I've got a HDMI problem with my new HTPC

November 14, 2007 5:25 PM

I recently built a new HTPC using a Gigabyte GA-G33-2SH motherboard. The motherboard is built on the Intel G33 chipset, and has dual onboard video -- a VGA output, and a DVI or a HDMI output. (You can use the VGA and one of the digital outputs simultaneously, but not the two digital outputs.)

When I boot the machine, I get video through both the HDMI output and the VGA output. However, as soon as I reach the Windows login screen, HDMI output dies on me. I'm using all the latest drivers, I've updated my bios and I've tried every combination of everything. Curiously, if I boot from a keydrive with BartPE on it, I get video all the way down. One would therefore assume that this has something to do with the Intel drivers, but other people seem to have reasonable success with the same drivers. It seems peculiar that it works without the hardware specific drivers, and breaks with them installed.

I've got both XP pro and Vista Media Center installed on this machine. Same problem in both operating system, old drivers and new.

Does anyone have any thoughts? This is driving me nuts.

posted by PeterMcDermott to computers & internet (5 comments total)

Is it something to do with the resolution?

I don't use Windows but presumably it runs at a lower resolution until the login screen when it clocks up the res.
posted by holloway at 5:33 PM on November 14, 2007

is it possible that the dvi is set as "default". is there possibly a setting in the driver software to set one output as primary?

if you had another computer you could use rdp or vnc to connect to it (or connect it with vga) and check to make sure the hdmi output isn't disabled or set to a higher setting than your monitor supports?

have you hooked up the dvi connection to see if that works?
posted by bigdave at 6:37 PM on November 14, 2007

Is it possible that the Windows is seeing the HDMI port as a second monitor? Try extending the desktop to the HDMI port.
posted by phrayzee at 7:34 PM on November 14, 2007

Thanks for the suggestions, people. As is so often the case, it seems to be a driver problem. Unusually, it seems to work OK without any drivers. The Intel video driver and the Realtek sound driver are reportedly reliant on a Microsoft HDMI driver, but when I removed the Microsoft HDMI driver, the picture kicked in. I'll start a fresh install and just add a bit at a time, and see how that goes.

There also appears to be a problem with a blue cast when I display via the TV. Like it would be if there was no red in the picture. This doesn't seem to be a problem with the TV when not linked up to the HDMI, nor does it seem to be a problem with the picture on my monitor. If I didn't know better, I'd say that the red gun had died on the monitor -- but it just seems as though it's not getting any signal.

Messing with the colour balance has no impact.

Are there any tools for diagnosing these video problems?
posted by PeterMcDermott at 8:18 AM on November 15, 2007

is it possible that the dvi is set as "default". is there possibly a setting in the driver software to set one output as primary?

Actually, the software recognizes that it's connected to a 'Digital Television' via HDMI, and I know that it's sending a signal, because the screen flickers wildly, but it never loses that 'no signal' sign.

The VNC idea is a good one though. There are scores of computers knocking around the house (ok, six or seven), connected via wireless and cat5. VNC would give me the opportunity to try it out without this ancient monitor being connected. Unfortunately, I don't have a standard DVI cable that I could try out. Perhaps I'll pick one up at the weekend, but that would lose some of the advantages of being able to send hi-def sound along wiith my video down the hdmi.

I don't use Windows

OK, I think I'll download a copy of MythTV at the weekend, and see if things don't work any better with that. I've been a little reluctant to try it because hardware can sometimes take a while before Linux gets drivers, and I think this is a fairly new chipset. Gotta be worth a shot though.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 8:40 AM on November 15, 2007