Newsgroup: it.comp.os.win.xp
Titolo: Problem with Desktop After Switching Accounts

Apologies in advance for the length of this post. I recently posted a
question to the NVIDIA support forums regarding a problem that I have
encountered that seems to be affecting multiple NVIDIA video cards.
After some investigation by their L2 support and product development
staff, NVIDIA informed me that the problem is caused by a well-known
bug in Windows that has been present since Windows 98 and that the bug
affects all video cards (they mention testing/replicating on ATI cards
specifically).
Can anyone out there tell me if they are having the same problem?
Thanks!
Problem Description
================
Problem: Desktop on second monitor becomes unusable after switching to
a different user account (Start-->Log Off-->Switch User) and then
returning to the first account. Icons from second monitor move to first
monitor. Cannot move icons back to the second monitor. Problem does not
correct itself until system is rebooted.
To replicate the problem:
(1) Login to one account.
(2) Switch users (Start-->Log Off-->Switch User)
(3) Login to second account
(3) Switch back to account used in step 1 (Start-->Log Off-->Switch
User)
OS: Windows XP Pro SP2
Hardware: Dual monitor, Athlon 64 3200+, 2GB RAM, GeForce FX 5700LE
Also replicated on: Dual monitor, Athlon 64 3200+, 1GB RAM, GeForce
6600
nView Display Mode: Dualview
OS Setup: Multiple user accounts
Log From NVIDIA Forum Posts
=======================
Customer (Kris van der Starren) 	12/13/2006 04:01 PM
I believe that your system automatically closes items if there is no
response in 72 hours so I'm posting this response. Assuming that I'm
correct, please don't bother posting a response until you have new
information for me. Thanks.
Sincerely,
Kris
 Response (PS) 	12/13/2006 10:03 AM
Will do.
--Peter
 Customer (Kris van der Starren) 	12/12/2006 06:07 PM
Thank you for the response. If you could leave this ticket open and
provide me with status updates until there is a workaround or solution
it would be appreciated. Thanks.
 Response (PS) 	12/05/2006 02:34 PM
Hi Kris,
Well, I wish we had a more useful update, but this is all we know so
far.  (some of this is review)
This issue has been escalated to our internal software engineering
department.  It has been recreated on multiple vendors cards, other
than just NVIDIA based ones.  As such, the internal bug was statused as
"Not an NVIDIA Bug", but left open and it has reported to Microsoft as
a Windows bug.  As of today we have not heard anything back from
Microsoft.  Some digging around Microsoft shows that this bug MAY have
been in Windows code since Windows 98.
If this is the case, I do not have high hopes that this issue will be
treated as a high priority by Microsoft.  This issue has not been a big
one for us, as your case is the only one I have logged in our CRM
system, so I have doubts that Microsft is seeing a high demand for this
fix either.
Since we are leaving the bug open, if Microsft provides a fix I will
know about it.  If that happens I will also update you.
Regards,
--Peter
 Customer (Kris van der Starren) 	12/05/2006 11:02 AM
As per David's suggestion, here is the message that I would like
relayed to Peter Sierant.
Hi Peter,
I work for [snip] providing technology support for a number of small
and medium size businesses and medical facilities in the Ottawa area.
Since we traditionally recommend NVIDIA products to all of our clients,
and since a number of our medical users run dual screen systems, this
problem is affecting them. The physicians at these facilities are
putting increasing pressure on us to find a workaround.
Based on the research done by NVIDIA support staff, it appears that
this problem is affecting all NVIDIA users world wide that are running
dual screen.
I would appreciate it if you could let me know what steps are being
taken to address this issue and what level of priority it has been
assigned within NVIDIA so that I can relay this information to our
customers.
Thank you,
Kris van der Starren
 Customer (Kris van der Starren) 	12/04/2006 05:54 AM
Hi David,
I still haven't heard anything back from you regarding the submission
to Microsoft. Could you please write back and let me know how it is
progressing. Thanks.
 Customer (Kris van der Starren) 	12/01/2006 04:11 AM
Hi David,
What has Microsoft said about the problem? Have they managed to
reproduce it?
Thanks,
Kris
 Customer (Kris van der Starren) 	11/27/2006 05:53 AM
Hi David,
What has Microsoft said about the problem? Have they managed to
reproduce it?
Thanks,
Kris
 Customer (Kris van der Starren) 	11/15/2006 05:22 PM
Thank you David. I notice that the email says "We will assume your
issue has been resolved if we do not hear from you within 72 hours."
Since you said that I could continue to reference this case until it
has been resolved, I assume that this doesn't apply right? What I mean
is, you won't close it or anything right?
 Response (David) 	11/15/2006 05:15 PM
Hello Kris,
We don't have any updates from MS.
Best regards,
David
 Customer (Kris van der Starren) 	11/14/2006 09:27 AM
Hi David,
How did the subission to Microsoft go? Have you heard anything back
from them yet? Thanks.
 Response (David) 	11/08/2006 10:07 AM
Hi Kris,
Sure, you can reference this case.
Best regards,
David
 Customer (Kris van der Starren) 	11/02/2006 04:45 AM
Thank you David. Would it be alright if I simply used this case rather
than opening a new one - I would prefer to keep all of the information
in one place.
 Response (David) 	11/01/2006 05:43 PM
Hi Kris,
If you have inquiries about this in the future, you may want to create
a new case or reopen it. Please note that once the case is in
Microsoft's possession, we may not get any update from them for
whatever reason. But you are welcome to check the status with us and we
don't mind sharing any information that's not confidential.
Best regards,
David
 Customer (Kris van der Starren) 	11/01/2006 11:12 AM
Thank you very much David. Would it be alright if I used this case to
request updates occasionally?
 Response (David) 	10/31/2006 10:30 AM
Hello Kris,
On your behalf,  we'll forward it to Microsoft and let them take it
from there.
Best regards,
David
 Customer (Kris van der Starren) 	10/30/2006 05:08 PM
Thank you for the response David. I followed the link that you provided
but it appears that there is a $45 USD fee for submitting a support
request with Microsoft.
Can you submit this issue through your support channels?
 Response (David) 	10/30/2006 02:27 PM
Hi Kris,
To address you inquiry, using debugging tools we  isolated the problem
by disabling our driver components. Once we determined that the problem
still occurs without our drivers in the equation, we knew by then that
our drivers weren't the culprit.
Since this is an OS issue, this may not be a surprise to you.  With the
ATI Radeon 7000 AGP, 32MB card, we were also able to reproduce this
issue using the inbox drivers from XP.   In case this information will
help you with problem submission to Microsoft, here's the specification
for the ATI card.
Radeon 7000 AGP, 32MB card
Main Driver: ati2dvag.dll
Ver.: 6.14.0010.6462
Date: 8/4/2004
WHQL: Yes
Mini VDD: ati2mtag.sys
OS: WinXP MCE SP2
To report problem to Microsoft, here's their support site:
http://support.microsoft.com/gp/assistsupport
Best regards,
David
 Customer (Kris van der Starren) 	10/27/2006 05:24 AM
It seems that we are back to days between responses again - very
disappointing. Could someone please provide me with an update on this
issue?
 Customer (Kris van der Starren) 	10/26/2006 03:55 AM
Any update? Thanks.
 Customer (Kris van der Starren) 	10/25/2006 03:46 AM
Hi David. Sorry for the slow response - I was away on vacation. How did
you determine that it was an operating system bug?
Peter - Thank you very much for your response. It is definitely nice to
know that NVIDIA realizes the importance of customer service.
 Response (David) 	10/23/2006 05:39 PM
Hello Kris,
Thank you for waiting. We would like to inform you that the problem you
have been experiencing is not an NVIDIA bug. It's actually cause by the
OS.  Please contact Microsoft regarding this issue or check out their
web site and see if there's any software patch available for upgrade.
I  hope this helps.
Good luck and best regards,
David
 Response (PS) 	10/19/2006 08:19 AM
Hello Kris,
First of all, my apologies for the poor service you have received.  We
have recently done a fairly substantial expansion of our support team
and unfortunately you were initially assisted by a newly hired
employee.  While he has had training on the basic driver-related issues
that comprise over 99% of our case flow, your issue was clearly a more
advanced one and should have been escalated much more quickly than it
was.
As our L2 technician mentioned, your issue has been locally reproduced
and a bug report has been generated.  I don't have any insight at this
time as to when this issue will be fixed, but please check the release
notes of new driver releases as we list fixed and known issues per
release. (the release notes can be found on the driver download page)
Thanks for your comments.  As you are in the IT industry you know the
value of customer feedback and your case will be the focus of
additional training for our L1 staff.
Sincerely,
--Peter Sierant
Director, Customer Care
NVIDIA Corporation
 Response (David) 	10/18/2006 05:06 PM
Hello Kris,
Thank you very much for your valuable feedback. Your input will
definitely help us with improving the level of service we provide to
our users. Please keep it coming.  By the way, your input has been
forwarded to our management team for evaluation.
As for the current problem you are experiencing, we were able to
reproduce it on our test system. We'll put that on our "to be fix"
list.  Please check back with us periodically for driver updates that
may resolve your problem.  You may use this existing case number as a
reference.
I hope this helps.
Best regards,
David
NVIDIA Customer Care
 Customer (Kris van der Starren) 	10/18/2006 04:42 PM
As suggested by David in Level 2 Support, I am including a few comments
for the management staff at NVIDIA.
The level of service that I received from L1 support was, in short,
horrible.
I have been working in the IT industry for over 10 years now and I have
never encountered support staff with such a basic lack of understanding
of the product that they support. I was told to do things that were
technically impossible, had to repeat basic information on more than
one occasion and correct support staff about the basic operation of
Windows.
In addition to a severe lack of technical expertise, L1 support also
demonstrated poor customer service by ignoring my repeated requests for
information and waiting days between updating my case. In the end, I
finally had to resort to calling the support department and asking the
case to be escalated in order to get assistance.
I would strongly urge you to audit the staff in L1 support to improve
their technical and customer service abilities. Being a customer-facing
message board, the level of service received here directly impacts the
reputation of NVIDIA.
If for no other reason than to satisfy me that this message has been
received by a member of the management team, I would appreciate a
simple acknowledgement of the receipt of this message by the manager
that reviews it.
Thank you.
 Customer (Kris van der Starren) 	10/18/2006 06:42 AM
Has there been any update on this issue yet? I'm not sure what the hold
up is but it seems to be taking days to get a response now.
I would like to have this escalated to your management personnel. How
do I go about doing that?
 Customer (Kris van der Starren) 	10/17/2006 03:04 PM
Any update on this issue? Thanks.
 Customer (Kris van der Starren) 	10/16/2006 05:06 PM
I have done as you suggested and the problem still persists. The driver
version installed for each card is shown below. How would you like me
to proceed? Is it time to escalate this problem to product development
yet?
CPU1 - FX 5700 LE, drivers version 84.21
CPU2 - GeForce 6600, driver version 91.33
Configuration: Dual monitor with nView display mode set to dualview
To replicate the problem:
(1) Login to one account.
(2) Switch users (Start-->Log Off-->Switch User)
(3) Switch back to the account used in step 1 (Start-->Log Off-->Switch
User)
Symptoms: All icons from second desktop move to first desktop. Cannot
move icons back to second desktop.
 Response (DS) 	10/16/2006 02:27 PM
Hello Kris,
Welcome back to NVIDIA Customer Care.
Sorry for the delayed response.
Yes, when you uninstall the drivers then it will be removed from all
the accounts and you need to install the drivers for the Administrator
account which will be accessed by all the accounts. You don't have to
install drivers for all the accounts. we recommend you to download the
drivers once again for that account.
Please visit the link below to download the driver version 91.33:
http://www.nzone.com/object/nzone_downloads_winxp_2k_32bit_91.33.html
Please perform the below mentioned steps to uninstall the drivers from
your PC,
1) Right click on the My Computer icon on the desktop.
2) Select properties.
3) In the next window select Hardware and then select Device Manager.
4) On the Desktop Manager, under Display Adapters double click on the
driver option.
5) On the Graphics Controller Page, select driver and click on
Uninstall to uninstall the Graphics Drivers.
Please get in touch with us, if you need further assistance.
Regards,
NVIDIA Customer Care.
 Customer (Kris van der Starren) 	10/16/2006 01:40 PM
It's been a couple of days since I received my last communication. How
would you like me to proceed?
 Customer (Kris van der Starren) 	10/16/2006 06:58 AM
Hi there. Any update on this issue?
 Customer (Kris van der Starren) 	10/14/2006 06:17 AM
Since drivers are installed on a machine-wide basis under XP I'm not
sure what you want me to do. If I uninstall the driver under one
account, it will be removed from all account on the machine. If I then
install the driver under one account, it will be available to *all* the
accounts on the machine. Please provide me with a numbered list of the
steps you would like me to perform. Thanks.
 Response (KV) 	10/13/2006 09:08 PM
Hello Kris,
Welcome back to NVIDIA Customer Care.
Kris, since you do not have drivers under the other account, we
recommend you to download the drivers once again for that account.
Please visit the link below to download the driver version 91.33:
http://www.nzone.com/object/nzone_downloads_winxp_2k_32bit_91.33.html
If I can be of any further assistance then, please let me know.
Regards,
NVIDIA Customer Care.
 Customer (Kris van der Starren) 	10/13/2006 12:53 PM
Drivers are installed on a machine-wide basis in Windows XP. I tried to
do as you suggested and after uninstalling the driver from one account,
it was not present under the other account. How would you like me to
proceed?
 Response (DS) 	10/13/2006 09:45 AM
Hello Kris,
Welcome back to NVIDIA Customer Care.
Kris, Regarding your issue I researched something and found out that
you have a Multiple user setup. So if you have this set up, then in
this case you have to update the drivers for every user. Its like
creating file for all the profiles in which every profile has a
different setup.
So, For having good performance from these cards, I request you to have
84.21 drivers for geforce FX 5700 LE and for geofrce 6600 card i
request you should have 91.33 drivers as well. Follow these steps for
6600 card.
Please uninstall the existing graphics drivers for GeForce 6600 graphic
card. Download the Beta driver Forceware 91.33 version of drivers from
our website and disable onboard graphics adapter if any.
Please follow the steps mentioned below to download Forceware 91.33
versions for the GeForce 6600 graphic card.
Please visit the link below to download the driver:
http://www.nzone.com/object/nzone_downloads_winxp_2k_32bit_91.33.html
On the following page, click on the "Primary Download Site" URL to
download the driver. To avoid download issues, if you are running any
3rd party download utilities, please disable them as they are known for
occasionally causing errors with the downloads.
Regards,
NVIDIA Customer Care.
 Customer (Kris van der Starren) 	10/13/2006 08:34 AM
(1) Dual screen is working fine. This problem only occurs when I switch
user accounts (Start-->Log Off-->Switch User).
(2) I just replicated the problem on a different system. A system
information dump for that system is attached.
(3) I have a friend that is experiencing the exact same problem with a
totally different video card and system. I just spoke with him and he
too has replicated this problem on two independent systems with two
different video cards.
Please advise.
 Response (DS) 	10/13/2006 07:58 AM
Hello Kris,
Welcome back to NVIDIA Customer Care.
I think now the issue is regarding the hardware of the graphics card.
May be your card is not supporting the dual display options. I have
tried all the possible drivers for your graphics card, but still its
not working. I request you to contact your card manufacturer as, NVIDIA
manufactures only chipsets for desktops and laptops. NVIDIA does NOT
build graphics cards, motherboards or PCs. While our partners and
customers all choose NVIDIA's technology as a core component for their
solutions, they do implement them differently and therefore it is not
possible for NVIDIA to directly support their products via this forum.
To obtain support or report issues, please contact the appropriate
manufacturer vendor of your product. For your convenience, a partial
list of our partners and customers can be found here.
http://www.nvidia.com/page/partner_support.html
I am sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused.
Regards,
NVIDIA Customer Care.
 Customer (Kris van der Starren) 	10/13/2006 07:12 AM
Same result. I've attached another System Information dump. Let me know
how you would like me to proceed. Thanks.
 Response (DS) 	10/13/2006 06:00 AM
Hello Kris,
Welcome back to NVIDIA Customer Care.
I am really sorry to know that your issue is not yet resolved. I will
my best again to troubleshoot it.
Kris, I suggest you to install driver version 66.93 to troubleshoot the
issue you are facing. For clean installation of new drivers, Please
uninstall the existing graphics drivers for GeForce FX 5700 LE graphics
card. Download the Forceware 66.93 version of drivers from our website
and disable onboard graphics adapter if any.
Please follow the steps mentioned below to download Forceware 66.93
versions for the GeForce FX 5700 LE.
Please visit the link below to download the driver:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_2k_66.93.html
On the following page, click on the "Primary Download Site" URL to
download the driver. To avoid download issues, if you are running any
3rd party download utilities, please disable them as they are known for
occasionally causing errors with the downloads.
Regards,
NVIDIA Customer Care.
 Customer (Kris van der Starren) 	10/12/2006 08:39 PM
I'm afraid that didn't work. I rolled back to the 84.21 driver with the
same result. I have attached a new system information dump in case you
need it.
I know this isn't really pertinent since it doesn't deal with my
computer, but the friend that I have that is experiencing the same
problem has a much newer video card - not sure exactly what make/model
but I know it's newer because it's a PCIe type card.
Thanks again.
 Response (DS) 	10/12/2006 08:04 PM
Hello Kris,
Welcome back to NVIDIA Customer Care.
The issue you are facing could be because of the incorrect drivers
installed on your computer because the card you are having is very old
card and the latest forceware drivers wont work properly.  I suggest
you to install driver version 84.21 to troubleshoot the issue you are
facing. For clean installation of new drivers, Please uninstall the
existing graphics drivers for GeForce FX 5700 LE graphics card.
Download the Forceware 84.21 version of drivers from our website and
disable onboard graphics adapter if any.
Please follow the steps mentioned below to download Forceware 84.21
versions for the GeForce FX 5700 LE.
Please visit the link below to download the driver:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_2k_84.21.html
On the following page, click on the "Primary Download Site" URL to
download the driver. To avoid download issues, if you are running any
3rd party download utilities, please disable them as they are known for
occasionally causing errors with the downloads.
Regards,
NVIDIA Customer Care.
 Customer (Kris van der Starren) 	10/12/2006 07:56 PM
Here is the information that you requested. Just to clarify, the
problem occurs after switching to another user (Start-->Log Off
-->Switch User) and then back to the original profile. Also, the box
has been rebuilt so this is a fresh installation of Windows.
 Response (DS) 	10/12/2006 04:20 PM
Hello Kris,
Thank you for contacting NVIDIA Customer Care.
Thank you for mailing the details.
I learn from your email, that you have a NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700LE
graphics card and you are facing some issues with the dual display on
the 2nd monitor. You are not able to move icons from one monitor to
other.
I understand the difficulties that you are currently facing.
Kris, We will need additional information to determine the nature of
the problem you are experiencing.
Please perform the following steps:
1) Click on the Start button
2) Select Run
3) In the Open field, type in "msinfo32" and then press the OK button
4) This will bring up the Microsoft System Information Utility.  Click
on File and then Save to save this information to your hard drive. You
may give it any name you choose.
5) Once the file has been saved on your hard drive, attach it to this
support request so that we may review your system configuration.
Best regards,
NVIDIA Customer Care.
 Auto-Response 	10/12/2006 03:41 PM
Title: Connecting a video card to a TV and enabling TV output
Link:
http://nvidia.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/nvidia.cfg/php/enduser/popup_adp.php?p_faqid=32&p_created=1096498785
Title: Why is my AGP video card incorrectly showing up as a PCI
device/Mode?
Link:
http://nvidia.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/nvidia.cfg/php/enduser/popup_adp.php?p_faqid=9&p_created=1096401608
Title: General troubleshooting tips for GeForce FX series graphics card
Link:
http://nvidia.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/nvidia.cfg/php/enduser/popup_adp.php?p_faqid=766&p_created=1138914959
Title: Setting up a NVIDIA based card to work with HDTV
Link:
http://nvidia.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/nvidia.cfg/php/enduser/popup_adp.php?p_faqid=36&p_created=1096923831
Title: Cant recognize 4GB RAM
Link:
http://nvidia.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/nvidia.cfg/php/enduser/popup_adp.php?p_faqid=1921&p_created=1156283339
 Customer (Kris van der Starren) 	10/12/2006 03:41 PM
OS: Windows XP Pro SP2
Hardare: Dual monitor, Athlon 64 3200+, 2GB RAM, GeForce FX 5700LE
nView Display Mode: Dualview
OS Setup: Multiple user accounts
Problem: Desktop on second monitor becomes unusable after switching to
a different user account (Start-->Log Off-->Switch User). Icons from
second monitor move to first monitor. Cannot move icons back to the
second monitor. Problem does not correct itself until system is
rebooted.
Additional information: I have asked a few friends that use dual
monitors and NVIDIA cards and they suffer from this problem as well.

*bump*


*bump*
<complete waste of bandwidth snipped>
*plonk*
-- 
Andrew, contact via 
http://interpleb.googlepages.com
Help make Usenet a better place: English is read downwards,
please don't top post. Trim replies to quote only relevant text.
Check 
groups.google.com
 before asking an obvious question.

 *bump*
Plonk
-- 
Cippo

 Plonk
Sorry guys, you're right, I probably shouldn't have left all of the
text in there when I did the bump. Also didn't realize that there was a
standard for top vs bottom posts - my bad again. I did do a bunch of
searching before I posted here and I could find anything relevant. Have
either of you seen this problem described somewhere?
Thanks,
Kris