Widescreen Gaming Forum

Hi folks,

My PC uses a Socket 478 Dual Core Intel 3GHz CPU with a Gigabyte KA-8KNXP motherboard, and NVIDIA AGP GeForce 7600GT / PCI GeForce FX-5200.

I wasn't able to find any search results on this issue on this forum, so has anyone had a problem when booting up the first time after connecting the TripleHead2Go Digital and 3 displays to an NVIDIA (GeForce 7600GT) card?

I got the following boot error:

NTLDR Missing

After some web research I learned that I can fix this by using my WinXP Home CD Recovery Console and executing FixMBR followed by Fixboot commands for my C: drive, and then rebooting, all while the TripleHead2Go is still connected. It will then span across my triple displays OK.

But I have yet to install the included Matrox software. I wanted to figure this boot problem out first.

I have tested this scenario and it is very repeatable. When I unhook the TripleHead2Go and reconnect the displays to my 7600GT and FX5200 PCI cards, the PC boots and Windows runs fine on all 3 displays. If I then power down again and set up the TripleHead2Go on one output of the GeForce 7600 once more, I get the same NTLDR Missing command again. Each time I have to use the Windows Recovery Console commands to restore the boot files on the C drive, and then I can reboot and the TripleHead2Go will work.

I have sent an email to Matrox Support about this, but I was just wondering if anyone else has seen this problem? There doesn't seem to be anything about it out in the web either. It is a mystery to me how connecting this device, when all the parts are without power, could cause this boot error when power is restored and I attempt to boot up?

Any advice is welcome.

Thanks!

Zoandar

Not sure thats a Matrox issue. Sounds like you may have a bad hard drive.

Might not help at all, but I would remove the FX5200 from the system and then try the TH2Go hooked up to the 7600.

Again, I don't know if it will help, it is just something I would try.

Maybe even put the TH2Go USB power cord into another connector.

Donno how this could possibly be related to the TH2G. IMHO, sounds like the drive had some errors on it.

_________________
Brad Hawthorne
Product Manager
Nthusim Pty. Ltd. | www.nthusim.com

Well, the solution surprised me all around, but I now have it working without any more issues. What Matrox Support told me is that my XFX GeForce 7600GT AGP card is not Dual-Link output like I had thought it was. (It does have all the pin sockets for Dual-Link). So they said to make sure I was using a VGA cable input to the TH2Go, and then to update the firmware and install the software and let them know how it went.

So, after making an image of my C drive (I didn't want to have to rebuild the PC again) I powered down and put a DVI-VGA adapter on the 7600 output, and used the VGA cable to go to the TH2Go. I connected all three DVI outputs to my 3 LCD displays, and powered back up and booted.

At first I thought it wasn't working. All 3 displays remained in sleep mode, although the HD was obviously doing something, so I waited awhile. Eventually the LH display (#1) came on to show the WinXP Welcome screen, and I was up and running on ONE display.

I forged ahead and installed the PowerDesk-SE software, and rebooted, and the same lack of BIOS text screen occurred (very unsettling to me) but once the Welcome screen came on I was up again on #1 display. From there I had to figure out that I had to enable using the 3 displays. I expected the setup to be a bit more automatic. (when I had gotten it to work after the NTLDR issue, on the DVI input cable, all 3 displays came on and spanned the BIOS text during the boot, and then on into Windows.) But eventually I got all 3 displays spanning the Windows desktop nicely.

Matrox said they had no record of ever seeing this NTLDR issue, and that they can't think why it could be caused by their device. But I have no other explanation for it than that I can make it happen EVERY time I connect their device, IF I use the DVI cable. Then all I had to do to restore the ability to boot was use the WinXP Recovery Console and issue fixmbr and fixboot commands for the C drive. Restart and I had the spanned displays, without installing any of their software. I suppose it is just a fluke.

Thanks for the suggestions on the possible HD problems. All I can say is that WD's Data Lifeguard Tools passes it with flying colors. It is a RaptorX 150GB drive, and is only about 2 years old if memory serves. If it starts acting up again I guess I can suspect it, but for the past few days while I have been rebuilding my PC it has worked flawlessly.

I would really like to be able to watch the BIOS boot my PC.My motherboard uses additional BIOS processes to detect the various drives I have connected to different controller sockets, so I like to make sure they are all detected before I get into Windows. Any suggestions how to enable that while using the TH2Go would be most appreciated.

What's hooked up to usb besides the matrox box?

Like ide hdd, boot drives or anything else that might change either logical order or detection order or other stuff (usb boot-enabled bioses tend to be weird).

Well, I have to agree with you there, except that in my experience the Universally Sukking Bus has always been weird and unstable, no matter what you plug into it. I have a scanner and a couple CD Library units which all like to play the "now you see me now you don't" game when booting. But none of them have ever caused a drive letter shift during boot.

Matrox told me today that the lack of seeing boot BIOS text may be something specific to my 7600 GT, and if I swap it for a card that does support dual-link DVI I can switch back to the DVI input cable and not have that problem again.

I know my hardware is very old by today"s standards, but I glide along on the trailing edge of technology getting my sons' hand-me-down PC parts as they upgrade. The GA-8KNXP board is pre- PCI express. So when I shopped for an AGP card, the 7600 GT was the best I could find at the time. In order to switch to a newer PCI-Express card I'll also need a new motherboard. I could probably stick with Socket 478 and keep the same proc. It serves me well.

The games I play have been around for awhile anyway (MS Flight Sim X, Lock-ON, Half-Life 2) so I can afford to play on the older hardware.

Thanks!

Zoandar

The plot thickens!!

I could have sworn this XFX GeForce 7600GT card did have dual-link support when I bought it, and that kept nagging at me. So I decided to ask XFX what the specs are on this card (since I couldn't find them on their website). Here is the tech support request I sent, and their reply I just got today:

:::::

[ 10/30/2009 2:15:05 AM] I just need some information I can`t seem to find on this site. Does the XFX GeForce PVT73AUDE3 7600GT card use Dual-Link DVI outputs or are they Single-Link DVI outputs? I am connecting it to a Matrox TripleHead2Go Digital GXM device, and I need to know this information to know whether to use the DVI or VGA cable from the card to its input. Matrox says the card is only Single-Link but I wanted to make sure. Thanks.

[DANIEL_E 10/30/2009 10:52:04 PM] Hi, the 7600gt has one dual link dvi port. The dual link dvi port will be the dvi port closest to the motherboard. The other dvi port is single link. Daniel

:::::

So, I had to find out if this was going to work. I shut everything down, powered off, and removed the VGA cable. Then I connected your provided DVI cable from the output port indicated in their reply to the input of the TH2Go, and powered back up and booted. I still do not see any of the boot process text messages, which I would like to have, but once Windows XP got to the Welcome screen, it appeared on display #1. All I had to do was run back through the PowerDesk-SE settings again and select 3 displays, and viola! I am now seeing a nice spanned display across the 3 LCDs. And thankfully no sign of the dreaded NTLDR Missing error message. I hope it stays that way.

So, I wonder, is it because the TH2Go isn't yet activated (USB would not be sending data during the BIOS detection portion of the boot process until Windows is booting, would it? This KA-8KNXP motherboard doesn't have "boot from USB" capabilities.) that I am not seeing the customary boot text? Is there any way to make that happen along with the TH2Go?

When you folks boot using the TH2Go, do you see the BIOS messages?

Thanks.

Zoandar

I depends which output the card considers 'primary'.

Example, I have a geforce hmm, 6200 I think, that has svga + dvi. When booting the svga always has bios display, if both are connected they both have it, but if only dvi is connected, nothing is shown.

It seems a bit like the dvi port is slave to the svga's status as connected or not to a display.

Interesting piece of information. I would presume in the case of the XFX GeForce 7600GT that the DVI port closest to the motherboard (the one with Dual-Link) would also be the primary output. But since the card has only DVI out x 2 I would expect the boot screen to be fed through at least one of them, and without the TH2Go it will be no matter which (or both) port(s) you connect. However, something ab out the TH2Go Digital Edition intercepts that stream and doesn't pass it along to the output to any display.

I did find a workaround last night though. I addition to 3 LCD displays on my desk I have a CRT on a wall-mounted monitor arm which I can point at the deak or at my work table sitting beside the desk. I use it when building or working on a PC.

Before I got the TH2Go, I had added in an FX 5200 PCI card to drive my third display. I have the card still mounted in the PC, but have Windows ignoring it. That card has both VGA and DVI out. So I connected the CRT to its VGA out to see if it would display the boot screen, an it does. As the GUI starts up on the TH2Go. the CRT blanks. I can live with that. ;-)

Zoandar