Windows 7 Bootcamp external/dual monitor not working

I have a 15" MacBook Pro purchased 6/2011. I am running Windows 7 64-Bit Ultimate (with Service Pack 1) under Bootcamp.

I have a mini display port -> VGA adapeter (Rocketfish) connecting to a Dell monitor. The monitor is detected and usable under OS X. When I boot the computer in Windows, I see the "starting windows" screen duplicated on the external monitor (so the cable and monitor are definitely working).

Once I'm in Windows, though, the monitor loses the signal in some way. The power button, which was glowing green, is now yellow (as if the monitor needs to be woken up). It's not the same as having no connection, though; if I unplug the cable the monitor shows the "nothing is attached" floating graphic.

My cursor will move off of my main MBP display as if there is an external monitor, but nothing shows up. In my display properties, the Dell monitor is detected as a secondary display, and it is automatically setup to do monitor extending. So everything looks fine...except for the fact that nothing shows up on the monitor.

Note that connecting to a TV using mini display port to HDMI under Windows 7 works fine.

Any thoughts? Looks like people have had a LOT of issues with dual monitors under Windows 7, but I didn't see any obvious solutions.

Thanks,

David Cater

That's a good question. Can you update Bootcamp drivers manually (i.e., separately from the OS)? It seems like when I looked into that in the past, I made sure Bootcamp was "up to date" by just making sure my updates in OSX were current. I've checked Software Update in OSX and Windows Update on the Windows side, and everything is up to date.

Just checked on support.apple.com, and it appears the latest Bootcamp version is 3.3. That appears to be the version I have (from About Boot Camp dialog in Windows).

Oh, man, I had really high hopes for that. I booted in OSX, created a CD with the new BootCamp support setup program, and then installed it in Windows. I am now running BootCamp 4.0.

Unfortunately, the behavior is the same. I also checked to see if I could now connect my laptop to my Bluetooth speaker (Jawbone Big Jambox) as an audio device, and that still isn't working either. Sad.

So to answer your original question...yes, I have updated drivers. And I still can't use an external monitor.

Thanks for the replies...any other thoughts?