Vista - Monitor Issue

I have a problem with my new monitor and XP/Vista

I have 3 PC's hooked to the same keyboard/mouse/monitor through a KVM switch. I used to have a 19" CRT at 1280x1024. I would power up each PC at the same time and then log them in 1 by one switching the inputs. No worries on any of the PC's.

However since I got me new HP LP2475w 24" LCD monitor which likes to run at 1920x1200 I have been having issues. The PC that has the monitor active boots fine into 1920x1200 but the others boot into a 1600x1200 mode and make the screen offset. If I boot each one with the monitor active then there is no issues but it takes much longer as I have to wait for each one.

How can I force them to stay in the 1920x1200 mode that I have set in the display options?

when the screen gets offset, have you tried to press the AUTO button on your monitor, to bring the screen in place? It must memorize this setting and keep it for later views.

Pressing the auto button realigns it but only for that time. It does not get remembered. Anyway I don't want it remembered as I want the PC to leave it at 1920x1200 and not change it to 1600x1200 just because the monitor is not connected when it boots up.

Dumb question but, are you sure all your graphic cards are capable of that resolution? Could it be that the monitor is forcing it, hence, the missalignment?

Yes it does. It is the monitors prefered size. 1920x1200x60hz. It has no problems displaying it as I said and if I boot with the monitor selected for the PC then windows opens at the correct 1920x1200. However if I boot with the monitor not slected (on the KVM switch) it goes back to 1600x1200 mode. Almost as though it reads the monitor driver file and says I cant see the monitor is there so I don't know it can do the resolution so I think that 1600x1200 is the best for you.

have you tried exchanging the connectors on the back of your graphics card?
You must have 2 connectors if the card is not onboard, try the other connector, set your preferred resolution in windows and reboot to see..

You cannot have read my original message properly. It states that I have 3 PC's attached to the monitor via a Keyboard/Video/Mouse switch and they all do the same thing. One has a 8800GTX card with two connectors but the two others have extremely old cards which only have one connector. It happens with Vista and XP exactly the same. Only the monitor actually connected to the monitor when the PC is powered up (any of the PC's) comes up in the correct resolution. The others default to 1600x1200. There must be a setting somewhere in some file that controls this but only MS knows for sure. It is not the fault of the monitor or the graphics card. It is purely O/S issue here.

Have you tried connecting the monitor to the oldest card instead? Perhaps your Monitor is not capable of lower resolutions or to the maximum resolution the oldest card can handle?

Some cards are not capable of those extreme or high resolutions and that may be your problem?

I am sorry but you are still not reading my original message properly.

ALL CARDS CAN do the 1920x1200 and ALL work perfectly well and BOOT into 1920x1200 mode IF they are connected to the monitor. If they are not connected to the monitor they boot into 1600x1200 mode. There is nothing to stop me going to change each of them back into 1920x1200 mode after they boot.

I just want a way to foorce them to stay at what I set them to originally i.e. 1920x1200 and stay that way even though they are not electrically connected to the monitor thru the KVM switch at the time.

This is not a hardware issue with the monitor or the graphics card. This is soley software issue with the O/S both Vista and XP.

Ahhhh, ok, I understood it better this time around. Vista is also new for me so bare with me here, I think that if you go to your preferences (I am using XP here at the office so I am not 100% sure about this), then go to where you can change your resolution, there is an option where you can set all your other monitors (not default ones) to use the same options as the default monitor, you must TICK a little square to do this.

Sorry if this doesn't help, I know how frustating this must be for you.