PXIe-8840 can't set up extended/dual monitor

[afalkowski]

I am using a PXIe-8840 controller that is running WIndows 7 and trying to connect two monitors using the display port connectors to set up a extended/dual monitor user interface.  When I plug in the second monitor, it detects the signal and displays a mirrored display from the first monitor.  If I look at Control Panel -> Display -> Screen Resolution settings, it only shows that it is detecting one monitor so there is no way for me to change the mirrored display to an extended desktop display.

Is there something that I'm missing that would enable me to set things up this way?  Or are the display ports and graphics card not able to be used in this fashion?  

Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

[SamuRei]

 Hey afalkowski,

I have a couple follow up questions about this setup.

> Are the monitors native DisplayPort, or are you using DisplayPort to VGA / DVI adapters?

> What is the resolution of the monitors you are using?

> Have you recently installed / reinstalled Windows?

If you have reinstalled recently, it would be worth it to run Windows Update to make sure that all display drivers are up to date. Additionally, it seems trivial but a restart of the system often does wonders for discovering device that was just plugged in.

Cheers!

[afalkowski]

Sam,

The monitors are native display port (no DVI/VGA adapters are being used).  I am using the mini-displayport connector on the monitor side as that was the cable that came with the monitor.  The resolution of the monitors are both capable of 3840x2160, but I was trying to use them at either 1920x1440 or 1600x1200.

Windows has not be reinstalled at all on this system since we got it.  Also, rebooting the system does not fix the problem unfortunately.

[SamuRei]

So from a hardware capability standpoint, it looks like the onboard graphics processing should be capable of driving even the 4k resolution using the display port outputs. The PXIe-8840 uses an Intel Core i5 4400E processor (see page 1-3 in the User Manual)

NI PXIe-8840 User Manual - National Instruments

And the 4400E should be able to drive both Display Ports at (up to) 3840x2160 resolution. (Check out pages 31 and 32)

Desktop 4th Gen Intel Core Processors Datasheet, Vol. 1

So this basically means that there is nothing fundamentally preventing your controller from communicating with your type of monitor. The specific model may do an odd job of identifying itself. What are the make and model numbers for your monitors? Further troubleshooting:

• Do you have other monitors that you can try to see if this problem is specific to the monitors you are using?
• In Device Manager, under "Monitors", do you see both monitors show up when they're both plugged in?
• Do you see each monitor appear when it is the only one plugged in?
• With a single monitor, does one display port identify the monitor and the other doesn't?