Need help. I got a second videocard and now cannot go into full screen.

[caseyfallen]

Hi Guys! Been a long time. Missed you all. Been up to my neck with my new album release. I also made some huge adds to my already ridiculous computer. But this has caused an issue.

I got a second videocard and now cannot go into full screen. I thought the problem was that FSX was not liking one monitor on one video card and the other on the second video card. So I moved both monitors to the same video card. That did not help.

Here is the weird thing. In DX9 full screen works. In DX10 it does not. It use to work fine in DX10 before.

The only thing I can think of is that maybe there was something I added to my FSX.cfg a long time ago, and that got erased when I had FSX generate me a new FSX.cfg. If this is the case could someone share with me the code I need to put in my.cfg?

Other than my monitors freaking out and flashing on and off when I try to go full screen, everything else works perfect. Except the dang tears in the graphics that I would not have if I could get into full screen.

Any suggestions would help.

My upgrades to my computer are that I now have 32 GB of RAM and two video cards. Both 3 GB each.

[jeff3163]

Hello Casey,
     Welcome back, and congrats on your new album.  As far as the FSX screen entries go, it is recommended to delete or disable your current cfg file and let the sim build a new one.  So start there, if you haven't already.

There should be only one [Display] entry in the cfg file.  Also, are you saying DX10 works in windowed mode, maximized, but not Alt+enter fullscreen?

[caseyfallen]

Hi Jeff! Good to see you and thanks. Hopefully I will slowly regain some time over the weeks to jump back in here and get back to my favorite hobby.

I did rebuild my FSX.cfg. Did not help. 

To clarify, yes, fsx works in windowed mode. When I use Alt+enter, I get a flashing mess. The screens both flash on and off. Never settles in. The screen goes black and then then it will flash on and off. It's like the flash you get when you normally change over, but it never settles in. Just keeps flashing. 

I can use Alt+enter perfectly if I go to DX9. Very strange. Never had this before. Just odd.

[ualani]

Casey,
Don't know if this will help, but go here:

http://www.nzfsim.org/index.php?dsp=downloads&f_sort=fixer

Download "The DX10 Fixer 'How-to' Guide v1.06 : 11 July 2014", about 3/4 the way down the list; it's a PDF file. Check out pages 19-21.

[caseyfallen]

Hi Ualani! Great to see you!!!

Thanks, I will check it out. This has got me scratching my head. Thank you so much! 

[jeff3163]

FWIW, I always fly in windowed mode.  Even in 5760x1080.  Do you need to go to Fullscreen? 

The flashing mess you describe sounds just like what happens if I unplug/plug in my active display port adapter with the power on, or it's not quite seated right.  The remaining two monitors pictures go crazy, and is a scary mess of graphical mayhem.  I thought I had fried something.  Whoa!!

[caseyfallen]

I do Jeff,  for a couple reasons.
1. Full screen stops all tears. When running FSX maxed out like I do. It is very important.
2. I like to drag all my GPS and gadgets to the second monitor. So they are out of the way. I am hoping Ualani's post has something that will work.

[jeff3163]

I don't have dual video card experience, so am out of my realm really.  But look through the ATI Catalyst settings for multi monitor, eyefinity, hydravision, etc. settings.


Errr, nevermind.  It works, except for FSX in DX10 mode in fullscreen.  Make sure the dimensions for the fullscreen resolution are correct in FSX.cfg file.       I'll stop now, before I hurt somebody or myself. 

[caseyfallen]

Thanks! But, I think you may be on to something! The dimensions! I will report back when I get a chance to try it out.

Sadly Eyefinity is only for stretching across multiple monitors. Very cool if you are making a wrap around! Maybe one day! But for now just want my full screen to stop tears and have my side monitors for my GPS and stuff.

[jsapair]

Hi Casey, good to see you back. I wondered where you disappeared to. I run dual monitors but not dual GPU's. I, too, like to drag the GPS and Plan-G to the second monitor. I always run windows mode though as I like to keep an eye on my email, etc. I'd bet that your problem lies within your GPU settings, though. As I run Nvidia I can't help specifically but I did have to screw with the resolutions as I have different size monitors. Hopefully Steve's post helped you out.
   When do we get a sound byte of your album? I'm a closet geezer Metallica fan so don't be shy. Send us a link.

[caseyfallen]

Hi jsapair! Great to see you! Yes, I have missed the gang here! Putting out albums is very time consuming. Things are rounding out now, so have a little more time to ease back into my favorite forum and hobby.

Yes! I think the mismatched resolutions are causing chaos. I will try and put a day into it this week and see what I can achieve.

My new album just went up for sale at its first store today. http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/caseyfallen3 Should be available everywhere in a month or so. i.e. i-tunes, spotify, etc etc. 

Right now you can hear it streaming at the Jango radio on your phone. Mtv has one song from the new album streaming called Fox in a Box. http://mtv.com/artists/casey-fallen

Thanks for asking! ; ) Music is pretty personal. So I realize it will not be to everyones musical preference. But we all have one thing in common here. We love flying and building up our sims! That enough for me.

I will be back in a few days to update this thread on my progress with this issue.

[caseyfallen]

Hi guys!

So after almost eight hours I was able to fix the issue. I tried everything and was about to give up. Then it came down to one simple solution. Disabling the third monitor in the AMD Catalyst Control Center. That fixed everything.

But I figured out something even bigger during all my tinkering. Everyone has always said that two video cards are no good for FSX. I was almost convinced of that myself. But guess what! When I disabled the third monitor and engaged the "Crossfire" My FPS are now always 30 FPS. Keep in mind I have them set to never go higher than 30. Not only that, my textures are rezzed in instantly, you can't even see the blurry for a split second. The sim populates twice as fast with autogen too.

CrossFire is AMD's equivalent to Nvidia's "SLI" Now I am not sure if Nvidia's SLI will work the same for FSX. But I can honestly tell you guys that having 6 GB of video card DOES make a difference in FSX. It wasn't a small gain. I was really taken back by the difference.

Here are some tips for any of you who will try it for yourself:
First, make sure to disable all monitors except the two you will use. (This is important if you want to use Full Screen, even if you do not use "CrossFire")
 
Second, make sure the two monitors you are using are both plugged into the same video card. As Crossfire will shut the second card down, so all monitors plugged into the second card will be shut off. The first card (The video card you are using) will be using the memory and processor from the second shutdown videocard.

Third, make sure to enable your second monitor in the Catalyst Control Center in the "Creating and Arranging Desktops" tab. You will choose extend on the second monitor to bring it online. Then you can go to full screen, just like normal.

Thank you all for all your help! I hope this new trick helps your sim too!