Execline...thanks for your comments...

"I would guess you have four leads but only three monitors. Here you wil see them all numbered up.

This is where you can activate/re-activate them and choose one of them to be the primary monitor. The primary monitor would ordinarily be the one with all the Windows Desktop icons."

However I can only see 2 monitors numbered in "settings"

My 5 says you most probably have one loose lead. I'm not absolutely certain - that's why it's only 5.

Anyhow, I'd suggest a bit of twiddle, push and tweak, round at the back of the machine.

Hehehehe.

:-)

oh...I have a second problems now...

Inside my Dell pc at the top there is a large square box...at the back look slike a fan and the power supply lead plugs into it...
It has become very hot...
If I turn off the pc open the back..I can barely touch the box...
Also the fan thingy...seems to be pushing less air out then normal...

a) what is it...
b) should I replace it?
c) if yes to b) is is a simple/ cheap thing to buy/fit from say PC world?

Foale

I'm not familiar with the Parhellia video card but can make the following general comments.

If you used the system restore option to roll back the computer after installing SP3 then that is probably a bad move and you would do well to undo those changes. If you want to uninstall a service pack then do it with Control Panel - Add or Remove Programs.

It sounds as though the system thinks that your video card has only two outputs. (Even if a monitor is dissconected it should still show as greyed out in the video settings box.)

You could try rolling back the video card driver in device manager but it would probably be easier to reinstall the Parhellia software and drivers. If you do that, you may as well download the latest version if you haven't already got it.

Execline....sorted the monitor problem.....not a lead ..although please keep the 5 as a payment for next time...

In windows update..under NON critical hardware updates there sat a n update to my Parhelia 128mb...downloaded adn rebooted...and then 3 monitor numbers appeared..and I stretched them over the 3 screens in setting...


however your suggestion of moving the refresh rate up to 85 from 60mhz...might cut down on the flicker eye strain that I sometimes get..

Foale

Re your other problem.

It sounds like your power supply is about to pack up. Most of them are a standard size but if you have a very old machine there is a possibility that some of the cables may be different.

Go for a reasonable size one - at least 350 watt. Prices will range from 15 to 100+. I have yet to see the advantages of the really expensive ones except for low noise if that is important to you.

PC World should stock them - not the cheapest or best but adequate and convenient.

Optimist...thanks for those comments...I did try the restore option if would not let me...

the output of Parhelia is 3 leads to the monitors from the 2 adapters...
anyway fingers crossed now

"however your suggestion of moving the refresh rate up to 85 from 60mhz...might cut down on the flicker eye strain that I sometimes get."

If they will tolerate 85 Hertz, then most definitely it will!

foale

"....and I stretched them over the 3 screens in setting..."

Out of interest....

Do you have one window open on each monitor making three visible windows open in total?

Or

Do you stretch one window over all three monitors, thus making it a '3-screen window', and then click other '3-screen windows' on and off alternately as and when you need them from the Taskbar at the bottom of the Desktop?

Oh, and yes if the power unit fan has packed up, well that might possibly just be a bad connection. However, if it isn't just a bad connection and the fan has gone kaput, then a new power unit does sound a good idea. It won't have liked running without any cooling very much and this must surely have shortened its life.

Having made the decision to swap it, I'd take the old one out to compare it with a new one, so as to make sure all the screws and connections are compatible with whatever you choose as an alternative.

Really sorry ...one more problem...

On 2 of the monitors I now have a black line at the top and bottom of the screen that windows disappears into...I tried fiddling with the monitor settings themselves to stretch it..it does not seem to make any differnce...

I tend to stretch one window over 2 monitors and then have a another window separately on the third screen...

didnt get the taskbar comment...I just say extend over 2...then on the third screen say extend over 3...ie in properties-settings...

OK. I understand what you mean.

OK. I understand what you mean.

I can see "2 x 'post 7195 of 7195 posts'"

Hmmm?

Hmmm?

It seems to have now corrected back to post 7194 and post 7195.

Foale

In the display settings, you should be able to set the resolution of each monitor which may get rid of the black bands. Alternatively, it may be to do with the desktop wallpaper settings. Make sure that you set position to Stretch.

foale - I would also say that your 'power supply' is about to pack up. This box takes in 230v from the mains supply, converts it to 12v & then distributes it throughout the PC. Internal fan is for cooling.
It is fiddly to replace & depending on the age of the machine, the switching lead can vary (that is to say that the main on/off swich can route through the motherboard or can go direct to the switch). I would strongly advise (unless you are very confident of what you are doing) of taking all the technical spec off the label of the old power supply & replacing it with exactly the same model.
I wonder if your other problems may also be power supply related, but just a guess on my part. Maplins is a better bet than PC World, imo.

Foale... I doubt you can source easily a non Dell replacement PSU...
here's a link though...
http://www.google.co.uk/products?hl=en&q=dell+power+supply+spare&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title

...and your other video problems could possibly be linked to an overheating one... I'd change it asap.

Just updating my Mettrader files and AVG has come up with the warning:

Threat detected!

File name: C:\Program Files\ODL MetaTrader 4\liveupdate\metalang.exe

Threat name: Virus found Win32/Heur
Detected on open
More information about this threat

Then the usual "move to vault" / "Ignore" / "Help

I'm not sure that this is a real threat but a google search leaves me none the wiser. Can anyone enlighten me please?

http://www.google.co.uk/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=t&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GZHZ_enGB231GB231&q=heur+virus