Three external monitors on T420s

I have a T420s with the required Optimus Technology and the Advanced MiniDock Plus Series 3
I've followed the directions here many times without success. I can get two external monitors to work (in addition to the ThinkPad display), but the third external monitor will not work. When I try to extend to the third external monitor, the message on the monitor is "Out of range" - if that helps to diagnose the issue. The message isn't from the computer, it's the monitor's on screen display message.
I'm connecting with the VGA port and two DisplayPort-to-VGA adapters, all from the Dock, not the ThinkPad.
I know 3 external monitors is a bit excessive, but I've been using them for years and I'm addicted! The ThinkPad display is OK, but it's small.
Thanks for any and all help!

Thanks so much for your help.
My external monitors are an NEC and two ViewSonics (VE150B). The NEC works fine and one of the ViewSonics is working as an external monitor, but the other is not. They should have the same refresh rate, correct? I assume refresh rate cannot be adjusted.
Is it possible that one DisplayPort on the dock is putting out a higher refresh rate than the other DisplayPort?
Also, in the "Screen Resolutions" dialog box when trying to extend my desktop, the ViewSonic that works appears as "VE150B" in the drop-down of available displays, but the ViewSonic that does not work appears as "LCD_VGA"

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Ultra dock + three external monitors not working

Hardware:
W540 + Ultra Dock (170W)
2x 24" LCDs @ 1920X1200 (DVI only)
1x 30" LCD @ 2560x1600 (DVI only)
1x Display Port to DVI Active Converter (for the 30" LCD)
What I want to have is four displays: W540 LCD + 3 external monitors as described above. However, I can only get two of the external displays to turn on regardless of how many chickens I sacrifice. Note: I've searched extensively to see if others have had this problem, which they obviously have, but none of the solutions worked.
I think the issue is the 'advanced' mode, but I already turned it on in the BIOS. The laptop LCD works correctly (2880x1620), the 30" LCD works correctly with the display port to DVI active adapter (2560x1600), and one of the 24" LCDs works correctly (1920x1200). However, the other 24" LCD isn't available in Windows as a detected display unless I start swapping cables, which will then enable it while disabling the other 24" LCD.
For reference, the connections are as follows:
Laptop LCD (built-in)
30" LCD: DisplayPort to DVI (active); Ultra Dock DisplayPort 0
24" LCD number 1: DisplayPort to DVI cable (passive); Ultra Dock DisplayPort 1
24" LCD number 2: DVI to DVI; Ultra Dock DVI Port 0
It's my understanding that the K1100M discrete graphics card should be driving all three of the external displays, but that isn't the case right now. I see one 24" and the 30" displays in the Nvidia Control Panel and I see all three working monitors (including the laptop LCD) in botht he Nvidia Control Panel and the Windows Display area.
Things I've tried:
Uninstalled + reinstalled Nvidia Quadro drivers
Uninstalled + reinstalled Intel 4600 drivers
Enabled Advanced mode in BIOS
Restarted 5,000 times
Swapped cables until my fingers started to bleed
Updated the firmware of the Ultra Dock (it was already fully updated)
According to this page, I should be able to connect six displays including the built-in LCD. When I first looked at it, I thought I could use both Ultra Dock DisplayPort ports as well as the Ultra Dock DVI port, but it's very unclear if that's actually the case. What does it mean by DP or HDMI and DP or DVI? Does that mean I can use both DisplayPorts (which I'm currently doing and it works) only? Does it mean I can use both DisplayPorts as well as HDMI and DVI? Does it mean if I want to use HDMI and DVI that I can't use either DisplayPort? Does it mean DVI and HDMI both share an output with one of the DisplayPorts so only one of each can be used at a time? TERRIBLE DOCUMENTATION.
Any help would be greatly appreciated as this has been extremely frustrating. I have a feeing the solution is going to be a disappointment as well because it's probably going to involve buying yet another adapter and/or using the Mini-DP output on the laptop instead of, you know, actually being able to use the expensive Ultra Dock...
[rant]
I have no idea how to tell if everything is working because the graphics card situation is extremely confusing. I didn't realize when I bought the laptop that the discrete card couldn't drive the laptop's built-in LCD, which is very annoying. Or, maybe that's not true, but the documentation is so confusing that I can't be sure either way. Also, and this really pissed me off, the Ultra Dock DVI connector can't drive a dual link display. What the hell??? Why was this not clearly annotated somewhere? I really hated needing to purchase a DisplayPort to DVI active adapter to make my brand new laptop dock work as advertised. UGH.
[/rant]

I'm struggling with a very similar problem. (Thinkpad W540, K2100, Ultradock 170W)
I am using 2 external monitors right now in bios display standard mode - it's the only way they work at all for me right now. I have tried uninstalling graphics drivers, enabling advanced mode, and restarting, but none of the external displays are detected. I've also tried updating the dock's firmware, but it doesn't seem to be updating (this may have already been updated).
Current working setup:
- 2 x 22" external LCDs connected to Ultradock via DP -> DVI cables
- Laptop integrated LCD
Related but not quite as equally frustrating, the integrated LCD does not resume when waking the computer from a sleep state. Only a reboot brings the display back.
I'd like to connect another 24" display over HDMI, but don't have any confidence of it working since advanced mode is utterly worthless for me at the moment. I'm quite dissatisfied especially since I purchased an extended warranty and last time I called for support Lenovo tried to sell me an additional support plan claiming that software was not covered under my current warranty.

How do i connect three external monitors to a macbook pro?

How do I connect three extrenal monitors to my Macbook Pro?

I have a USB to DVI adapter from kensington. I use to use it to power at 14" display.Moving windows around had some tearing and lag. Typing lagged, but it was use-able. It was fine for displaying diffrent stats. The OS treated it as it would any additional display.
But I found it undesirable for any thing tha requires lots dragging and clicking.
Every so often the device would lock up. At witch point the computer would get stuck trying to detect the USB display. I would have to unplug the adapter, cycle the power on the adapter. And then it would be good for a couple more months.
Also some times after a reboot, the adapter would stop working. I would have to unplug it, and login, and then plug it back in.
Coping file to my USB 2 harddrive seemed to cause more lag to the USB to Video Adapter.
About the idea of dasiy chaining 3 Thunderbolt display tgeother. Apple Thunderbolt Display (27-inch): Connection options for Thunderbolt Macs states the most the current MacBook Pro 15 & 17 inch can currently drive is 2 Apple Thunderbolt Displays.

3 external monitors on W540 only connected to Ultra Dock

According to this document (http://download.lenovo.com/pccbbs/options/tp_ultra_dock_sp40a02135.pdf) it should be possible to attach 3 (three) external monitors/displays to a docked Thinkpad.
It should also work with 1 Display in the DisplayPort , a second one in the other DisplayPort and the 3rd monitor in the VGA port, is that correct? (So all monitors connected to the dock, not to the Thinkpad)
This should definitely be possible with a Thinkpad W540 right?
Is it possible to use daisy-chaining (DisplayPort 1.2 MST) to get MORE than 3 external monitors running?
You should also definitely update this page http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/detail.page?LegacyDocID=MIGR-76617 or add a new one for the new docks and thinkpads where one can easily find out how many monitors one can connect and how.

*Update*
I now have 4 monitors running on my 2009 17" mid-2009 MBP. The MBP, 2 17" Dell monitors and a 24" Dell monitor. Mavericks allows multiple displays as seperate working environments.
As you can see in the image (excuse the clutter..cable management is under the desk and its a WIP at the moment)I have the upper left monitor working in excel, the middle larger monitor in iTunes, the left monitor is browsing via Firefox and I'm in Safari in this forum on the MBP.
I have run Photoshop, Protools, Safari and Dreamweaver in this set up over the last few hours also.
The only issues I'm working through now is trying to have my dock on all displays and keeping the display setting after the MBP is put to sleep. Any suggestions are helpful.
At this time I haven't put the MBP in my Bookendz docking station, but I just updgraded to a 250GB Samsung SSD, 8GBRAM and replaced the superdrive with the old 500GB HDD. I also store most of my audio and graphic files on an external HDD and iCloud.

Connecting MBA 2012 to three External Displays

I am looking to purchase a 2012 MBA, contingent upon connecting to three external displays. As the MBA 2012 has a USB3.0 and a Thunderbolt port, I plan to use -
- A Plugable UGA-2K-A USB 2.0 adapter to convert the USB3.0 to a HDMI/DVI input on a 21 monitor (For text only)
- Use a DualHead2Go Digital SE to connect it from the Thunderbolt port to the HDMI/DVI inputs of the two external monitors (run two different applications and not a stretched image)
I am wondering if this would work (albeit with minimal lag) or if are there any other alternatives to hooking it up to three external monitors. Thanks

Did you ever get this figured out?

[W520] DisplayPort to dual outputs for 3 external monitors

I just discovered DisplayPort dual output adapters. Example:
DisplayPort to dual DisplayPort, Lenovo brand.
DisplayPort to dual HDMI (currently out of stock).
Currently I'm using my laptop display plus two external monitors with one using VGA and the other using DisplayPort for three displays total. Could I use one of these dual adapters to use three external monitors (plus laptop display) for four total displays? All displays would be 1920x1080 or less.
W520 i7-2720QM | 32 GB RAM 1333 MHz | FHD 1920x1080 | Quadro 1000M | Windows 7 & Ubuntu 14.04
Crucial M500 480GB mSATA + 2 x 1 TB Hitachi Travelstar 7200 rpm | BIOS 1.38

Hi, just wanted to bump this thread because I have the same question (hope that's okay).
I currently have:
W520 screen
External 1080p monitor
External 1080p monitor
I'm hoping to keep those three displays but add a 1080p TV screen via an HDMI out. I would use the dual Displayport adapter noted above and a displayport-HDMi adapter I already have for the TV out.
If it is possible, would I be looking at a duplicate screen situation, or could I potentially extend my desktop past the three screens for totally new real estate?
Thanks all!

ThinkPad T530 - 3 External monitors

Hi, I don't manage to get the third external screen working on my pc. I manage to have two external screen and my laptop screen, however, I want to have all three external screen to work simulatenusly, and the laptop closed in the docking station. Does anyone have a quck fix here please? It makes me mad, it says that T530 supports 3 external screens.... Best regads Pete

Currently running T530 - with Intel HD Graphics 4000 & nVidia NVS 5400M - with three external monitors and the laptop display. Should have a good tan by the end of winter!
All three external monitors are connected to the dock:
- Monoprice 28" UHD monitor 3840x2160. Currently 30 hz until I can get DisplayPort 1.2 cable. $400 on Black Friday sale. Couldn't resist.
- HP LP 3065 30" QXGA 2560x1600. Old device, connected via USB-powered DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI adapter.
- HP LA 2405 24" 1920x1200 LED. Had to use VGA cable for this one. Image is a bit fuzzy, have to get higher-quality VGA cable
Turns out the Intel video can talk to only the laptop screen and the VGA ports. The Intel couldn't see the other displays, even after I disabled the nVidia video controller.
Also, the nVidia card can only run two monitors at a time, though it can see three (3) ports: the two DisplayPort/DVI connections on the dock, and Mini-DisplayPort on the laptop. No apparent performance difference between the laptop Mini-DP and DP on the dock.
I installed nVidia's latest video driver from their website, not sure whether it was necessary to success.
Hope this helps.

3 external monitors + built in LCD Problem

Hi Everyone first the setup:
W540 docked to the ultra docking station
has the nvidia K1100M card
Monitor 1: VGA to the back of the ultra docking station
Monitor 2: HDMI to the back of the ultra docking station
Monitor 3: DVI to the back of the ultra docking station
When I try to enable the built in LCD it will turn off one of the other monitors. There isn't a specific one just takes away from one of them.
Is there a way to get the Built in LCD to be active with the other three monitors?
All graphics drivers are up to date. Bios is updated and the Docking port Firmware is up to date.
Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

dont think its possible:
I asked at bottom here....
http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/W-Series-ThinkPad-Laptops/Three-external-monitors-own-LCD-in-W540-with-n...
I found this myself in the W540 manual: "For the ThinkPad Ultra Dock, if you connect two displays to the DisplayPort connector and the DVI
connector, the DVI connector is inactive.
For the ThinkPad Ultra Dock, if you connect two displays to the DisplayPort connector and the HDMI
connector, the HDMI connector is inactive."
Kinda stupid the MiniDock allows it in their older models, but the newer UltraDock doesn't?
I've only been able to get 2 external monitors and the monitor display working.
Might be able to get daisy chaining working to get >3 monitors as I mentioned at bottom of thread, but seems much more expensive (cheapest is that eVGA hub but have to have DisplayPort monitors)

Thinkpad T420 with Dock 4338 Dual External Monitors won't work

Hey Everyone,
I recently purchased a T420 with Dock Model 4338 and am trying to connect two external monitors. I want to have my desktop visible on my primary monitor with laptop closed and that desktop extended onto my second external monitors. Both external monitors are Dell 19", one is being ran through the VGA port on the dock and the other is a VGA cord that I put a VGA to DVI-D adapter on to run off of one of the DVI Ports on the dock. I can get my desktop to display on the main external monitor, and everything detects the other monitor fine, but the extended monitor remains black. The screen is on, and recognized as the button light on the monitor is green not yellow and i can scroll my mouse over to that window and i lose the mouse so it's extending just not visible. I have made sure that both monitors work by checking each individually in the VGA port and they are operational, but the DVI-D port doesn't seem to work on my second monitor.
I have done some pretty extensive searching and can't seem to get this to work. At my job I have a T430 with the same dock and dual monitor setup that took no time and works great. Does the T420 just not support this?
All help is appreciated.
Thank you all,
NickG
Solved!
Go to Solution.

DVI-D don't support passive dvi to VGA adapter. You are better off with a displayport to VGA adapter, as they are cheaper then a dvi-d to VGA converter.
Regards,
Jin Li
May this year, be the year of 'DO'!
I am a volunteer, and not a paid staff of Lenovo or Microsoft

HT5019 MacPro laptop display and 2 external monitors (three displays). Can I have more than one application displayed at a time?

I would like to have my MacPro laptop display and 2 external monitors (three displays). Question, how can I have more than one application displayed at a time? IE: I would like email on one monitor, Finder on my laptop, and iTunes on the other. Possible?
With extended desktop, it appears that I can only have one application presenting at a time. Sort of defeats the purpose of having multiple displays.
I am using the HDMI and the mini HDMI connectors.

I would like to have my MacPro laptop display and 2 external monitors (three displays). Question, how can I have more than one application displayed at a time? IE: I would like email on one monitor, Finder on my laptop, and iTunes on the other. Possible?
With extended desktop, it appears that I can only have one application presenting at a time. Sort of defeats the purpose of having multiple displays.
I am using the HDMI and the mini HDMI connectors.

T420 (4180-1G8): Problem with VGA output to external monitor

Hello,
I am trying to get the VGA output to an external monitor to work.
I am connected to my monitor directly using a standard VGA cable.
I am trying to enable primary display to the external monitor: I only get a black screen. The monitor says it is not receiving a signal.
When I try to clone or extend the display: same results.
Here is my setup:
Monitor: Iiyama ProLite E2710HDS
Operating System: Windows 7 Professional 64bit w/ Service Pack 1
Laptop: Thinkpad T420 (4180-1G8)
Graphics Adapter Info:
Intel(R) HD Graphics 3000
Report Date:            1/11/2012
Report Time[hr:mm:ss]:        10:27:8
Driver Version:            8.15.10.2538
Operating System:        Windows 7 Service Pack 1(6.1.7601)
Default Language:        English (United States)
DirectX* Version:        10.1
Physical Memory:        3979 MB
Minimum Graphics Memory:    64 MB
Maximum Graphics Memory:    1696 MB
Graphics Memory in Use:        88 MB
Processor:            Intel64 Family 6 Model 42 Stepping 7
Processor Speed:        2491 MHz
Vendor ID:            8086
Device ID:            0126
Device Revision:        09
*   Processor Graphics Information   *
Processor Graphics in Use:        Intel(R) HD Graphics 3000
Video BIOS:            2089.0
Current Graphics Mode:        1600 by 900
*   Devices Connected to the Graphics Accelerator   *
Active Notebook Displays: 1
    *    Built-in Display    *
Monitor Name:            ThinkPad Display 1600x900
Display Type:            Digital
Gamma Value:            2.2
DDC2 Protocol:            Supported
Maximum Image Size:
Horizontal:            12.20 inches
Vertical:            06.69 inches
Monitor Supported Modes:
1600 by 900 (50 Hz)
1600 by 900 (60 Hz)
Display Power Management Support:
Standby Mode:            Supported
Suspend Mode:            Supported
Active Off Mode:        Supported
Raw EDID:
00 FF FF FF FF FF FF 00 30 AE A1 40 00 00 00 00
01 14 01 03 80 1F 11 78 EA CC CE 99 58 50 8E 26
24 4B 53 00 00 00 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01
01 01 01 01 01 01 F8 2A 40 9A 61 84 0C 30 40 2A
33 00 35 AE 10 00 00 18 CF 23 40 9A 61 84 0C 30
40 2A 33 00 35 AE 10 00 00 18 00 00 00 0F 00 A9
09 32 A9 09 32 19 09 00 06 AF 56 31 00 00 00 FE
00 42 31 34 30 52 57 30 32 20 56 31 20 0A 00 7B
Regards,
Stephane B.
Note: the external monitor works fine with my desktop computer and with a T400 laptop.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Follow-up:
I have tried the latest "generic" Intel driver after completely uninstalling the device driver from device manager: without success.
I have tried another monitor from a different manufacturer: no luck.
To eliminate the device driver as a possible cause, I tried booting from an Unbuntu boot CD: no luck.
I have enabled boot display on the VGA port in the BIOS: screen remains black.
I am suspecting that the VGA port on my brand new Lenovo Thinkpad T420 is simply not working at all.
I have opened a call with my hardware support.
Regards,
Stephane B.

T420 dual external monitors

Hi,
Can a T420 with Intel graphics run 2 external monitors at 2560x1600 (via display ports) using a minidoc series 3?
Thanks,
-Emran
Solved!
Go to Solution.

It worked, I have experienced it with my own eyes. 2560x1600 on both 30 inch monitors using one Displayport on the mini series 3 docking station and one Displayport on the side of the laptop.
Thanks :-)

T420s: External Monitor displays flashing Multiple Colors (a la Kanye West video) then shuts down

Has anyone seen this? I've had it happen to several T420s models. While connected to a docking station with the lid closed, the external monitors will just display flashing colors really quickly like in Kanye West's "All of The Lights" music video. Once the display is done, the laptop shuts off. When I first experienced it, it was on my personal laptop. I switched shells and popped my hdd into another one. It ended up happening again sometime down the line. It then happened to my boss' as well. Most recently I've had a colleague report the same issue. Does anyone have an idea as to what could be the issue?

I have the same problem too. I am not using any docking station. It occurs very rarely and I notice it happening when I connect to an external monitor or when in video calls. Happens both in Windows and Ubuntu. I tried switching to a different T420s laptop and I see the same behavior there too (but not as frequently as the other one).
M_Wilson's description of the issue is spot on. The screen flickers colorfully for about 15-20 seconds and then the laptop shuts off completely.
I also noticed sometimes that the laptop gets hot under the part where the display card is present (near the fan outlet vent on the left side). The laptop fan is running at full speed at that time.

T420s with large external monitor

I have a 420s with Intel HD 3000 graphics and would like to connect my 30in external monitor (NEC 3090). However the highest resolution I am able to select is 1920x1080 (wrong aspect ratio). I tried both the latest Lenovo drivers and the latest Intel drivers.
My research suggests that 1920x1200 should be supported, and that HD 3000 can technically support my monitors native 2560x1600 via displayport..
Attempts to create a custom resolution results in an error (something about lack of bandwidth). (Note that the T420s usually drives dual monitors - a 24in 1920x1080 (DVI) plus a 1280x1024 (VGA) - so I doubt that just going from 1080 to 1200 busts a bandwidth limit)
I tried both direct DVI (dual link) and displayport (to DVI via HDMI adapter) (using dock) but nothing allows me to see any option beyond 1920x1080.
1) What is the real limit on supported resolution for T420s?
2) If it's more than 1920x1080, how do I make it work?
THANKS!

Thanks again.
The NEC3090wxqi is a 30" monitor which normally supports 2560x1600, (it has dual DVI, no displayport)
The Lenovo 420s 4174 spec clearly states that 1920x1200 is supported, Here:
http://www.lenovo.com/shop/americas/content/pdf/system_data/t420s_tech_specs.pdf
However when I try to force 1920x1200 (using a custom resolution from the Intel graphics panel), I get a "exceeds bandwidth" message. Note that I normally drive a dual monitor setup: 1920x1080 PLUS 1280x1024 (using DVI and VGA from the dock), so I doubt that is a true physical limit.
(I also tried the latest Intel driver but that did not change anything.)
Is this a driver issue? Is there a registry edit that might remove this limitation?

Recommendations for external monitor in combination with USB 3.0 dock and X1 carbon touch

Dear Community,
I'm waiting for my X1 carbon touch and USB 3.0 dock and keyboard/mouse to arrive any time soon. However, I'd be glad to get some help/recommendations on external monitor choice.
For instance, the new HP envy 27" caught my eye, since it includes speakers, but it comes with HDMI and Displayport connections only. As far as I understood, video connection itselft shouldn't be a problem using a DVI to HDMI adaptor, but how about the resolution of the X1 vs. a HD+ monitor, and how do I use the audio on this monitor (don't want to use the microphone jack in front of the dock, as it should look as minimalistic as possible)?
Is there a solution? via usb 3.0? or should I better consider another monitor? Anyways, DVI or HDMI, I don't want to connect a separate audio system to the dock. Any recommendations, or is it one of those gadgets that has not been thought through well enough and you need to wait for the next generation to be developed?
Many thanks for your help,
Cheers, jcd

Since you don't want to use the jack on the dock, you could usethemini-DisplayPortontheX1cTouchasyourvideooutputoption because the version of DP on the X1c Touch includes the ability for audio to streamed over the DP connection in addition to video. This would require a compatible DP monitor.
You'll also want the monitor to support audio over the DP connection. The X1c Touch's graphics supports the output of an audio stream over DP and the machine should be be capable of this. This gives you two cables connecting to the X1c Touch -- the DP cable for audio and video and the USB 3.0 cable connecting to the dock. The dock would be attached to keyboard, mouse, USB accessories, and Ethernet (if necessary).
As far as what to look for in a monitor, my general recommendation is Dell Ultrasharp. They tend to be a good deal for an IPS monitor with at least an sRGB gamut and a solid warranty. I've never bothered to attempt to stream audio over DP because I have separate speakers for audio. In the same way that my last 3 laptops have been ThinkPads, my last three monitors have been Dell Ultrasharps. The graphics in the X1c Touch should be fine running a 1920x1080, so I wouldn't worry about resolution. It can be a little jarring to use monitors side-by-side when they have different pixel densities, so you'll likely end up treating them as separate display surfaces. I often have e-mail and Pandora open on my T420's screen while I'm doing the bulk of my work on my main monitors. If you think you'll be touching the screen a good bit, then you might want to look into buying a touch capable monitor. Otherwise your brain can become easily confused because it'll begin to think that all computer screens are touch-capable and you'll reach out and try to touch your desktop monitor without thinking.
When asking for help, post your question in the forum. Remember to include your system type, model number and OS. Do not post your serial number.
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My TPs: Twist 2HU: i5-3317U Win 8 Pro, 4GB RAM 250GB Samsung 840 | T420 4177CTO: i5-2520M, HD+, Win 7 Pro x64, 8GB RAM, Optimus, 160GB Intel 320 SSD, Intel 6300 WiFi, BT 3.0 | T400 2764CTO: P8700, WXGA, Win 7 Ult x64, AMD 3470, 8GB RAM, 64GB Samsung SSD, BT, Intel 5300 WiFi | A20m 14.1" PIII 500 (retired). Monitors: 2x Dell U2211h IPS 100% sRGB calibrated w/ Spyder3.

Three external monitors on T420s

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