue may be related to an alert.

Figure : Alerts

• Click Alerts and review the messages.

  If no alerts are displayed, go to Step 4: Testing a device to start testing.

• System - this option will help to run a test on the motherboard. 

Please refer to this link for additional information about the tests.

I hope this information helps. Please feel free to let me know how it goes. Cheers! 🙂

[timpass]

Thank you very much for your reply.  I have not tried the new GTX 970 card in any of the other PCs, nor have I tried the cards from the other PCs in the one that did not boot up originally.  The new GTX 970 card does allow the PC to boot up, but the dual display still does not work. 

I took a PC with a working dual display and connected it to the primary and secondary monitors that were connected to a PC that had a non-working secondary display and it failed to render a secondary display.  This led me to think that the HDMI cable or the HDMI input on the secondary monitor could be bad.  Then I connected the working dual display PC directly to the secondary monitor, bypassing the existing HDMI cables and connectors, and the dual display worked once but then it didn't.  I need to try this again as I'm not sure why I got different results.

I will try the motherboard tests.  Thanks for informing me of them.  I figured that was something that could have gotten zapped but was not aware of how to test them.  I will inform you of the outcome.

I have HDMI cables from the PC to the wall, from the wall to the ceiling, then from the ceiling to the secondary display.  Do you think lightning could have damaged multiple isolated cables or HDMI inputs?

Thanks again!

[Riddle_Decipher]

@timpass

It looks like you were interacting with @MKazi, but he is out for the day & I'll be glad to help you out, 

I'm the Riddle_Decipher & I'm at your service. 

That said, thank you for replying,

Please take your time and get back to me with the results,

I'll be awaiting your response and would be glad to help.

And to answer your question, Yes, if there had been a lightning before the issue occurred, the damage is entirely possible and replacement of motherboard is the only/best option available for you in such scenarios,

if the PC is under the HP warranty, I recommend you Contact the phone support to set up a repair order.

Please use the following link to create yourself a case number, then call and it may help speed up the call process:

Step 1. Open link: www.hp.com/contacthp/

Step 2. Enter Product number or select to auto detect

Step 3. Scroll down to "Still need help? Complete the form to select your contact options"

Step 4. Scroll down and click: HP contact options - click on Get phone number to obtain a case along with the phone number.

They will be happy to assist you immediately.

If you wish to show appreciation for my efforts, 

Mark my post as Accepted Solution.

And click on the Purple Thumbs up icon at the bottom of my comment.

Regards,

[timpass]

Under PC Help & Tools, I do not have a Hardware Diagnostic Tools option.   Only HP Support Information and HP Vision Diagnostics Disc Creation.  How should I proceed?  Thanks!

[MKazi]

@timpass

If the Hardware Diagnostic Tools option is absent then suggest you another way by creating an HP Vision Diagnostics Media by downloading and installing it from the Web or by using the HP Vision Diagnostics Disc Creation tool. Please refer to "Creating the HP Vision Diagnostic Media" and post creation follow the steps under "Starting the HP Vision Diagnostics" from this link.

If the HP Vision Diagnostic still does not work then towards the end of the document, you have an option under "Hardware Diagnostic Tools" >> "Using Hardware Diagnostic Tools when Windows does not open."

I read from your previous post that if the HDMI cables are connected from the PC to the wall then, there is a high possibility that the lightening could have damaged the cables. 

I hope this does the trick. All the best! 🙂