860M graphics card not being detected by monitor, Windows 8.1

[SamTheSomebody]

Hey all,

My computer is a Sager NP9377, I’ve had it for about half a year. General specs;

• 
  ■ Intel Core i7-4710MQ @2.5 GHz [/*]
  ■ 2x GTX 860M Graphics Cards [/*]
  ■ 16 GB RAM [/*]
  ■ 250 GB SSD [/*]
  ■ 1 TB HDD [/*]
  ■ Windows 8.1 64-bit [/*]

So a month or so ago my games became unplayable, running at 2fps and CPU clocking 100% compared to a previous 20%. I searched the internet for a solution but after trying numerous I had no success. I decided to wait it out in hopes that it was an 8.1 software problem and that an update would solve it. I'd cleared my system restore point with CC cleaner and I wasn't ready to do a windows refresh (I still am not).

Still no change, however after failing to connect my computer to the projector (after which my computer worked properly for about 15 minutes) I managed to find out what I believe to be the exact problem, which was that my laptop screen was being classed as the second screen. Other errors I had found over time;

• 
  ■Getting Code 43 (Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems.) on one of the my 860Ms[/*]
  ■Screen is showing up as "Generic PnP monitor" in device manager [/*]
  ■"Generic PnP monitor" is situated on Windows Basic Display Driver, although both my 860Ms are recognised by my computer" [/*]
  ■Nvidea Control Panel comes up with the error "You are currently not using a display attached to an NVIDIA GPU” (I could open it for the 15 minutes my computer worked properly). [/*]
  ■The Sager Hotkey Utility Control Centre cashes upon opening [/*]
  ■ When I choose “PC Screen Only” my screen comes up as blank, the “Duplicate Screen” option has no affect and returns my screen to the previous option chosen [/*]

The solutions I’ve tried so far it;

• 
  ■ Updated all drivers from the official Sager driver page. [/*]
  ■ Used DDU for every different setting it allows [/*]
  ■ Done a number of comprehensive scans for Malware and what not [/*]
  ■ Cleaned with CC Cleaner [/*]
  ■ Defragged HDD and optimised SSD [/*]
  ■ Made sure that my computer was in power saving mode (a surprisingly large number of people have had this issue) [/*]
  ■ Rolled back the NVidia driver [/*]
  ■ Probably a few more which I can’t remember [/*]

Any help would be much appreciated!

Sam

 

[BlakBackJK]

If you are using a PC tower, I'd recommend checking that the plug connecting your monitor to your PC is plugged into the GPU and not into the motherboard. If you're not using a laptop...I dunno.

 

[SamTheSomebody]

It's a laptop, should I open it up and check the connections?

 

[BlakBackJK]

It's a laptop, should I open it up and check the connections?

Since it's a laptop, and those are very difficult to reassemble, find a local computer store or a Staples and take it there. If they can't help, you may want to consider upgrading if the laptop is old.

 

[SamTheSomebody]

It's a laptop, should I open it up and check the connections?

Since it's a laptop, and those are very difficult to reassemble, find a local computer store or a Staples and take it there. If they can't help, you may want to consider upgrading if the laptop is old.

Okay so I took a couple hours today just to make sure the connections are fine and what not. I couldn't find anything notably visable and the gpu connections seemed perfectly fine. I unscrewed the fans and cleaned the dust in and around them, just in case that was what was causing the problems.

Started up computer fine, laptop screen still being displayed as the second screen. I'm adiment it's a software problem now.