Unable to get RPi to work with old DVI monitor

[Nazo]

I was hoping to use a second RPi running the current official Raspbian release as a sort of secondary PC for a few simple tasks from time to time (I have another dedicated to being a server for stuff like downloads, network sharing, Squid, and etc, but it's pretty dedicated to that stuff, plus some of the things I wish to use this second one for require that I have more direct access and the ability to shut down or reboot any time needed.) For this I'd like to connect it to an older second monitor that I have. Unfortunately, it simply will not work so far. When I turn on the RPi, it never brings up anything at all on that monitor. I've tried setting the force HDMI hotplug option in the configuration text file on the SDHC card as per many suggestions, but no effect. I tried also disabling EDID and setting it to be CMT and 1280x1024 (the monitor's native resolution) but still the screen never even comes out of power saving mode. I've tried several different adapters and cables, including both different DVI cables with different DVI-to-HDMI adapters and an HDMI cable with a couple of different HDMI-to-DVI adapters. It will work perfectly with my main PC's monitor via the same cables and adapters, just not on the old monitor via DVI and of course no troubles going to my TV via HDMI. I believe in the past I tried with the other RPi on another monitor that was a lot newer than my backup one and it wouldn't work with it either.

Is it just impossible to get it to work with some monitors, or could I be missing something? I really really want to get this RPi working with that monitor -- if I have to actually switch between them on my main monitor it's going to be a problem even if I were to buy a KVM (which I can't afford just now -- I bought the second RPi a while back and only just got around to building the setup I'm going to use for it with the power supply and all yesterday) but if I could make it work with the second monitor it would be absolutely perfect for my purposes. Is there any hope of that at all?

[rpdom]

One important thing to check is what sort of DVI does the monitor support?

Is it DVI-A, DVI-D or DVI-I (which supports bot DVI-A and DVI-D)?

DVI-A is like analogue VGA through a DVI plug and won't work without an active converter.

DVI-D is digital video which is compatible with HDMI and only needs a cable with the right connectors.

Can you give us the make and model of the monitor?

Although I had little problem getting my DELL 1707FP displaying a picture (had to use the "hdmi_force_hotplug=1" line, it was much harder to get it to work at the right resolution as my Pi didn't seem to be getting any edid data from the monitor. Eventually I grabbed the hdmi data from a Linux PC connected to the VGA port, put that in a file "edid.dat" and set "hdmi_edid_file=1", which got it working perfectly at 1280x1024

[Davespice]

Hi there!
It might be that the DVI monitor wants a higher power signal, you can increase the output power of the HDMI signal from the Pi with this config option. Try 4 to start with and then maybe go higher?

Code: Select all

config_hdmi_boost=4

I would also suggest this for DVI mode.

Code: Select all

hdmi_drive=1

More info here; http://elinux.org/R-Pi_Troubleshooting# ... put_at_all

[Nazo]

Upon looking into it further, I guess the monitor really is just analog only, which is just stupid, but there you have it. The odd thing is, it acts like digital -- meaning it doesn't show all the obvious adjustments and etc you'd normally get with VGA on a LCD.

[Davespice]

Oh I see. Well, in that case you could use a HDMI to VGA adapter and then use a VGA to DVI adapter on the other side of that?
Something like one of these;
https://www.modmypi.com/pi-vew-raspberr ... -converter
http://www.adafruit.com/products/1151

[RaTTuS]

can you post the make and model of the monitor please

[Nazo]

... Because you think I'd just randomly lie about it or something?
Fine. It's a MAG LT776s. This is the most direct thing I can give you: (No mention of the "s" there though. It's not D-Sub nor D-Sub + DVI, just DVI with an angled DVI-to-VGA cable that came with it and normal cables not fitting in there well and I'm betting it's the "economy model" or something -- I'm not the one who bought it, it's just an old leftover from one of my parents' systems.) Well, like I said, it doesn't work with my PC via a standard DVI cable -- the same cable which is connected to the monitor I'm using to see what I'm writing right now and based on the time period (DVI wasn't really very common back in 2004) and that stock cable being VGA I'm betting they were just being cheap about it really.

Oh I see. Well, in that case you could use a HDMI to VGA adapter and then use a VGA to DVI adapter on the other side of that?

Well, obviously if you used a digital-to-analog converter it would work. I'll admit I thought they were more expensive, but I still can't afford to really buy one right now.

Anyway, right now I'm just going to focus on other possibilities like maybe finding someone else with an old monitor they don't need or something. After all, I have one I can trade if they need something for an emergency backup or whatever.

[RaTTuS]

... Because you think I'd just randomly lie about it or something?
Fine. It's a MAG LT776s. This is the most direct thing I can give you: (No mention of the "s" there though. It's not D-Sub nor D-Sub + DVI, just DVI with an angled DVI-to-VGA cable that came with it and normal cables not fitting in there well and I'm betting it's the "economy model" or something -- I'm not the one who bought it, it's just an old leftover from one of my parents' systems.) Well, like I said, it doesn't work with my PC via a standard DVI cable -- the same cable which is connected to the monitor I'm using to see what I'm writing right now and based on the time period (DVI wasn't really very common back in 2004) and that stock cable being VGA I'm betting they were just being cheap about it really.

Oh I see. Well, in that case you could use a HDMI to VGA adapter and then use a VGA to DVI adapter on the other side of that?

Well, obviously if you used a digital-to-analog converter it would work. I'll admit I thought they were more expensive, but I still can't afford to really buy one right now.

Anyway, right now I'm just going to focus on other possibilities like maybe finding someone else with an old monitor they don't need or something. After all, I have one I can trade if they need something for an emergency backup or whatever.

no not at all - many eyes can help ,
or others may have been successful or not...
anyhoo
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/345 ... log-signal
so yes I think you are out of luck with that one

[Davespice]

I had one other thought!
I wonder if the monitor has a digital mode it can be switched into using the OSD menus?
You know where you can set the brightness and whatnot...

[williebegoode]

I have a Dell Monitor E172FP
E172FP 17 TN (6-bit) 1280×1024 VGA

It is not one of their better Flat Screen monitors, and yet it provides a clear picture, and that's what I need. I'm using a TFT color VGA monitor, and it works fine, but I can barely read the terminal output needed for programming.

I connected through a female-HDMI port adapter, and I got a blank screen on the Dell. Any ideas for getting it to work with my Raspberry Pi?

Thanks,
Bill

[mikerr]

Start off with hdmi_safe=1 in config.txt

[williebegoode]

Sorry for being so clueless....but how do I access and change config.txt ? Thanks, Bill