VERY strange problem...

[SuperMan]

Hi,

I have a G550 card and before today it was working like a charm. I have my LCD monitor connected to the DVI port and my TV to the RGB port for viewing movies.

Today, a friend of mine came by with his HP Omnibook laptop which also has a DVD player. I disconnected the cables from my computer and connected it to his laptop so we could watch the movie we'd rented. After hours of back and forth with drivers and configurations we could not get the laptop to send the picture to the TV (only sound worked). So we gave up. I then connected everything the way they were back on my computer and now I have the same problem! There is no picture! I tried totally new cables, did not help. I tried connecting through the VCR to the TV (different port on the TV), did not help although I can play a video tape on the VCR so it could not be the TV port. I've double and tripple checked everything. I even pulled the plug on the TV for 20 mins. Nothing has helped so far!

Please help!!

[K6-III]

Try a different rca/svideo cable...

[SuperMan]

I tried a completely new cable, didn't help.

[chaoliang]

I suspect that some of the Windows system files are broken. Only a guess. If you have DriveImage, you may try to save the current system and restore an older one. Well, that would at least rule out operation system problems, if it shouldn't help.

[SuperMan]

I don't understand. Why would there have been any changes to the OS or any files when all I did was to disconnect the cables from my computer and connect them to my friend's laptop?

[chaoliang]

I'm also quite unsure. I said this only because that Windows behaves often strange when it supposes that there were any hardware changes. I trust Windows little. But then I think I might be completely wrong because your friend should not have the same problem.
Very strange indeed. Another example: After downloading some files from DC++ very normally, Windows XP just refused to delete them from the HD (not even from DOS-Mode).

[Ribbit]

I get weird problems like this sometimes with my 486. Occasionally something in it stops working, and the only way to fix it is to take it all apart and put it back together piece by piece (but ending up exactly the same way it was before). It normally happens when I make some little hardware change - last time it happened was when I attached a CD burner to it for testing.

[SuperMan]

I haven't touched any hardware. The only thing I did to my computer was to disconnect the yellow video cable on the back of the graphiccard and connecting it to the laptop's TV-out. Then I simply reconnected the yellow cable to my computer but I can't get a picture on my TV anymore.

[funky-d-munky]

You didn't state what O/S? You didn't state what Video card?

If its XP, that may be your problem. I tried for days to get tv-out on my GF3 and it just would not recognize my tv-out. Even after a re-install. Worked fine in 98se. Worked in XP for a short time then poof! Gone!
I even returned the card as it was still under warranty. Same problem with the new one. I was stuck, then I tried TV-tool and tv-out works. I still can't select tv-out from display properties only through tv-tool. I have no explanation for this, but it does sound a lot like your problem.
It seems like a winXP glitch to me or at least a XP driver problem with my card.

[SuperMan]

I stated in my first post that it was a Matrox Millenium G550 card and I'm running Windows2000. The TV-out has been working without any problems from day one.

[rylan]

How long is your cable from the computer to tv?

[SuperMan]

It's 15 meters. I also tried a brand new 10 meter cable and it was the same.... no picture.

[SuperMan]

I just installed the latest drivers and still nothing.

When I unplugged the yellow video cable, both the TV and the computer were on. Is it possible that the tv-out port got damaged by getting a shock or something?

[Kruzin]

You may have confused the drivers.
The PC should always be off when hooking/unhooking a TV.
Without the TV hooked up, boot into safe mode, go to the device manager, and remove all monitors and TVs listed.
Power off, hook up the TV, and boot up normally. Hopefully the drivers will re-detect everything properly, and start working again...

[SuperMan]

I only have my LCD monitor listed in device manager.

I just hooked up a CRT monitor to the other port and I don't get any picture there either. I think the CRT port has died.