Koldov Posted March 17, 2016 Posted March 17, 2016 Hi, First time I have had this problem, but now it has happened twice in a week! The projector in our hall is normally attached to a pc and staff can access the internet, use a USB drive or a shared drive to display whatever they want to from a (very high) ceiling mounted projector. However, on Tuesday we had a visiting speaker who decided that they would bring in their own laptop (it happens) so I disconnected the video cable and plugged it into their laptop. It established a connection and then it disappeared... So I unplugged it and retried, it established a connection and then it disappeared again! I left it plugged in this time and it would loop finding it and then disconnecting it. I tried setting a different resolution but it would still disconnect and reset. In the end she said she had the presentation on a usb after all... Ok, so the next day we had another speaker who wanted to use their laptop.... Here we go again I thought, but no! Everything worked fine! Then yesterday evening my boss was doing a presentation and had everything saved on her laptop... I connected her laptop and the same thing happened, connecting, disconnecting!!!! However, the projector was fine again when re-attached to the hall pc. Different laptops, different operating systems, different gfx (the only constant is the projector, but I'm hopefully ruling that out as it works ok with the some laptops and the hall pc). Does anyone know what might cause this behaviour so at least I have a starting point for troubleshooting? My Google fu is weak today. The projector itself is about 20ft up on the ceiling and I'm unable to get to it unless I really, really have to (as it means getting the site agent to build a platform)! Kol.
hallb15 Posted March 17, 2016 Posted March 17, 2016 (edited) If the ceiling is 20ft high, then there's obviously quite a long cable run. The power of the VGA output will vary across all devices, but is likely to be lower on laptops. You could try adding an active VGA splitter in between the offending laptop and the cable to the projector. Something like this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/StarTech-Port-VGA-Video-Splitter/dp/B000RMSAIU/ref=sr_1_8/278-2633314-1364222?ie=UTF8&qid=1458204787&sr=8-8&keywords=vga+splitters Note, it must be an active splitter, not just a cable as that would only serve to make things worse! This should ensure a 'strong' VGA signal is being sent to the projector. Edited March 17, 2016 by hallb15 1
Koldov Posted March 17, 2016 Author Posted March 17, 2016 If the ceiling is 20ft high, then there's obviously quite a long cable run. The power of the VGA output will vary across all devices, but is likely to be lower on laptops. You could try adding an active VGA splitter in between the offending laptop and the cable to the projector. Something like this: StarTech 2 Port VGA Video Splitter - 250 MHz: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories Note, it must be an active splitter, not just a cable as that would only serve to make things worse! This should ensure a 'strong' VGA signal is being sent to the projector. Thanks, that's a good shout actually as we do have an old active splitter, it's one of these: 2-Port Video Splitter - VS102, ATEN Video Splitters However, the way it is set-up is that the VGA cable going to the projector is pulled from it and plugged into the laptop, so the powered splitter is not part of the 'circuit' anymore and not providing any power! I'll try that out and if it is the problem I'll keep an extra cable in the cabinet so I don't have to unplug it from the PC every time! Kol.
robsonma Posted March 17, 2016 Posted March 17, 2016 Could it not be the resolution on the Other Users Laptops?
Koldov Posted March 17, 2016 Author Posted March 17, 2016 I tried setting a different resolution but it would still disconnect and reset. Could it not be the resolution on the Other Users Laptops? One of the first things I tried unfortunately, I wished it was that simple. Thing is I'm standing at the front of assembly only having been given 5 minutes notice that this person wanted to plug their laptop in, with 300 kids sitting there waiting for the IT man to fix everything.... No pressure then! Kol.
pow Posted March 17, 2016 Posted March 17, 2016 I had this at another school, I took the VGA faceplate off and disconnected all but the RGBHV and grounds and it sorted everything, some laptops don't like extra pins
fredbayker Posted March 17, 2016 Posted March 17, 2016 I once found this was a power settings issue on the laptop.
BenQ_Royce Posted March 18, 2016 Posted March 18, 2016 I would also suspect not enough signal power from the laptop over the long cable run. did you try to toggle between screen 2 only and dual screen? sometimes gfx outputs don't like both screens on. also if power settings on laptop based around mains or battery source.
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