Is it normal for connected HDMI to be the primary display instead the connected VGA?

Ant

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Jun 12, 2021, 5:25:27 PM6/12/21

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Hello.

Is it normal for connected HDMI to be the primary display instead the
connected VGA? I have both HDMI (HDTV) and VGA (monitor) connected to my
new 64-bit W10 Pro PC (Intel Core i5-10400 Comet Lake 2.9GHz 6-Core LGA
1200 CPU (includes Intel UHD 630 GPU), ASRock H510M-HDV/M.2 Intel LGA
1200 microATX motherboard, MSI NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti DirectX 11.2
N750TI-2GD5/OC (2 GB of VRAM), etc.). It didn't matter if I use the
onboard video or the video card. I want my VGA (monitor) to be my
primary screen and my HDTV to be the secondary. Even UEFI stuff shows on
my HDTV (HDMI). Nothing on my monitor (VGA)! I remember the old PCs used
to show same stuff on both displays during old BIOS and CMOS!

Also, I'm using an old OmniCube KVM (PS2+VGA) from Y2K for my VGA
monitor. W10 says my monitor is #2 (VGA) while HDTV (HDMI) is #1. How
can I tell the motherboard to use my monitor as the first display (VGA)
instead of my HDTV (HDMI)?

Thank you for reading and hopefully answering soon. :)
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Paul

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Jun 12, 2021, 5:45:44 PM6/12/21

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Ant wrote:
> Hello.
>
> Is it normal for connected HDMI to be the primary display instead the
> connected VGA? I have both HDMI (HDTV) and VGA (monitor) connected to my
> new 64-bit W10 Pro PC (Intel Core i5-10400 Comet Lake 2.9GHz 6-Core LGA
> 1200 CPU (includes Intel UHD 630 GPU), ASRock H510M-HDV/M.2 Intel LGA
> 1200 microATX motherboard, MSI NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti DirectX 11.2
> N750TI-2GD5/OC (2 GB of VRAM), etc.). It didn't matter if I use the
> onboard video or the video card. I want my VGA (monitor) to be my
> primary screen and my HDTV to be the secondary. Even UEFI stuff shows on
> my HDTV (HDMI). Nothing on my monitor (VGA)! I remember the old PCs used
> to show same stuff on both displays during old BIOS and CMOS!
>
> Also, I'm using an old OmniCube KVM (PS2+VGA) from Y2K for my VGA
> monitor. W10 says my monitor is #2 (VGA) while HDTV (HDMI) is #1. How
> can I tell the motherboard to use my monitor as the first display (VGA)
> instead of my HDTV (HDMI)?
>
> Thank you for reading and hopefully answering soon. :)

I made a pronouncement about a year ago.

I said it "was The Year of the Graphics Adapter".

To use a VGA port, you *do not* use the VGA port.
You use the HDMI port, then connect a HDMI to VGA
adapter to it.

This also affects which motherboard you buy. You
want a motherboard with all HDMI adapters or all
DisplayPort adapters, so no matter how egregeously
bad the startup behavior is, an HDMI to VGA or
a DP to VGA solves the problem.

I have a VGA monitor on the Test Machine. I own
several of each, HDMI to VGA and DP to VGA. When
the machine did the same thing yours id doing
(Ignoring the users chosen monitor), I simply
find which port is the primary on the computer
end, then stuff an adapter in it, to convert
to the standard *I* want.

That's how upside-down the world is in the year 2021.

I don't see any setting in the user manual to do otherwise.

The "primary adapter" selector, chooses between the chipset GPU
and the card GPU you have plugged in. It's not a connector
choice exactly.

If the Intel side of this equation is not giving you
what you want, plug in a PCIe graphics, set the BIOS
"primary display adapter" to PCIe, and it
will have some (stoopid) choice for primary monitor connector,
and you can use adapters to get what you need. When you
use an HDMI to VGA adapter, the computer end thinks
it is HDMI and does not suspect a thing.

My stinkin card has at least three DP, but the one HDMI
is the primary, and guess what ? My adapter of choice is
an HDMI to VGA. The computer has never switched away from
that on me, since I started using that choice instead of
the DP to VGA one.

Paul

Ant

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Jun 12, 2021, 7:13:12 PM6/12/21

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In alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt Paul <nos...@needed.invalid> wrote:
...

> I made a pronouncement about a year ago.

> I said it "was The Year of the Graphics Adapter".

Argh. Also, it was a bad year for everyone due to the panademic. :(

> To use a VGA port, you *do not* use the VGA port.
> You use the HDMI port, then connect a HDMI to VGA
> adapter to it.

I only have one HDMI port per video. I can't use both onboard and video
card at the same time.

> This also affects which motherboard you buy. You want a motherboard
> with all HDMI adapters or all DisplayPort adapters, so no matter how
> egregeously bad the startup behavior is, an HDMI to VGA or a DP to VGA
> solves the problem.

Both of my videos have HDMI, VGA, and DVI.

> I have a VGA monitor on the Test Machine. I own
> several of each, HDMI to VGA and DP to VGA. When
> the machine did the same thing yours id doing
> (Ignoring the users chosen monitor), I simply
> find which port is the primary on the computer
> end, then stuff an adapter in it, to convert
> to the standard *I* want.

> That's how upside-down the world is in the year 2021.

2020 was worse.

> I don't see any setting in the user manual to do otherwise.

Same. :(

> The "primary adapter" selector, chooses between the chipset GPU
> and the card GPU you have plugged in. It's not a connector
> choice exactly.

Yep! https://ibb.co/album/NdbMCD (Samsung HDTV[HDMI] vs. ASUS
monitor[VGA with HDMI cable discconnected]).

> If the Intel side of this equation is not giving you
> what you want, plug in a PCIe graphics, set the BIOS
> "primary display adapter" to PCIe, and it
> will have some (stoopid) choice for primary monitor connector,
> and you can use adapters to get what you need. When you
> use an HDMI to VGA adapter, the computer end thinks
> it is HDMI and does not suspect a thing.

[sighs]

> My stinkin card has at least three DP, but the one HDMI
> is the primary, and guess what ? My adapter of choice is
> an HDMI to VGA. The computer has never switched away from
> that on me, since I started using that choice instead of
> the DP to VGA one.

Three? Wow. I haven't gotten any with DisplayPorts. Well, except MacBook
Pros. Man, I really miss the old days!

Paul

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Jun 12, 2021, 9:17:40 PM6/12/21

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Ant wrote:

> Three? Wow. I haven't gotten any with DisplayPorts. Well, except MacBook
> Pros. Man, I really miss the old days!

I think you just have got unlucky on cards/monitor choices.

Who would have thought you'd have to sit around all day
in the year 2021, doing a flow chart for videocard/monitor
picking ?

As a luddite, mine are still VGA. Plus a handful of HDMI to VGA
and DP to VGA adapters (both of which, run off the +5V on
the vid output connector of the computer). The VGA connector
on the PC, is the only vid connector where the power pin was
removed as if it was a diseased tooth :-) At one time (older kit),
the pin was on there, but they removed it. Presumably, because
it was getting shorted out and they were too lazy to install a
Polyfuse in the path.

Paul