Multiple monitors problem, need help

Hi there guys and girls

I have a Dell D420 laptop that is on a Port Replicator connected to a Samsung LCD monitor. The problem I am having is that the LCD monitor keeps flashing and going haywire, funny enough everytime I right click on desktop it will also flicker off and on.

Taking the laptop off the replicator and using the laptop's LCD shows no problems. Docking the laptop in another replicator and CRT monitor produces the same problem. So clearly something is up with the laptop.

I had a look in Device manager and there are 3 Default monitors and 2 Plug and play monitors installed. So I'm guessing this is causing a bit of conflict between drivers everytime it switches between Laptop and LCD.

So my problem now is I cannot seem to uninstall these monitor drivers permanently as they keep on returning after a reboot. The laptop has never been used on a TV and only been used on projectors occasionally.

Any suggestions on how to go about removing these drivers permanently if they keep coming back?

Thanks guys you are the best

control panel - add and remove ( some drivers are packaged/bundled)

boot into safe mode and remove them and see what happens

Thanks g

Tried that already. They just keep coming back. Safe mode did not help and I even tried uninstalling the display adapter drivers. The blighters will not go away for a re-install.

Strangely when I downloaded latest Dell Display Adapter drivers and tried to install it gave an error saying that it could not remove the old drivers. Something like "class handle error" if I recall.

So into safe mode I went again and the new drivers seemed to install fine then. But a reboot and back into windows I am and still nothing has changed. The 5 monitors are still there and refuse to be uninstalled.

As it is not my laptop a re-format is really the last option and I am hoping to avoid that.

Sorry to revive an oldish thread but the problem still persists and wondering if anyone else has any insight.

What I see exactly is shown below. In Device Manager I see

- Monitors
Plug and play monitor
Plug and play monitor
Syncmaster 720N/731N
Syncmaster 720N/731N
Syncmaster 720N/731N

So you can see there are five drivers and it definately doesnt look right. If I delete them they come back. If I delete them in safe mode they still come back. Before it was syncmaster I think there were 3 default monitors until I tried fixing the problem by installing correct drivers. Even re-installing and updating the Dell Laptop's display adapter drivers did nothing other than be a pain because of some conflict which I eventually managed to get around in safe mode.

However it doesnt matter what external monitor I use for the laptop it will still flicker randomly and be a pain to switch between LCD\CRT and laptop.

Any advise? Preferably not to format re as this guy I'm helping has some difficult to setup programs.

put off system restore and try again

its like a virus in you registry.in vista its even worst when it comes to there type of problems

What happens if you remove the replicator and uninstall the drivers, do they come back then. Also if you can connect the screen directly to the laptop (not through the replicator) do you still have the same flickering problem ?

Thanks guys will get back to you on that one tomorrow. If I recall correctly I tried end of last year to remove the replicator. I can't quite remember the results I experienced but will give it another shot tomorrow when I am by the laptop and let you know.

Okay heres what I see.

I try undock laptop by clicking "undock" in windows and immediately I get an error saying that print spooler being used even though it's not. I had to stop the service in order to undock the laptop properly. I also noticed a really dodgy service running that looked like a reg key but it could be anything.

Anyway the driver sounds you hear for instance when you plug a flash disk in went a bit berserk as it took away 2 of the five drivers.

So when undocked I read in Device Manager:
-Default Monitor
-Plug and Play Monitor
-Plug and Play Monitor

Tried deleting them again but those three just came back. Tried going to safe mode again while it was undocked but strangely it hung for way too long and I gave that up and rebooted.

Then I noticed after reboot in Device manager:
-Plug and Play Monitor
-Plug and Play Monitor
-Plug and Play Monitor

So the default was replaced by P&P. Then I tried the earlier suggestion and plugged the external LCD straight into the laptop. Suddenly all five drivers were there again as shown in my previous posts after I heard those driver sounds go berserk again. The LCD still flickers randomly and occasionally the laptop as well.

Seems I may really need to format re

Oh Holy Shyte what do you know, a format re did not fix the problem either :/

Could be a problem with our image maybe but is there a definate fix for this?

Guess what. This is not the only Dell machine I have discovered with multiple monitor drivers now.

A bunch of Latitude D620's, D630's, D420's, D430's and even my Optiplex GX620 have 3 monitor drivers in device manager and as soon as you plug a second\external monitor in then there are 5 monitor drivers.

We run a company XP image and initially I suspected it was the image however now I have checked a new Dell PC with their OEM XP installed as it comes in the box and it too has 3 monitor drivers and creates another 2 when you plug in any other external monitor.

Luckily none seem to be causing problems except for the initial problem laptop where the external source always flickers. What does this mean?? Surely this is not normal??

I have checked a Latitude D610 and that one seems to be fine.

Ever tried troubleshooting the graphics adapter?
The GMA950 is an integrated onboard chipset and requires MOBO replacement if faulty.
If the machine is still under warranty with Dell, I would suggest calling tech support and explaining the situation.

I have phoned Dell. I have tried re-installing latest adapter drivers but so far it has not helped. My gut feel is that it is almost as though one of the two ports of the graphics adapter is faulty and causes this mess up (is that even possible?). Reason I say this is that I cannot get monitor 2 to show. If I press "identify" both monitors come up as monitor 1 as though they are both running on the same "port" if you will. Forgive if I'm talking nonsense here though.

Anyway I have sent screenshots to Neilandren @ Dell support. I have spoken with two support people at Dell and neither have been able to answer so I am just waiting for Neil's reply with the screenshots of the device manager.

Problem now is that it is not only one machine it is many and this is what has me so confused. Am I just being stupid??? lol.

If it is as big a problem as what I can imagine then I seriously am not looking forward to sending that many laptops and desktops back to Dell...workload is big enough as it is.

Although none of the other laptops/desktops have any visible signs of being problematic other than the fact that you can see the multiple monitors in device manager, I still can't leave a problem like this alone.

Come on someone...is 5 monitor drivers normal on a Dell Laptop/Desktop with only 1 external source plugged in????? this is ridiculously weird.

And if I do leave this problem alone then Murphy will come along and make sure one of our GM's cannot give an NB presentation overseas or something. Then it will all boil down to me having left the problem and not attending to it :/