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Programs are being moved between (dual) monitors based on the monitor's powered on status

Anonymous
2021-05-19T20:31:06+00:00

Programs are being moved between (dual) monitors based on the monitor's powered-up status. I keep a number of programs (weather, diary, Outlook, etc.) that only get cursory usage during the day on the #2 monitor. The main monitor (#1) I like to keep my main programs (Word, Excel, etc.) as I use them continuously throughout the day. Recently, after a Windows update, when monitors are powered down most of the apps are moved to the powered-up monitor (not always all apps).

This occurs when the monitors are powered down manually or by Windows display timeout feature.

I’ve been using dual monitors for over 2 decades and have never experienced this behaviour. There is no logic behind moving the apps around simply because one of the monitors is powered down; I want my apps to stay exactly where I put them, thank you very much.

How do I fix this behaviour?

Thanks for reading.

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Settings

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  1. Anonymous
    2021-05-20T00:39:08+00:00

    Hi,

    I appreciate your help. The technique you suggested had no effect.

    Applications still move from one monitor to the other when either or both monitors are powered down.

    Very frustrating. I am continuously repositioning windows whenever the screen saver or display times out or I manually power down a monitor.

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  2. Anonymous
    2021-05-21T16:15:36+00:00

    Thank you for sharing this information here. Please, keep us posted, so more people with similar issues can get help!

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  3. Anonymous
    2021-05-20T21:27:03+00:00

    Hello again,

    It appears as though the culprit might be Windows.

    To solve the problem one of the forums suggested using a pass-through Dummy Display Port adapter (Non-Headless?) that tricks Windows into detecting a powered-on monitor that is actually powered off.

    See this post: https://www.tenforums.com/general-support/11890-intel-nuc-windows-resized-after-waking-sleep.html

    This sounds like it might work.  To partially test this theory I disabled display timeout but kept the screensaver. As expected without powering down either monitor the apps were just where I left them.

    I shut down my PC at night and always end all running apps prior to Windows Shut Down. I'll now need to power up my monitors before powering up my PC.

    Finding a passthrough dummy Display Port adapter is proving difficult; all I've been able to find are dummy plugs that do not allow for a Display Port cable to be plugged into it. Once I do I'll report my findings here.

    Thanks again for your help.

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  4. Anonymous
    2021-05-20T18:53:30+00:00

    Have you tried going to the chipset manufacturer's website directly and download / update it with the most recent drivers?

    Please, also check if any of the solutions presented on the thread below can help:

    https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/for...

    I hope it helps.

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  5. Anonymous
    2021-05-19T21:07:47+00:00

    Hi, my name is Felipe Lucas, Independent Advisor and Microsoft Windows user like you.

    I'll be happy to help you.

    A similar case on Microsoft Community mentioned a workaround, please have a try:

    Start the Control Panel as Administrator:

    1. Start Control Panel --> Device Manager
    2. Select View --> Show hidden devices
    3. Expand Computer --> Monitors

    When you expand the Monitors you will see your current monitor (highlighted) and all the disconnected monitors (greyed out). You may see monitors with "non-PNP" and "PNP" listed as well. I believe these are aliases to your current monitor (at a lower resolution) before Windows installed drivers for it.

    I uninstalled ALL the greyed out monitors. Right-click on these monitors and select uninstall. Keep only the highlighted monitor you are currently using.

    1. Uninstall all greyed out monitors (even non-PNP and PNP monitors)
    2. Reboot your system.

    After doing this my windows don't resize after my monitor goes to sleep. You can quickly test this by temporarily setting your monitor sleep time to 1 minute.

    Settings --> System --> Power & Sleep --> Screen [1 minute]

    I hope this helps. Feel free to ask back any questions and let us know how it goes. I will keep working with you until it's resolved.

    Reference:

    https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/for...

    ___________________________

    Felipe Lucas

    Independent Advisor

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