Question : Problem: How do I get a DMS-59 video card to work with DVI displays?

I've got a Dell system with an Nvidia card in it (I'm not exactly sure what the model for either is). The Nvidia card has a single DMS-59 connector on it, and I have twin Dell 1708FP displays, running Gentoo Linux. I also have two splitters: one that splits the DMS-59 into two VGA signals, one that splits it into two DVI signals.

If I connect the displays with the VGA cables, I get both displays up. If I connect either one or two displays with DVI cables, neither display works... same if I connect only one display (for which I still have the splitter in place, since I don't have a DMS-59 to DVI adapter, just the splitter). I'm using single-link DVI cables.

My understanding is that DMS-59 is a digital connector, and the Dell literature (for example, http://support.euro.dell.com/support/edocs/video/P69708/Qnvs280_EN/connect.htm ) seems to indicate that I can connect a DMS-59 to two DVI devices, but I've never done this before, so I'm wondering if those familiar with DMS-59 have any sage advice. I'm thinking either I'm missing something that would be obvious to someone with more DMS-59 experience, or else my video card is defective (somehow).

This isn't specifically a problem with X, I can't get a DVI signal in the console either (again, no problem with the VGA).

Answer : Problem: How do I get a DMS-59 video card to work with DVI displays?

Like I said, whether I let the monitors autodetect or whether I explicitly selected DVI, I wasn't getting a signal. Also, in response to your point about DVI-I not working if it's connected to something digital on one end and analog on the other, both ends were digital.

In any case, I've figured it out. I plugged in all the DVI stuff and rebooted, and everything worked... apparently rebooting is important to tell the video card to produce a digital signal. I knew it was something stupid I was missing.