W530 w/ Series 3 Dock - Driving Three 4K Monitors

Hey All,
Interesting question for you... My normal monitor configuration on my desktop machine is 3 Monitors in landscape + 1 in portrait. I am considering upgrading my 3 landscape monitors to either 2560x1440 screens or 4k.
I use a W530 with a Series 3 Dock for work and would like to be able to connect it to my home setup. I am pretty positive that I could drive the 2560x1440 screens since I already drive three 1920x1200 screens at work via the two DPs on the Dock plus the one on Mini-DP on the laptop.
My question though is if it will run 4K screens in the same configuration? I know that it will have to be ran at 30hz but will it be able to drive that quanity? The W530 is equipped with a K2000 in case that matters.

The W530 should be able to drive 3840x2160 at a full 60Hz:
"Maximum external resolution: 3840x2160@60Hz (DisplayPort via optional Mini DP cable);
1920x1200@60Hz (single-link DVI-I via optional Mini DP cable); 2048x1536@85Hz (VGA)"
W520: i7-2720QM, Q2000M at 1080/688/1376, 21GB RAM, 500GB + 750GB HDD, FHD screen
X61T: L7500, 3GB RAM, 500GB HDD, XGA screen, Ultrabase
Y3P: 5Y70, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, QHD+ screen

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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.

W540 + Dock + Dual U28D590 (UHD) monitors

Hi,
I have a W540 dock previously driving 2xDell U3011 monitors. It worked okay (there were problems with the U3011 going into a sleep-freeze-hell mode but from what I could gather it was more a problem with the U3011 firmware).
I've just upgraded (or tried to) to 2xSamsung U28D590 UHD monitors. This does not appear to work well at all. I've experienced the following symptoms in the following conditions:
(excuse bullet point formatting - cannot figure out how to nest bullet points)
One monitor plugged in - either monitor, on either display port - works fine. Monitor goes to native, laptop lcd goes to native.
Both monitors plugged in, Laptop open - I can drive ONE of the D590's to the native (3840x2160) resolution. The other monitor connects at 1024x768. Any attempt to change resolution on this one gives the ambiguous "Unable to save display settings" error.
Any attempt to disconnect the laptop screen in the screen configuration also gives the "Unable to save display settings" error.
Both monitors plugged in, laptop closed
Ths initial state here is glitchy. The screen config thinks both screens are on, but only one is actually showing anything. It is also periodically flickering (the screen goes dark, for maybe a tenth of a second) as if it is in a lower-power configuration, and as far as I can tell this is happening consistently at 1hz. I haven't run this for long because I am afraid it is doing damage to the monitor.
After some tinkering I can get both screens to show at 2560x1440. Any attempt to push either screen to native simply causes the screen to flicker and the "Do you want to keep these display settings?" prompt to come up - however the screens remain at 2560x1440.
Has anybody else had any experience with trying to drive 2 UHD monitors? I'm really hoping I haven't just wasted a lot of money.
I'm happy to not use the laptop LCD if that is necessary. I would try discrete only BIOS mode but this has been removed for reasons beyond my understanding.
My configuration:
Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1
W540
- 20BGCTO1WW.
- Bios version GNET60WW (2.08). I know the BIOS is old - the laptop originally shipped with 2.09 - but I had all manner of hellish problems getting my RAM to work (see http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/W-Series-ThinkPad-Laptops/W540-with-G-Skill-F3-1866C10D-16GRSL/td-p/1459... and ended up downgrading. I've checked the BIOS changelog and nothing seems to relate to this issue so I have avoided upgrading for the moment to avoid the risk of bricking my laptop
- 2880x1620 LCD
- Quadro K2100M - drivers 9.18.13.1269
- Intel HD Graphics drivers 10.18.10.3910
Dock 40A20135AU (yes, the 135W dock - I was told on these forums this was okay, and indeed is the unit shipped/recommended for the W540 by Lenovo Australia).
- I believe I've upgraded the firmware available from here http://support.lenovo.com/us/en/documents/pd028011 . I'm not 100% because after running it, it showed a progress box for flashing which disappeared and there was no confirmation prompt.

Colonel, just realised I didn't answer your previous question - yes, I am driving both monitors from display port cables.
I've updated the NVIDIA Drivers to 9.18.13.1269. Unfortunately this hasn't made a difference (well, it has broken wake from sleep again, but it has not helped)
I've also installed the monitor drivers but this also has not made a difference unfortunately.
ptdh thanks for the information. The fact that I was able to drive a single monitor at 3840x2160 makes me suspect something else is afoot. Not entirely sure if the Pro2840m drivers would work at all on my monitor or even a good idea - from what I understand they are different panels?
Maybe there's just better inherent support in Win8 because of the drive for retina level everything. At the moment unfortunately I don't have time to go and install Win8 on a test drive just to check this.
I have a suspicion it might be a problem more with the Intel side of things thanks to the convoluted optimus display. But sadly I cannot force discrete at a low level because in their infinite wisdom Lenovo have removed that option from the BIOS.
Also tried installing the Intel drivers (not sure if the correct ones - here https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?DwnldID=23764&lang=eng&ProdId=3319) but unfortunately due to the usual OEM/Vendor faffery they won't install on my system.
If anyone else has more input (any official comment from Lenovo rep? I have emailed support but it's been radio silence so far)

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.

How to make dock appear in all monitors, and keep new windows to same monit

I've got an unusual setup: two screens at my desk, and another one in front of a recliner nearby so that it is not physically adjacent to the other two. This means that when the cursor moves off the side of two of the monitors and goes to the third one, I can't see it. I don't want to mirror all the displays because half the time I use the two adjacent ones from the desk, and sometimes I just want to use the one separate one. Can someone tell me if it's possible to
1) make the same dock appear in all monitors? I want access to the dock no matter which monitor I'm looking at. Is there a utility or hack that will give me a dock in each screen?
2) any way to have apps open and create new windows in whatever monitor I'm currently working? it's very annoying that sometimes I run a app and it throws up a window in the monitor I'm not looking at. Any way to keep it to the set of two or to the 3rd one, depending on which I'm using at the time?
thank you!
Mike

Hi Mike, Might have a look at the bottom of this page for Dock-It 2.6.1 for Mac OS X 10.5.x and earlier...
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/8288/dock-it
As far as the other problems, I'd try Mirroring #1 & #3.
Move Off-Screen Windows to the Main Screen...
http://zach.in.tu-clausthal.de/software/
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=2007102012424539
http://www.jonathanlaliberte.com/2007/10/19/move-all-windows-to-your-main-screen /

Disable Dock moving to 2nd monitor?

Is there a way to disable the dock moving from one monitor to another when you hover at the bottom of a monitor?

It won't have an effect. What you can do is put your dock on the side instead of the bottom. That disables the moving dock affect.

How do I keep the dock on my main monitor?

Hi, I'm running OS X 10.9 on my MacBook Pro which is connected to a larger Multisync LCD monitor 90% of the time. I like to have the monitors set up so the larger one is the main one that has the menu bar and dock. When I upgraded to Maveric I cannot figure out how to keep the dock on the main monitor. Sometimes when I'm working it will disapear from the main monitor and show up on the laptop monitor. If I reboot the doc goes back to the larger main monitor but I cannot figure out how to do this while I'm working. Rebooting is not an effective option.

In System Preferences > Mission Control > UNcheck "Displays have seperate spaces". Your second monitor will now function the way it did in 10.8.

Low power error when W530 connects to dock station 433815U

Hi,
Just got W530 2447 and dock station 433815U. From Lenovo website, 433815U should support W530. I got error message said power voltage is lower than laptop needs when I connect W530 to 433815U with dock station adaptor(90W). Any BIOS configuration or drive I need to configure or install to be able to 433815U?
One thing I also wanted to mention is I tried combination W530, 433815U with W530 adaptor(170W), it works.
Thanks

you mean you are getting error when using the 90 watts adapter with the dock? If that is the case, there is nothing you can do, other than to use the 135 watts or 170 watts adapter.
Otherwise, you have a modified power cable, which is not a Lenovo recommended accessories.
Regards,
Jin Li
May this year, be the year of 'DO'!
I am a volunteer, and not a paid staff of Lenovo or Microsoft

Has anyone tried driving two external monitors (3 total displays) on the iMac 2011 through the thunderbolt ports on Windows 7 Bootcamp?

I would love to purchase an iMac 2011 with the Thunderbolt ports, but I need to occasionally boot to Windows 7 Bootcamp.
I imagine this will work in general... but has anyone tried driving two external monitors using the Thunderbolt ports in Windows 7 Bootcamp?
Thanks in advance!
Ralph

Hi,
I am trying to get this working at the moment. both monitors are fine in Lion but I am losing the second monitor in windows. I will update you when I get it working.

W530 docking station supporting 4k monitor?

Hello,
I have googled for quite a while now without luck. It seems to me that the most advanced docking station for the W530 is the "Mini Dock Plus Series 3 with USB 3.0 - 170W" which only supports a maximum resolution of 2560x1600 from its display ports according to this German webpage: http://www.notebooksbilliger.de/lenovo+thinkpad+mini+dock+plus+series+3+usb+30+0a65699.
Anybody know of a docking station for the W530 (244723U model) that supports 4k?
Regards,
Håkan

Hello,
I have this question too. I'm planning to buy Asus 4K monitor and not sure, whether it will work via DP on my docking station.
Thanks.

X240 (Win 8.1) w/ Ultra Dock and two external monitors connected via DisplayPort problem

I'm having trouble making this combination work. This Ultra Dock does have two DP connectors, computer sees both external monitors (HP ZR24w) but I cannot get any picture on both at the same time using DP. Sometimes one display does work, but that is not always working.
When I connect same monitors via VGA/DSUB and DP (with Lenovo DPtoDVI converter) I can get this to work - both same time - , but I'd prefer them both digital and both native DP as both monitors do have that port.
Ultra Dock does already have the latest firmware and this problem seems to not relate to the flickering problem with T440 etc. X240 is also running latest UEFI/BIOS and I've also tried latest Intel Beta display driver, no effect.

shelmers wrote:
W520 with Win 7 Pro
Minidock Plus Series 3
Two Asus monitors attached via DVI
Let me start by saying that the internal and both external monitors work simultaneously. However, getting to that state is the problem.
I can boot successfully with the laptop in the dock with 1) just the internal monitor, or 2) the internal and one external monitor connected.
However, if I try to boot with both monitors connected via DVI, the following happens:
Windows logon screen appears -- but there is no cursor on the screen
I enter the password and the login continues for 30-60 seconds, then
Blue screen SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION for nvlddmkm.sys with STOP x0000003B
Lenovo has replaced the dock with no change in behavior.
Drivers and BIOS are current.
Most recent change was to set BIOS so Win 7 automatically detects Nvidia Optimus.
At this point, my best workaround is to disconnect one external monitor whenever I need to reboot, and then connect it again after everything is runing. Not terrible... but it really shouldn't be necessary. Any suggestions?
If you want to drive the monitors in the manner stated, the BIOS Display property must be set to Discrete and the auto detection below it must be disabled.

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"

ThinkPad USB 3.0 Dock 0A33970 with 2560x1440 monitor

My 2560x1440 monitor works fine on a desktop PC.
This dock (really more like a USB 3.0 to dual DVI adapter) works fine with my 1920x1200 monitor.
But this dock won't recognize my 2560x1440 monitor/the 2560x1440 resolution doesn't get detected. This problem happens with NVidia Optimus Mode and Discreet Video modes on my ThinkPad W520, and this happens with Windows 7 x64 SP1 or Windows 8 Release Preview.
Here's the USB 3.0 Dock listings:
http://blog.lenovo.com/products/dock-is-launched
http://shop.lenovo.com/us/itemdetails/0A33970/460/6D501EE899104FF9A362D739642CFC27
http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/product-and-parts/detail.page?&DocID=PD023761
and the Displaylink chip inside is from the DisplayLink DL-3900, described here:
http://www.displaylink.com/usb3/index.php
http://www.extremetech.com/deals/130533-et-deals-20-off-lenovos-usb-3-0-dual-hd-video-port-replicato...
and should be capable of driving up to 2560x1600 resolutions.
I'm using the latest (and only) driver from the CD that shipped with the unit June 2012, which matches the V10606 version available online here:
http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/guides-and-manuals/detail.page?DocID=UM014961
Any ideas?

Hey Jimbo!
At this point, it's looking likely that the dock's driver and/oor firmware isn't supporting 2560x1440, since using a DisplayPort (from W520 port) to DVI-D Accell adapter allows my to work fine with my video driver:
http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/downloads/detail.page?DocID=DS014142
Here's the monitor:
http://tinkertry.com/close-look-qnix-qx2700-led-2560x1440-27-inch-monitor
so still eager to see if the DL-3900 chipset's capabilities to drive 2560x1440 will be enabled at some point.
I realize I'm on the bleeding edge here, seen by doing the Google search you kindly suggested, just for fun:
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ie=UTF-8&ion=1#hl=en&output=search&sclient=psy-...
Nice running into you again, small world!

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

External screen resolution "defaults" to low-rez (T510, docked; Samsung SyncMaster 730b monitor)

I have a T510 Thinkpad with docking station (Windows XP) with Samsung SyncMaster 730b monitor. Every time I start up, it defaults to low resolution and I need to manually increase the screen resolution. Is there a way to make the default setting for the external monitor is high-resolution?
Thanks!

hey ct-user,
it is hard to say if this is caused by the external monitor or by the docking station.
try having the the external monitor connected to the T510 and see if it "saves" the resolution that was previously set.
also, test the external monitor on a different laptop and see if the same issue occurs.
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W530 w/ Series 3 Dock - Driving Three 4K Monitors

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