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I put my multi-monitor system to sleep when it's not in use. After I wake it up, all windows are repositioned to a different screen. The closest pattern I can think of is that the windows there were on the main screen switch to a the second screen. It looks like it disconnects the main screen before it goes to sleep which in turn switches all the windows to the 2nd or 3rd screen.

Edit: Here's the video card I'm using --> SAPPHIRE FleX 100322FLEX Radeon HD 6450

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  • 1
    You need to specify the graphics adapters you're using, this is probably their fault.
    – Shinrai
    Jul 25, 2012 at 15:27
  • 13
    I found the definitive solution to this: do as Stephen, (st99), says here in the ninth answer
    – Soldeplata Saketos
    May 3, 2018 at 8:48
  • same issue is on kubuntu, anybody have a solution for that?
    – Waqleh
    Sep 3, 2018 at 10:58
  • Unable to add as an answer, but having read this answer and this answer, I found the solution to be a manipulation of HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers\Configuration. With all additional monitors disconnected, delete all keys at this path and restart PC. Note new key added to this path (A). Reconnect monitors and note further new key added (B). Set up display settings as desired. New key will be added again (C). Each key represents a display config. Delete the undesired key (probably key B).
    – Neo
    Sep 15, 2019 at 20:54
  • 1
    @SoldeplataSaketos The answer provided by st99 in the forum you shared seems to have solved the issue in my case.
    – will824
    Feb 18, 2021 at 16:33

15 Answers 15

Reset to default
36

The issue is most likely with the graphics driver. Whenever a single monitor is disconnected from a multimonitor setup in Windows, Windows will attempt to move everything from that screen onto the remaining screen(s). Usually, this will not occur when suspending/hibernating/shutting down the computer. Thus, it is probably because of the graphics driver doing one of the following:

  • 'Disconnecting' the monitors when you put the computer to sleep, so when Windows awakens, it must re-determine where to place everything.
  • Recognizing the monitors in a different order each time you bring the computer out of sleep, forcing Windows to rearrange your application windows.

Check to see if there is an update to your graphics driver by going to the chipset manufacturer's website.

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  • 1
    FYI: My drivers are from Intel, so I presumed they were signed and distributed with Windows Updates, but they were not.
    – Leo
    Oct 18, 2015 at 11:49
  • 1
    Similar problem here. I have a Dell laptop with nVidia graphics adapter. Installing a newer driver from nVidia instead of the Dell driver fixed the problem.
    – Chris Jones
    Dec 17, 2015 at 23:18
  • 1
    similar Problem here. latest OEM Intel HD 4600 drivers. may be I should check Drivers from PC Vendor (HP)?
    – Falco Alexander
    May 29, 2016 at 11:33
  • 3
    Same problem with a 7i5bnk NUC - got latest intel drivers
    – niico
    Jun 30, 2017 at 16:11
71

This is an old question, but if anyone arrives here with the same issue, I suggest trying the solution posted here:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-hardware/windows-7-movesresizes-windows-on-monitor-power/1653aafb-848b-464a-8c69-1a68fbd106aa

I'm running Windows 8.1 with two 2560x1440 displays on DisplayPort. When waking from sleep, all my windows had been pushed to one display, and some of them resized. This fixes the issue for me; now all my window positions and sizes are preserved. Here is the relevant link content:

I have found a work-around. Using Sysinternals ProcessMonitor I found that Windows was accessing the following Registry path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers\Configuration

My system had three entries:

  • DELF003YY7707BR0MUL_30_07D7_6A^9A3774EB79DEE3E3E38496CC7DF4D936
  • QHD32000001_31_07D6_D5^63E1ABDD175E7871DCAEB710418A0F75
  • SIMULATED_8086_2A42_00000000_00020000_1010100^CDE365D1B3F0942F0CF38BFB8E127AB4

Under each is a tree called 00. Two of the keys are:

  • PrimSurfSize.cx
  • PrimSurfSize.cy

Under 00 was another branch also called 00. Two of the keys are:

  • ActiveSize.cx
  • ActiveSize.cy

In the first two configs (i.e. DELF00... & QHD3...), the above keys were 1440x900, so they were not involved.

The third (SIMULATED...) were set to 1024x768.

I changed these to 1600x900 and the problem was solved.

Further I changed resolution (via control panel) to 1920x1080, the moving/resize issue returned, but the lower right corner was set to 1600x900, ie the SIMULATED... settings.

So for some reason one of the configs does not get set correctly.

I don't know why there are three configs, I have only ever used one monitor.

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  • 37
    Simply delete the whole HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers\Configuration, it works as well and it's faster.
    – FarO
    Oct 25, 2016 at 21:55
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    Deleting the entry does not work for me (Windows 10). As soon as I turned of the monitor, the 'SIMULATED' entry is created again. Original solution works (ie. modify each occurrence of 1024,768 with actual resolution).
    – FractalSpace
    Feb 10, 2017 at 16:22
  • 2
    Here's another related post I found on Microsoft Answers for Windows 10. answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-hardware/…
    – Chiramisu
    Mar 14, 2017 at 22:39
  • 2
    Deleting the whole configuration as @OlafM suggested works perfectly. In my case, windows hat about 30 entries. After rebooting, only one was re-recreated, containing only the monitors I have actually plugged int.
    – maja
    Jun 9, 2017 at 20:54
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    I first deleted all the configuration values but this didn't work for me. So I rebooted and saw a single folder (GSM5A...) in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers\Configuration. I then locked the screen and waited until the display turned off. After waking the computer, another folder (NOEDID_...) was created. I then copied ALL the values from GSM5A.. to NOEDID_.. and put the display to sleep again. This time, it woke and my windows all seemed to have maintained their size and positions.
    – rein
    Feb 20, 2020 at 0:06
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If your computer has Intel HD Graphics you have to set Extend Display options (and resolution settings) from the Intel Graphics Control Panel. If you do it from the Windows Display settings it will reset after you wake it from sleep mode.

Here's a screenshot.

enter image description here

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  • It didn't change anything for me. Or do I have to completely wipe the windows settings before doing it with the Intel software?
    – Christophe Drevet
    Sep 28, 2017 at 13:40
  • 2
    It worked for me after I reset the settings and then applied from the Intel graphics.
    – Tidhar Klein Orbach
    Nov 7, 2017 at 11:38
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    I merely switched some option and then reverted it back. It enabled the "apply" bouton and saved the config from the driver. Works great after manual lock. I wll see what happens after a long period
    – Aldian
    Jul 11, 2018 at 9:56
  • This worked for me on Windows 10 and saved my sanity.
    – shoelzer
    Oct 18, 2018 at 15:01
  • Thank you. This worked for me on my Windows 10 Dell Inspiron
    – Charles Henry
    Jun 26, 2020 at 9:43
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I think I found a workaround for this issue by combining the ideas from these posts.

(my PC is Windows 10 TH2, Intel HD4600 with HDMI port, Changhong 4k monitor)

Here is the procedure.

  1. Delete all extra registry entries under ...GraphicDrivers\Configuration and GraphicDrivers\Connectivity, leaving only the entry corresponding to my monitor (MST00301...)

  2. Before putting monitor to sleep, just type "WIN" + "D" combo key to minimize all desktop windows.

  3. After turning on monitor, type "WIN" + "D" again to restore all windows.

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    I think Win+D is not needed. After deleting all the entries and restarting the pc the external monitor is added again to the registration. After that it seems to work as expected. Maybe windows was confused of to many different configurations. In my case I had 12 entries and now there are only 2: maxrev.de/…
    – mgutt
    Apr 5, 2016 at 15:22
  • This worked for me, but only after correcting the new SIMULATED_ ... key. After the restart, I had two new entries under Configuration and Connectivity. The SIMULATED_ 00 entry had 1024, 768 and 4096 for cx, cy and stride values, which are wrong. I copied just those values from the other key, which appeared to be correct for my monitor, and rebooted. I have a single 40" 4K monitor, a Wasabi Mango UHD400 and problem is now fixed.
    – pixelgrease
    Sep 10, 2016 at 15:21
  • For me, the Win+D trick works, even without altering the registry, which did not work. Note that the Desktop does not have to be minimized: the Desktop icons that are outside the 1024x768 box will not be moved after turning the monitor off and on again. Also, maximized windows do not suffer the resize/move problem.
    – Roland
    Feb 22, 2018 at 13:29
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There may be an offical solution for this on the horizon:

https://devblogs.microsoft.com/directx/avoid-unexpected-app-rearrangement/

Please note: this is currently only available on Windows 10 insider build 21287 and above.

I will edit this answer to reflect changes and inclusion in future Windows builds; additional post because it's an entirely different solution.

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  • 3
    Saw this blog post and also thought to find this old question and post in it, but you beat me to it 🙂
    – Jonathan L.
    May 5, 2021 at 21:13
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Not all NVidia cards support the ability to fake the EDID, and it isn't just Sleep that causes this problem. If a monitor is turned off or disconnects briefly, it can wreak havoc on a carefully configured screen layout. As none of the solutions here worked out for me, I wrote a utility to restore the window positions when the number of monitors change. It is available with source code here.

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  • 2
    I've tested @GarrGodfrey 's program and it worked like a charm.
    – Kita
    Dec 1, 2018 at 16:27
  • This also seems to work well for me, nothing else seemed to work, I'm on a Legion y540.
    – math0ne
    Jan 15, 2020 at 20:03
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I solved with this little application:
https://github.com/hunkydoryrepair/MonitorKeeper/releases

Just run it, and it will be maintain windows in same posizion.
Thank you very much @hunkydoryrepair.

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    Totally underrated solution. I love how elegant the solution is. Very simple. It saves window positions bucketed by the number of active screens. If that number goes down, then saving the positions of windows that get combined on fewer screens is isolated from the saved state of the higher number of monitors. When the number of screens increases back up to the original amount, it restores any positions that had been saved there. That works waking from sleep, or KVM switching, etc.
    – johnb003
    Feb 25, 2021 at 17:47
  • Commenting to say that this ended up being the solution. To "install" it, I just copied the executable to the root of my C: drive, then made a shortcut and placed that inside of my Startup folder.
    – gcode
    Dec 10, 2021 at 23:51
  • I made a similar program that can save/restore all window positions to JSON text file. I put the c# source code in a gist. Use Visual studio to compile it. It can support multiple configurations. But it is manual, so you need to put shortcuts on desktop for each configuration gist.github.com/jdhenckel/129f24228be14df8d0de54ad61c03150
    – John Henckel
    May 23 at 16:26
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I "solved" this problem with DisplayFusion.

It can run triggers on various Windows 10 events, so I told it to save the window positions when the desktop is locked, and restore them when it's unlocked. See the settings dialog below.

This isn't perfect: When I unlock, I have to wait a few seconds while it moves each window back to its previous position. But it's a lot better than everything getting stuck on one monitor every time I lock my machine (a dozen times a day or more).

DisplayFusion Settings Dialog - Triggers

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  • You saved me, I knew DisplayFusion 'could' do it but I didn't know how to implement it. Thanks!
    – Esteban Feldman
    Jul 16, 2021 at 4:19
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Same problem here with Windows 8.1 and Macbook Air 2013 (Intel HD Graphics 5000). I try everything. Finally I went to Intel updated with the latest drivers for my graphic card and the problem continues. Then I went to the graphics property, with my second display turn on in Multiple Display I choose 'Disconnect this display', then after the second display disconnected I select extend my desktop and the problem dissapear. Hope this works for you.

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  • I also have a Macbook Air 2013 with latest drivers and that didn't solve my problem. Do you any ideas how can I solve it?
    – Andrew
    Jul 8, 2014 at 14:20
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In my case, with three 1920x1080 monitors arranged horizontally, it seems to have been fixed by going to the registry key mentioned in other answers (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers\Configuration), finding the key starting with SIMULATED, then changing all the values of 1920 under that key to 5760 (1920 times three, for the three monitors).

I'm guessing the SIMULATED key is used for when the PC goes to sleep, but Windows still needs to maintain a desktop in the process of going to/resuming from sleep, even when the actual monitor(s) may not report themselves yet.

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  • This is what helped me the most. Your second paragraph especially seems to be correct. Though I still have windows move to other monitors when the screen is off.
    – Andrew
    Dec 7, 2017 at 2:11
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For me, the fix was https://superuser.com/a/908156/238666 . Summary: Windows fails to read the EDID info from the monitor at wakeup, and in the Nvidia control panel you can save the EDID info to a file and set the pc to read it from that file, under the the Task: Workstation, View System Topology, EDID Source.

In my limited view, the root problem could be the Nvidia card, but also Windows, DisplayPort, or the monitor (Lenovo X1 4K)

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  • 2
    This only works with Quadro cards.
    – Enchiridion
    Sep 4, 2020 at 6:35
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Usually this will be caused by the graphics driver not properly supporting sleep modes and therefore disabling the ability to detect a connected display when the computer goes to sleep.

Update your graphics drivers from the manufacturer to resolve the issue.

If the issue is still not resolved after updating the drivers, it may be due to an unusually reported display ID (EDID). You can usually force the detection of a monitor within the graphics driver control panel.

However if this is unavailable, you can use the Windows Resolution window to detect devices while the monitor is disconnected, then select the display which will report “Another Display Not Connected”, then under Multiple Displays, you can drop down and select “Try to connect anyway” which will broadcast a signal to the monitor over the port type you have selected (the signal will not be interactive), then connect the display which should interpret the signals sent to it properly.

The forced resolution will override detection of the screen and should persist through sleep.

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  • Do you know a way to enable this setting if the monitor is still connected? I wonder if that will fix my windows slightly moving after wake.
    – Ahmed
    Nov 1, 2019 at 3:55
  • I tried turning off a monitor (while the VGA cable is still connected) and it disappears from the multiple display configuration in Windows 10. Even after clicking Detect it doesn't give me any way to "Try to connect anyway"... any ideas?
    – Ahmed
    Nov 1, 2019 at 4:45
1

In case none of the solutions above work for you, have a look at

works for me™

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  • Thank you for the link, unfortunately it still doesn't seem to handle minimized windows - they keep relocating randomly to the primary one on my system of three older 4k Dell P2415Q and one Dell UltraSharp 27 on Quadro P600.. Still I like it better than 30Hz I had to use since 2016 which I described in my answer to this question. And it takes a lot of blinking for ~2-3 seconds after monitors wake up.
    – kuz8
    Feb 18, 2021 at 0:45
  • This caused instability for me waking from sleep, and it didn't specifically handle KVM switches or manual disconnects.
    – johnb003
    Feb 25, 2021 at 17:41
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Like it or not, but according to Dell's known problem with specific 4k monitors link: http://www.dell.com/support/Article/us/en/19/SLN295708/EN I had to switch from 59/60Hz to 30Hz on my 3 x Dell P2415Q 4K UHD on Intel 4600 connected with display's stock DP/mDP and it helped me - as Dell KB article says. It applies to UP3214Q and P2715Q too.

The issue didn't manifest on lower res QHD Dell U2515H + same video/PC

Registry keys removal and driver updates were not helping.

Upd 2018/08: And upgrading graphics card to NVIDIA Quadro P600 didn't fix the issue, so staying on 30Hz.

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  • 1
    Urgh, 30Hz is awful to use, so stuttery.
    – Simon East
    Mar 19, 2017 at 23:51
  • @SimonEast, it's been a year since I posted this answer and use these 4K-s in 30Hz, being sensitive to fluorescent and LED flickering, and preferring DC 12V Halogen lighting where possible, I'd say 30Hz is OK on these 4K Dell monitors. Youtube action vids are relatively smooth, but I mostly use these screens for code, terminals, mails and chats - don't feel tired after 10-12 hours per day..
    – kuz8
    Mar 21, 2017 at 2:13
  • This would defeat the purpose of having 144Hz gaming-grade monitors with fancy VESA certified DP1.4 cables =/
    – OXiGEN
    Jan 5, 2021 at 23:38
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    @OXiGEN Newer Dell Ultrasharp 27" doesn't have this issue. It was specific to these P2415Q back in 2016. Those who downvoted my answer need to take their rage to dell :)
    – kuz8
    Jan 7, 2021 at 0:26
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Win Redock has worked best for my use case - which was restoring window positions after a display-change. Redock is automatic - saves and restores windows without any intervention. Its open source too.

So if your issue is that your laptop has a display hiccup when it wakes up, this might help you.

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