Metro across Multiple Displays?

CraftyPanda

New Member
Messages
3
Hi all,

I have searched Google for a definitive answer with no joy, if anyone could help us out?

So i have 3 monitors attached to the PC and I would like 2 of the to display metro and the 3 just for normal desktop, is this possible? Also, is is possible to make it so Metro doesn't hide when i interact with a desktop application?

Thanks for you time
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Metro can only be on one monitor. You can drag it to any monitor you want, but it's just one.

Metro shouldn't hid if you're using an app on a different monitor.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    CPU
    Intel i7 3770K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z77X-UD4 TH
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GTX 650
    Sound Card
    Onboard Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Auria 27" IPS + 2x Samsung 23"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 + 2x 2048x1152
    Hard Drives
    Corsair m4 256GB, 2 WD 2TB drives
    Case
    Antec SOLO II
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000
    Mouse
    Logitech MX
I have 3 x 27" monitors set up so that metro is displayed on the 1st monitor and then the other 2 display the extended desktop with the wall paper spanned across all 3 when metro isn't displayed, the 1st monitor then has my normal desktop icons if metro is minimised (is that the right word?)
I haven't been able to get metro start to spread over 2 monitors which is what I think you want.
The problem I have is that sometimes metro decides to open up on one of the other monitors also if the metro start screen is on the 1st monitor and I click into one of the other monitors the metro screen goes blank or it minimises its self.
will keep playing today and come back with hopefully an answer.
Regards

Aquatarkus
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8 Pro
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Build
    CPU
    AMD AM3+ Bulldozer FX-8 8150
    Motherboard
    Asus
    Memory
    16 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon 7850 2 gig
    Sound Card
    Asus Xonar Essence STX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    3 x Iiyama Prolite E2773HS (IPS)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 x 3
    Hard Drives
    1 x Kingston 240gig HyperX 3K SSD
    1 x 1TB Hitachi Sata III drive
    12 x TB storage on server
    PSU
    Corsair TXM 850watt Modular
    Case
    Thermaltake Shark
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H60
    Keyboard
    Logitech S510
    Mouse
    Logitech T650 touchpad
    Internet Speed
    120mb (Virgin Media
Hi Mystere,

Thanks foe the response. Yeah when ever i click focus on another monitor metro pops away, so say im watching netflix or something, i cant do anything else on another monitor. very annoying!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Metro can only be on one monitor. You can drag it to any monitor you want, but it's just one.

Metro shouldn't hid if you're using an app on a different monitor.

Hi Mystere
It does on mine, if I drag an app to one of the other monitors start closes (minimises) if I then go back to start the app switches to the screen with metro start on it (1st monitor) there doesn't appear to be away to lock the app on to my chosen screen.

Regards

Aquatarkus
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8 Pro
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Build
    CPU
    AMD AM3+ Bulldozer FX-8 8150
    Motherboard
    Asus
    Memory
    16 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon 7850 2 gig
    Sound Card
    Asus Xonar Essence STX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    3 x Iiyama Prolite E2773HS (IPS)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 x 3
    Hard Drives
    1 x Kingston 240gig HyperX 3K SSD
    1 x 1TB Hitachi Sata III drive
    12 x TB storage on server
    PSU
    Corsair TXM 850watt Modular
    Case
    Thermaltake Shark
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H60
    Keyboard
    Logitech S510
    Mouse
    Logitech T650 touchpad
    Internet Speed
    120mb (Virgin Media
I think you are confusing the Start screen with Metro. The start screen, like the old Start menu, will always hide after you have selected something. That's what it's designed to do.

The metro apps themselves should stay on the screen if you move to a different monitor. On my 3 systems that have Windows 8, this is the case. For example, i'm watching a movie in Netflix right now while i'm typing this on a different screen. I've never seen metro apps hide unless you do something like use alt-tab to switch to the desktop (which is actually the Metro desktop app, not the actual desktop, which is why the currently on top metro window goes away).

So how do you change what screen metro displays on then?

You move metro by grabbing a window at the top and dragging it to another screen, or by WindowsKey-PageUp/PageDn
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    CPU
    Intel i7 3770K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z77X-UD4 TH
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GTX 650
    Sound Card
    Onboard Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Auria 27" IPS + 2x Samsung 23"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 + 2x 2048x1152
    Hard Drives
    Corsair m4 256GB, 2 WD 2TB drives
    Case
    Antec SOLO II
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000
    Mouse
    Logitech MX
Hi Mystere

I can understand that the start screen will hide when after I have selected something, but surely it should minimise so I see the desktop no one great big grey 27" block (see image)
Screen shot.jpg

I am running a Radeon HD6770 card, 2 x monitors connected by HDMI and the 3rd monitor connected via an active display port adaptor to DVI. I haven't installed the catalyst control centre or the Radeon drivers as Windows seems to have installed them version 8.982.8000 dated 03/10/2012 supplied by AMD.

Regards
Aquatarkus
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8 Pro
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Build
    CPU
    AMD AM3+ Bulldozer FX-8 8150
    Motherboard
    Asus
    Memory
    16 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon 7850 2 gig
    Sound Card
    Asus Xonar Essence STX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    3 x Iiyama Prolite E2773HS (IPS)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 x 3
    Hard Drives
    1 x Kingston 240gig HyperX 3K SSD
    1 x 1TB Hitachi Sata III drive
    12 x TB storage on server
    PSU
    Corsair TXM 850watt Modular
    Case
    Thermaltake Shark
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H60
    Keyboard
    Logitech S510
    Mouse
    Logitech T650 touchpad
    Internet Speed
    120mb (Virgin Media
That "grey block" is the Metro interface. As I said, the start screen is different from the Metro interface. The start screen goes away when it loses focus, the Metro screen does not.

The metro screen does not "Minimize" because the Metro screen is the root interface on that monitor. In effect, that *IS* minimized, because everything else is hidden. (the other monitors do not have Metro on them, so you see the desktop).

When you click on the Desktop tile in the start menu, it starts the Desktop Metro app, which is basically a little viewer that allows you to "see" a virtual desktop. Don't be fooled though, this is an app running in Metro, and as such can be minimized. And when all apps are minimized, you see that grey screen. If you want to prove it to yourself, just click on the desktop tile and then "grab" it at the top and close it just like any other metro app.

BTW, the color changes depending the color screen you've selected for the Start Menu.

Short answer, just click on the Desktop tile in the start menu and you will have a desktop across all three screens.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    CPU
    Intel i7 3770K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z77X-UD4 TH
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GTX 650
    Sound Card
    Onboard Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Auria 27" IPS + 2x Samsung 23"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 + 2x 2048x1152
    Hard Drives
    Corsair m4 256GB, 2 WD 2TB drives
    Case
    Antec SOLO II
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000
    Mouse
    Logitech MX
Hi Mystere
Thanks for the explanation, starting to get to grips with win8 now. what I don't understand is that some times the grey block (metro interface) does minimise and the desk top appears, other times it just stays as my screen shot.

Will keep playing and get used to the metro interface but I can see myself installing something like classic shell or start 8 in the long run.
Impressed with the speed of Win8 over the RC / public preview I was running on spare PC, wife still hates it on her laptop though.

Regards

Aquatarkus
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8 Pro
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Build
    CPU
    AMD AM3+ Bulldozer FX-8 8150
    Motherboard
    Asus
    Memory
    16 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon 7850 2 gig
    Sound Card
    Asus Xonar Essence STX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    3 x Iiyama Prolite E2773HS (IPS)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 x 3
    Hard Drives
    1 x Kingston 240gig HyperX 3K SSD
    1 x 1TB Hitachi Sata III drive
    12 x TB storage on server
    PSU
    Corsair TXM 850watt Modular
    Case
    Thermaltake Shark
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H60
    Keyboard
    Logitech S510
    Mouse
    Logitech T650 touchpad
    Internet Speed
    120mb (Virgin Media
Yeah, sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. You just have to know how to deal with it (clicking on the desktop tile).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    CPU
    Intel i7 3770K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z77X-UD4 TH
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GTX 650
    Sound Card
    Onboard Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Auria 27" IPS + 2x Samsung 23"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 + 2x 2048x1152
    Hard Drives
    Corsair m4 256GB, 2 WD 2TB drives
    Case
    Antec SOLO II
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000
    Mouse
    Logitech MX
I have installed Win8 (with 2 monitors fully working previously under Win7), but now I can't get them both to work together. After several restarts, updates, and attempts at changing the display choices; I'm still outta luck. Upon my last bootup, both monitors were showing the exact same thing, but the right one is the only one that fully came to the Start/Metro screen. My left one is black. And if I unplug the right monitor, my left one will come on with the Start/Metro screen...leaving the right one black. Upon re-plugging the "black" monitor back in, no amount of detection with bring either back to life.

I know Win8 knows my 2 models are there because it has shown them each in the Display area. But only one monitor will let me change my display settings. There is no "Project to other monitor" option. There is no Dual Display choice...even with both are plugged in and showing the exact same thing.

Do I need to do a reinstall of Win8?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8
    CPU
    Quad Core
    Motherboard
    Bad
    Memory
    4GB
I have a similar problem but not with the Metro but with the apps within metro. Any Video streaming app opened on any screen other than my Main display. Main Display is defined as the one windows shows the task bar. So if I want to watch netflix or hulu I have to change my main display to my TV otherwise I will receive errors. To make things worse the same symptoms apply when I'm using the browser to watch Netflix, however i can watch hulu. I've wiped my video drivers, re-installed silver-light, and did a clean win 8 install. Is anyone else having these issues. I have 3 monitors with 2 560 geforce SLI video cards. Any Ideas.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8
there's a third way to move the start screen to another monitor:

the first 2 were described by Mystere:
1) drag a metro app window to the other monitor
2) win+page up or win+page down

3) move the mouse cursor to the bottom left corner of the desired monitor so that the start preview shows and then left-click.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
I don't think it's possible Win8 was just release officially I think it can be done but it may not be done due to low interest.
You can make Start-Metro screen be on a certain screen by going into desktop>right click>resolution. Change your main display, also you can move the displays around for your convenience.

You can also download AMD CCC software and enable eyefinity and have metro-start show on all 3 screen. Which is what I have done, I have presets set up to switch between eyefinity and regular extended.

These are your only options concerning metro-start
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro 64-Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    N/A
    CPU
    AMD FX 6300
    Motherboard
    GYGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 Rev 3.0
    Memory
    24GB DDR3 (4GB/4GB/8GB/8GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire HD 6850
    Sound Card
    Integrated (Realtek HD Audio)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    3 X 19" monitors
    Screen Resolution
    4580 x 900
    Hard Drives
    WD 80GB
    WD 640GB
    WD 1,000GB
    WD 4,000GB
    PSU
    Rosewill Hive-650
    Case
    Antec 300 V2
    Cooling
    Stock Cooling
    Keyboard
    Saitek Eclipse II
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Internet Speed
    D: 60Mbps U: 5Mbps
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    I also have a hub for 6 extra usb port AC powered.
    Microsoft LifeCam 720P
    HP LaserJet Pro M1212NF
    2 x 8 Port GB Switches
    1 X Netgear Router Netgear WNDR3700 v2 W/ DD-WRT
    and Much more
eyefinity is an interesting option. never thought of that.

but the idea of going to your display settings and changing around your displays (primary, secondary, switching positions, etc.) is a bad cumbersome idea. that's like saying if you want the start screen on the right side, physically move the monitor with the start screen to the right side.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
Yeah I didn't really like that moving around the main display and such, I tried. I highly recommend Eyefinity to group up your monitors and make windows treat it as a single large display. You can have multiple presets saved, so that you can always change the way your screens work depending on what your doing. I have 4, 1 where my Plasma TV is the active one(movie time), 1 for extended dual screen, 2 for eyefinity one with bezel compensation and one without. Anyways I feel I am off topic if you need help let us know or send me a PM.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro 64-Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    N/A
    CPU
    AMD FX 6300
    Motherboard
    GYGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 Rev 3.0
    Memory
    24GB DDR3 (4GB/4GB/8GB/8GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire HD 6850
    Sound Card
    Integrated (Realtek HD Audio)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    3 X 19" monitors
    Screen Resolution
    4580 x 900
    Hard Drives
    WD 80GB
    WD 640GB
    WD 1,000GB
    WD 4,000GB
    PSU
    Rosewill Hive-650
    Case
    Antec 300 V2
    Cooling
    Stock Cooling
    Keyboard
    Saitek Eclipse II
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Internet Speed
    D: 60Mbps U: 5Mbps
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    I also have a hub for 6 extra usb port AC powered.
    Microsoft LifeCam 720P
    HP LaserJet Pro M1212NF
    2 x 8 Port GB Switches
    1 X Netgear Router Netgear WNDR3700 v2 W/ DD-WRT
    and Much more
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