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    Please help with annoying problem!?

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by typeadam, Oct 13, 2008.

  1. typeadam

    typeadam Notebook Enthusiast

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    I just got my Studio 15 notebook a few days ago and I'm encountering a problem that's driving me up the wall!

    I have an external monitor hooked up w/ a VGA cable showing extended desktop (so no icons/start menu, just wallpaper).

    Sometimes I want to watch movies on my computer so I launch a movie in Media Player or any player and I drag it from the notebook screen to the external monitor. OK. Everything works great...

    ...until I close the lid of the notebook b/c I don't need it and the backlight is distracting. HOWEVER, when I do this, it forces the external display to display my desktop AND it changes the resolution.

    In power settings I have "do nothing" set for 'close lid.'

    This is a ridiculous problem. I have 4 other notebooks in the house and NONE of them act this way. If I close the lids on them, the external display continues to show whatever was on it. This computer, however, feels the need to move everything over to the external display when I close the lid.

    My Studio 15 has the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3400 card in it.

    Thank you,
    AP
     
  2. typeadam

    typeadam Notebook Enthusiast

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    I just spent over an hour w/ Dell tech support and this is what he came up w/:

    The reason the desktop moves to the external display upon lid closure is that when the lid gets closed the lcd actually turns off and the ati card assumes the external display becomes the main display. what it SHOULD do is just turn the backlight off upon lid closure NOT actually turn the lcd off... he says there is no driver update yet and hopefully this will be fixed soon...

    IF ANYONE HAS OTHER INFO, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!

    Thank you,
    AP
     
  3. typeadam

    typeadam Notebook Enthusiast

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    No one uses an external display w/ their notebook?
     
  4. gryffin53

    gryffin53 Notebook Guru

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    I just don't use it as an extended desktop, only as a clone..
     
  5. typeadam

    typeadam Notebook Enthusiast

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    are you able to have a different resolution on your external than your notebook as a clone?

    my studio 15 is 1920x1200 and my external is my lcd tv which supports 1920x1080 but ONLY if i connect through hdmi.. my tv's hdmis are already occupied so i have to use a vga cable which my tv that way only supports 1366x768, so basically i'd like to know if you are able to get 2 different resolutions.
     
  6. gryffin53

    gryffin53 Notebook Guru

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    lappy is at 1280x800 and external 22" is 1680x1050 through vga
     
  7. mgh_a1

    mgh_a1 Notebook Evangelist

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    I think that that is going to occur so long as you continue to use the external monitor and shut the lid. Sorry man, but unless you set up the external monitor as 'primary' when you are doing your thing, closing the lid on your monitor is gong to cause a disruption.
     
  8. typeadam

    typeadam Notebook Enthusiast

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    Wow, so all my other notebooks w/ the crappy on-board Intel card allow this but the more expensive ATI in this notebook is missing this feature?? Unreal...

    I can't set my external as primary b/c it's my TV hanging on the wall on the opposite side of the room and I only use it when watching stuff on my computer. Whenever I do my work I use the notebook's display.
     
  9. lotta221211

    lotta221211 Notebook Evangelist

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    Why don't you just close the lid just enough so it doesn't shut and turn it around?