MaxiVista v4 User Manual - Contents

The Extended screen mode enables you to extend your primary PC's desktop to up to three extra PCs.
The remote control mode allows you to operate multiple computers from a single mouse and keyboard.
The clipboard synchronization feature allows you to share clipboard contents with all other computers.
The mirror mode duplicates the screen contents of one computer to another computer using any network connection.

MaxiVista is available in three different variations. Information is available in the online shop at http://shop.maxivista.com

Document conventions

Bold, italic type in this documentation indicate MaxiVista menu items.
File names are printed in italic letters.
All MaxiVista Options can be accessed via the task-bar icon of the Server Program. To open the program menu "right-click" the icon and select the desired command from the pop-up menu.
Special MaxiVista terms are explained in the Glossary.

This symbol indicates an important note or useful hint.

System requirements

You need at least two Windows Laptop-/Desktop- or Tablet PCs.
Primary PC: Microsoft 32/64 Bit Windows XP/Vista/7, 32 or 64 Bit
Secondary PC: Windows 32/64 Bit XP/Vista/7, 32 or 64 Bit
Each PC must have its own monitor.
A local WLAN, Ethernet, Firewire or USB-to-USB network connection between the PCs (more info).
5 MB hard-disk space.
Optional: Internet access to download future product updates.

Note about Windows Vista/7

MaxiVista only supports the 'classic' display mode under Windows Vista/7. The Aero display mode is temporarily disabled by Microsoft while MaxiVista is activated. Aero is re-enabled immediately after MaxiVista is deactivated.

Software Installation

MaxiVista requires an initial installation of the Server Program on the Primary PC and the Viewer Program on the Secondary PC.

Make sure that you have administrative rights when installing the server program as it includes the installation of a virtual video driver.
Important: Close any video card related software such as nView, UltraMon, PowerDesk or PivotPro before installing MaxiVista.
Screen flicker during installation is normal. Even if nothing seems to happen for a few seconds, please wait until the installation has finished and the MaxiVista icon appears in the task tray.
It is very important to reboot the Primary PC after installation of the virtual video driver.

Installation of the demo version

Please note that the installation of the full version differs from the demo version.

Demo version Installation video tutorial

The demo version consists of two separate installation files:

Uncompress the downloaded installation ZIP file.
Run Maxivista_Setup_PrimaryPC.exe on the Primary PC. Make sure to reboot the computer after installation!
Copy the installation file Maxivista_Setup_SecondaryPC.exe onto the Secondary PC by using any existing network share or an USB memory stick.
Run Maxivista_Setup_SecondaryPC.exe on the Secondary PC.
Follow the instructions as the Installation Wizard guides you through the installation procedure.

The demo has following limitations:

The program expires after 14 days after first installation and can be launched 50 times.
Only one instance of the demo can be installed within the same network.
Only one Secondary PC is supported (vs. up to three Secondary PCs in the Pro Edition).
The demo contains a splash screen and a "demo" background image.
The mirroring feature is not included in the demo. The performance of mirroring, however, is absolutely the same as the extended screen mode.
The above limitations do not exist in the full version.

Installation of the Standard Edition

If you are using the (Mirror) Pro Edition and are using multiple Secondary PCs or multiple monitors on the Secondary PC please proceed below.

Uninstall the demo version and reboot your computer.
Run the installation file on the Primary PC.
Follow the instructions as the Wizard guides you through the installation procedure.
During the installation, the Viewer Program file MaxiVistaViewer.exe has been generated and placed on your Windows Desktop.
Transfer this file to the Secondary PC by using the network connection, a USB memory stick. There is no further installation required for the Viewer Program.

Installation of the (Mirror) Pro Edition

Uninstall the demo version and reboot your computer.
Run the installation file on the Primary PC
During the installation procedure, please select the suitable number of virtual video cards to be installed:
- Choose One extended display if you have one Secondary PC to be used as an extended display.
- Select Two extended displays if you have two Secondary PCs or if you would like to use two monitors attached to one Secondary PC.
- Use Three extended displays for three Secondary PCs or if you would like to use three monitors, attached to one Secondary PC. The option Three extended displays also applies, if you have two Secondary PCs; one of them with one monitor and the other Secondary PC with two monitors.
At the end of the installation you will find the launcher application shortcut for all Server Programs MaxiVista All on your Windows desktop.
Launching MaxiVista All will first launch Server Program A that will offer to create a dedicated Viewer Program A. Create the Viewer Program and copy it to the first Secondary PC.
If you selected option Two extended displays during installation, Server Program B will additionally launch after Server Program A and offer to create its Viewer Program. Create the Viewer Program B and copy it to the next desired Secondary PC, except when using one Secondary PC with two monitors. In this case, Viewer Program B would also need to be copied to the same Secondary PC.
If you selected option Three extended displays during installation, Server Program C will additionally launch and offer to create its Viewer Program. Create and copy the Viewer Program C to the desired Secondary PC.

As each virtual video adapter requires system resources, please only install as many VGAs as you really intend to use.
If the Viewer Displays should be in the incorrect order you can easily arrange them in the Windows Display Properties of the Primary PC.
Closing Server Program A automatically closes Server Program B and C for your convenience.
If you close Server Program B, it will automatically close Server Program C.

Using MaxiVista for the first time

Run the Server Program on the Primary PC.
Run the Viewer Program on the Secondary PC.
Make sure that both PCs are linked together via a TCP/IP network connection.
Configure any firewall to allow MaxiVista to access the network (more info).

You should now see the MaxiVista program icons in the lower right of the task tray of each PC:

task tray icon

The icon color represents the current MaxiVista status:

Icon color

Description

Both icons are green

and

Congratulations - You made it!

The extended screen is enabled on the Viewer PC and should display the background of the Primary PC's desktop.

Now, just drag any program window from the Primary PC to the Secondary PC's monitor.

If this should fail, the operating system may assume a different physical placement of the monitors on your desk. Example: Your Secondary monitor is located on the left. Consequently you are trying to move the mouse cursor to the left border of your Primary PC's monitor. Windows, however, may think that your Secondary PC's monitor is placed on the right and expect you to move the cursor across the right border instead.

This minor issue can be fixed in a snap!

Both icons are solid yellow

and

Fine - You're almost done!

The Server Program has successfully found the Viewer Program on the network and is awaiting your command:

Double-click the Server Program icon to activate the extended screen.
If the icon does not change to green, please reboot the Primary PC to allow finalization of the virtual video driver installation and try again.
If it still does not work, uninstall the Server Program on the Primary PC, reboot(!) and reinstall the software.

At least one icon stays black

and
or
and
or
and

The Server program could not find the Viewer program on the network.

Solutions:

It is very important to configure any firewall properly.
Proper firewall configuration should help; if not, please close and restart both MaxiVista programs to exclude the possibility of a 'hiccup' in the communication between Server and Viewer Program. This might occur sometimes because of network timing issues.
Still no joy? Please try our step-by-step online troubleshooter.

Firewall configuration

Important note

It is very important that you configure your Firewall!

Please make sure that following ports are accessible:

	UDP Port on the Secondary PC	TCP Port on the Primary PC
Demo version	6100	6151, 6951
Full version and SE Edition	6100, 6101, 6102	6151, 6152, 6153, 6951

We will now describe how to configure the built-in Windows firewall. If you use another firewall product, please refer to its manual to learn how to make above ports accessible.

Please note that the required ports differ from the previous MaxiVista version 3!

Configuration of the Windows Firewall

If using the Windows firewall, please simply click Unblock when the Firewall security alert message pops up:

That's all - You are done!

General note about Software Firewalls

Software firewalls and other internet related 'security' products can slow down the network as they tunnel all network traffic through their scanners to process the incoming/outgoing data. This can severely reduce the performance of MaxiVista.

Even temporary deactivation of such 'security' products often do not eliminate the influence of such programs.

Usually, your Internet router already includes a firewall to protect any connected computer against external threats. An additional software firewall on the local computer does not necessarily increase the level of protection but may rather cause new security issues. Also see this Wikipedia article: Software firewalls.

So, you may consider removing any software firewall in order to increase the networking performance.

Using the Secondary PC as an extended screen

Make sure that the Server Program is running on the Primary PC and the Viewer Program is running on the Secondary PC and that both have a yellow task bar icon (Also see chapter MaxiVista status conditions).

Then, right-click the Server Program tray icon and select Activate extended screen from the pop-up menu.

To deactivate the extended screen either…

Select Deactivate extended screen from the Server Program popup menu.
Double-click on the Server Program task bar icon.
Select Exit from the pop-up menu to quit the Server or the Viewer Program. The disadvantage of this method is that it will take longer for the Server Program to find the Viewer Program on the network again if you want to re-activate the extended screen.
You can temporarily minimize the extended screen window by clicking on the extended screen area with the Secondary PC’s mouse. The extended screen is still transmitted to the Secondary PC but not displayed. To retrieve the extended screen, click on the task button located in the task bar of the Secondary PC.
If you click into the extended screen using the Secondary PC's mouse, MaxiVista automatically switches to the remote control mode. To revert back to the extended screen mode, click onto the viewer program's task tray icon.
MaxiVista remembers the last used mode (extended screen vs. remote control mode). You can also activate the last used mode by double-clicking the server program's task tray icon.
Short flicker on both screens during (de)activation is normal.
Windows disables Aero (transparent windows effects) when MaxiVista is activated. Windows re-enables Aero immediately after MaxiVista is deactivated.
The extended screen remains active, even in remote control mode and screen contents located in the extended screen area stay invisible in the background. If you have placed program windows in the extended display area, they will instantly become visible again when you switch back to extended screen mode.

Remote Controlling the Secondary PC

MaxiVista (Mirror) Pro allows you to operate up to three Secondary PCs from the mouse and keyboard of the Primary PC.

To enable the remote control mode, either...

Select Activate remote control in the server program menu.
Enter the hotkey you may have defined in the MaxiVista settings to switch from extended screen mode into remote control mode. This only works if MaxiVista is currently in extended screen mode.
Click onto the extended desktop on the Secondary PC's monitor with the Secondary(!) PC 's mouse.

Once you enter the Secondary PC screen in remote control mode, the Primary PC's mouse takes control of the Secondary PC(s) whenever the mouse cursor crosses the border of the monitors. Additionally, keyboard input made on the Primary PC will be processed by the PC which currently has the mouse cursor focus.

When activating the remote control mode, MaxiVista needs to activate the extended screen first and then minimizes the extended screen display into the background. Screen flicker is normal.

Windows disables Aero (transparent windows effects) when MaxiVista is activated. Windows re-enables Aero immediately after MaxiVista is deactivated.

The extended screen remains active even in remote control mode and screen contents located in the extended screen area stay invisible in the background. If you have placed program windows in the extended display area, they will instantly become visible again when you switch back to extended screen mode.

MaxiVista remembers the last used mode (extended screen vs. remote control mode). You can also activate the last used mode by double-clicking the task tray server program icon.

The remote control mode is not available while MaxiVista is in window mode (refer to chapter display modes), mirror mode, or if the extended screen is rotated.

The remote control feature is not available in all MaxiVista versions. Further information can be found in the shop section of our website at http://shop.maxivista.com.

Clipboard synchronization

In remote control mode, MaxiVista (Mirror) Pro can also synchronize the Windows clipboard contents between all PCs. If you copy anything into the clipboard of the Primary PC, it will be transferred to the Secondary PC's clipboards and vice versa.

You can enable/disable clipboard synchronization for individual clipboard data formats (text, formatted text, meta data, bitmaps, files) in the MaxiVista settings. You can also define separate hotkey for the clipboard synchronization (default is CTRL-C).

VERY IMPORTANT: Any change of clipboard contents overwrites the clipboard contents of all other PCs as long as clipboard synchronization is enabled and MaxiVista is in remote control mode!
The clipboard synchronization is temporarily disabled when MaxiVista is in extended screen or mirror mode.
Clipboard synchronization is not available in all MaxiVista versions. Further information can be found in the shop section of our website at http://shop.maxivista.com.

Mirroring the Primary Display to the Secondary PC

Select Activate mirror display from the Server Program pop-up menu to enable the mirroring of the primary PC's desktop to the Secondary PC's screen.

When mirroring the Primary PC’s display contents, the Primary PC’s screen resolution adapts to the Secondary PC’s screen resolution unless you change this behavior in the MaxiVista settings. This may fail if the Primary PC does not support the Secondary PC's currently selected screen resolution.

The Mirroring feature is only available in the MaxiVista Mirror Pro version and not in any other version. Further information can be found in the shop section of our website at http://shop.maxivista.com.

Windows disables Aero (transparent windows effects) when MaxiVista is activated. Windows re-enables Aero immediately after MaxiVista is deactivated.

Mirroring is currently only possible from the primary monitor of one Primary PC to one Secondary PC. Broadcasting the Primary PC screen's contents to multiple computers is not yet possible. Please subscribe to the MaxiVista newsletter to receive information about the release of a version that supports mirror broadcasting at http://newsletter.maxivista.com.

Program settings

The program settings can be reached by clicking on the MaxiVista server program and selecting Options from the pop-up menu.

Display modes

The extended screen content can be either displayed in full-screen or in a window on the Secondary PC:

Full-screen mode	Window mode

The extended screen occupies the complete screen of the Secondary PC. This is the default display mode.	The viewer program is showing the extended screen contents in a resizable window. You still have access to the Secondary PC's desktop

Select Options Output Tab and choose the desired display mode:

Display mode	Description	Notes
Sync viewer resolution	The Secondary PC changes to the desired screen resolution.	This is the fastest and recommended display mode and set by default
Fit-to-screen/window	The extended screen content is automatically resized to fit into the viewing area of the Secondary PC based of the screen resolution of the extended screen settings. The Secondary PC's screen resolution is not altered. This mode is useful to obtain a miniature preview of a large desktop area if used together with a high extended screen resolution or the extended screen can act as a magnifying lens if used with a low screen resolution.	DirectX and significant CPU power is required on the Secondary PC for this mode. If DirectX support is missing for the selected screen resolution, then MaxiVista will fall back to the display mode Virtual resolution.
Virtual resolution	The Secondary PC's screen resolution is not altered and the extended screen contents is shown 1:1 (without resizing). If the extended screen resolution exceeds the screen resolution which is currently set on the Secondary PC then MaxiVista automatically pans the screen contents and follows the mouse cursor.	Little CPU power is required on the Secondary PC.
Scroll bars	The Secondary PC's screen resolution is not altered and the extended screen contents is shown 1:1 (without resizing). If the extended screen resolution exceeds the screen resolution which is currently set on the Secondary PC then scroll bars appear allowing you to move around the desktop space.

The remote control mode cannot be activated if you have disabled the full-screen mode.

Best results are achieved when the extended screen resolution matches the physical resolution of the Secondary PC display.

Optimizing the display speed/quality

The extended screen display performance is primarily influenced by the network bandwidth, the transmitted screen size/resolution and the CPU power of the computers.

At given network bandwidth and CPU power there is a compromise between screen responsiveness (lag) and picture quality.

Performance optimizer

MaxiVista includes a performance optimizer which automatically finds suitable parameters for your specific network connection.

The optimizer requires a test image on the extended screen in order to probe the network connection.

Activate the extended screen with the desired screen resolution and color depth.
Launch the applications you would like to use and move the program windows onto the extended screen.
Open the Options switch to the Optimizer Tab and click the button Optimize.
The optimization takes a moment depending on the network speed.

If you are not happy with the result, please try again by using another color depth. Unfortunately, a few of the supported compression methods do not work with both color depths (16 vs 32 Bit).

The Optimizer may need to be re-run if the screen contents differ from the one you used for any previous optimization or if you change the network connection.

Additional hints to optimize the performance:

Certain Firewalls such as ZoneAlarm can drastically decrease the network performance. Even disabling such software firewalls does not help as they seem to stick in the system persistently. You may consider trying another firewall product or use a dedicated network connection without connection to the internet and fully uninstalling the firewall (including reboot afterwards) just to figure out whether the firewall might be the reason for the performance flaw.
When using a desktop wallpaper (vs. a unicolor background), please enable the option Options Compression Tab Cache desktop wallpaper.
For maximum performance, please use the display mode Synchronize resolution.
Reduce other network traffic when using MaxiVista. E.g. avoid transferring large files between the connected PCs.
Due to a Windows XP issue, the network speed may drop drastically if you have multiple network adapters enabled at the same time (e.g. Wireless LAN together with an Ethernet connection). Either deactivate all adapters which are not used for MaxiVista or avoid using the same subnet.
Router/Switches, Virus scanners and Firewalls between Primary and Secondary PC may also decrease the speed. You can easily check whether your network connection is the bottle-neck by using a dedicated network connection, ideally with a cross-over ethernet cable (refer to www.maxivista.com/lan.htm). If multiple network connections are active between the PCs, make sure, that you select the correct network adapter by setting a manual IP address for the suitable network adapter of the Secondary PC (learn more how to do that).

Experienced users can fine-tune additional parameters in MaxiVista:

Parameter	Settings	CPU load	Network load	Recommendations
Compression method	0..4: loss less data compressions	minimal	very high	Loss less unmodified picture quality. 100 MBit Ethernet or Firewire network connection is recommended.
	5..9: YUV 420 color reduction	low	medium	Loss less picture at reduced color depth. Thin lines or color variations may appear on the extended screen. Recommended for Wireless LAN network connections. 32 bit color depth required!
	10: JPG picture compression	very high	minimal	The JPEG compressions can cause artifacts when used at low quality settings (see below). Ideal for slow Wireless LAN network connection. 32 bit color depth required!
Max. frame-rate	1..50 fps (frames per seconds)	Increases with higher frame-rate		Higher frame-rates increase the responsiveness of the extended screen while increasing network load at the same time. Values exceeding 25 fps are only recommended if you require an extremely responsive screen.
Quality (JPG)	10..100%	-	Decreases with lower values	This settings only applies when using compression mode 10 (JPG).
Threshold	0..20	Decreases with higher values.		This parameter defines the threshold of screen change until a new frame is transmitted to the Secondary PC. It affects the responsiveness of the screen and reduces network load.
Reaction	5..25 milliseconds	Decreases with higher values.		Higher reaction times decrease the responsiveness of the extended screen while reducing network load.

Activating MaxiVista automatically on Start-up

To launch MaxiVista on system startup, copy the Server Program icon to your MS Windows "StartUp" folder of the Primary PC and do the same correspondingly with the Viewer Program icon on the Secondary PC. Then the extended screen will automatically be activated after each system startup of both computers.

The option Auto-connect on startup is temporarily disabled if you deactivate the extended screen via the Server Program. This prevents the Server Program from immediately enabling the extended screen again. With the next start of the Server Program, the option will be re-enabled again.

When the Vewer Program is running as a service, it does not need to be placed into the startup folder as services are always launched automatically with the system by default.

Defining hotkeys

MaxiVista allows you to define hotkeys for quick access to frequently used settings. Click Options Hotkey Tab and define the desired hotkeys.

If using the Pro Edition and running multiple server programs simultaneously you must define separate hotkeys for each server program.

If MaxiVista detects that the selected hotkey is used by another application, it ignores the hotkey definition.

To avoid conflicts with hotkeys reserved by other applications, we recommend to use combinations with CTRL- & ALT- or SHIFT-keys which are not so common.

Gamma correction for the extended screen

Select Options Gamma Tab to set the desired gamma correction for the extended screen.

General information about gamma correction can be found at Wikipedia.

Manual IP address configuration

If you have multiple network adapters installed on the Secondary PC, you can manually define the IP address of the desired network adapter of the Secondary PC.

Click the Server Program icon Configuration IP address Tab click Manual Enter the IP address of the Secondary PC's desired network adapter and confirm with OK.

Selecting a manual IP address has the advantage that the server program does not need to poll the viewer program via UDP.

Important note

Please note that you need to enter the IP address of the Secondary(!) PC and not the Primary PC's IP address.

If using multiple network adapters in a Windows XP computer, it is strongly recommended to define different subnets for each adapter to avoid a potential slow-down in performance (due to a Win XP bug).

Miscellaneous

Setting the location of the Secondary PC

If the extended screen mode is enabled, you should see the desktop wallpaper/background of your Primary PC on the extended screen. If you can't drag program windows from your Primary PC into the direction of your Secondary PC, then you may need to configure the correct position of your Secondary PC.

Please right-click the Server Program task tray icon and select the menu item Monitor Arrangement of the popup menu to open the Windows Display Properties.

Then arrange the monitor symbols according to your physical setup.

Video demonstration

If you select portrait screen resolutions, the secondary display automatically switches to Portrait mode as well. If you enable the option Rotate 180° in the MaxiVista Configuration, the screen will be rotated by an additional 180°. This allows you to achieve a 270° rotation.

The remote control mode cannot be entered while the extended screen is set to portrait resolutions or is rotated.

While in remote control mode, the Rotate 180° option is not available.

If using Windows 7, MaxiVista uses its own Windows Display Properties dialog. Do NOT use the Windows Display Properties built-in Windows 7 as it would not work.

Changing the extended screen's resolution

Select the desired screen resolution from the Server Program pop-up menu.

If you enable the option Remember last used resolution in the Options, MaxiVista always uses the screen resolution that is set on the Secondary PC.

Rotating the extended screen

Select any portrait screen resolution from the server program task tray icon to rotate the extended screen by 90°.

You can add an additional 180° rotation by enabling the option under Options Output Tab Rotate 180°.

3rd party pivot software may interfere and should not be used for the MaxiVista extended screen. The rotation method provided by MaxiVista has significantly higher performance.

Installing the viewer program as a Windows service

You can launch the viewer program either as a regular program (recommended) or as a Windows service if you need to log onto a locked Secondary PC in remote control mode.

Benefits of using the viewer program as a service

Feature	Running as a Service	Running as a program
Logging into locked Secondary PC from the Primary PC in remote control mode
Ability to send CTRL-ALT-DEL to the Secondary PC
Support of 'Fast User Switching' and UAC dialogs

Select Install as service in the viewer program popup menu. The viewer program will automatically launch as a service after rebooting the Secondary PC.

The Windows Vista/7 User Account Control (Wikipedia Article about UAC) blocks the MaxiVista Viewer Program from accessing system dialogs such as elevated UAC prompts. However, if you are running the Viewer Program as a service, it runs at the same level as UAC and access to the UAC popup and system applications is granted.

The registry setting "Disable User Account Control(UAC) For Administrators Only" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System] "ConsentPromptBehaviorAdmin"=dword:00000000. Applying this registry key setting also enables the Viewer Program to run as application while being able to access system apps. However, you should be clear that this setting may affect system security.

Make sure to remove the viewer program from the StartUp folder as the program and service cannot run simultaneously.

The service does not work under Windows 2003 if you are running a Remote Desktop Session.

Keeping MaxiVista up-to-date

Connect your Primary PC to the internet and select Visit our site Check for Updates from the pop-up menu of the Server Program.

MaxiVista does not transmit any personal or confidential data. It only sends a portion of the license key, a hardware ID and the version number of the current installation.

If an update has been found, please follow the instructions on the website.

If you want MaxiVista to stay up-to-date automatically, please enable the option Auto-check for updates.

This feature is not available in the demo version.

Using MaxiVista on existing Dual Monitor Systems

MaxiVista works fine on existing multi-monitor setups. The screen resolution of the MaxiVista displays can be set independently from the other installed displays.

Example setup with multiple monitors, both on the Primary and the Secondary PC:

Dual Monitor Setup

Multiple monitors on the Primary PC

You can use an unlimited amount of monitors on your Primary PC. MaxiVista does not recognize or care about other Primary PC monitors. Simply add additional (virtual) video adapter(s) to your Primary PC and their output will be displayed on the Secondary PC(s):

You may eventually need to configure the Windows Display Manager corresponding to the physical arrangement of the monitors on your desk.

Multiple monitors on the Secondary PC(s)

If you have installed multiple monitors on your Secondary PC and wish to use only one of the displays to display the extended screen, please right-click on the Viewer Program running on the Secondary PC and select the desired monitor from the pop-up list:

Viewer program pop-up

The monitor selection will be remembered the next time you start the viewer program.

If you would like to utilize multiple monitors of your Secondary PC you would need the MaxiVista Pro or MirrorPro Edition. The demo version does not enable you to use multiple monitors on the secondary PC:

Multiple monitors on the 2nd PC

Please read the installation instructions to learn how to setup MaxiVista to support multiple monitors on the Secondary PC.

MaxiVista (Mirror) Pro enables the use of a maximum of three extra monitors from one of the following configurations:

One Secondary PC has up to three screens attached.
One Secondary PC has two screens and another Secondary PC has one screen
Three Secondary PCs each with one monitor
The Primary PC may have an unlimited amount of screens.

Arranging multiple monitors properly

Please make sure that the monitors are arranged in a way that the monitor IDs have a sequential order:

This is important to allow the mouse to seamlessly move across the monitors.

Following example shows how it should not(!) be configured:

You can see in the above example that the mouse cursor would not go from right border of Primary PC's monitor #1 to the left border of Secondary PC monitor #2 as wished. The mouse cursor would jump to the left border of Secondary PC monitor #1.

On the Primary PC, make sure that you have chosen the suitable amount of extra virtual VGA drivers during the installation (Refer to chapter "Installation of the (Mirror) Pro Edition").

Multiple monitors are not supported by the MaxiVista demo version and Standard Edition. Further information can be found in the shop section at http://shop.maxivista.com.

Working with multiple MaxiVista licenses

You must purchase one license for each installation of MaxiVista (pair of server and viewer program(s)).

This is not only because of the license policy, but also for an important technical reason: For each license key, MaxiVista dynamically creates a unique pair of Server and Viewer Programs. This mechanism ensures that multiple Viewer Programs on the same network show the screen's contents of its corresponding Server Programs and not the desktop of any other person.

If you would re-use the same license key for multiple installations, then the server program would not know which of the multiple viewer programs to connect to as they all bear the same ID.

A Viewer Program created by the MaxiVista installation using license key 'A' cannot be used together with a Server Program with the license key 'B'!

The demo version does not work with multiple installations on the same network as it has no license key mechanism.

MaxiVista status conditions

The MaxiVista task bar icon can indicate three different status conditions.

task tray icon

Icon color	Description
Yellow - blinking	While flashing, the Server Program tries to find its corresponding Viewer Program on the network. The blinking frequency decreases over time.
Yellow	The Server Program has found its Viewer Program on the network. However, the extended screen or remote control mode is not yet active.
Green	The extended screen or remote control mode is enabled.

Remove MaxiVista from the PC

To uninstall MaxiVista click Start Programs MaxiVista Uninstall MaxiVista on all PCs.

If using any full version of MaxiVista (vs. the demo) the Viewer Program is removed by simply deleting the single program file.

A reboot is required to remove the virtual graphics adapter driver.

You must reboot the Primary PC before you re-install MaxiVista.

Afterwards you can safely delete the MaxiVista program folder c:/Program Files/MaxiVista with the Windows File Explorer.

If the virtual graphics adapter driver is not removed from the Primary PC, you can do this manually: Right-click the My Computer icon on your Windows desktop Select Properties Hardware Tab Device Manager double-click Display adapters. If you find the MaxiVista driver is still listed, right-click on it and select Uninstall and reboot the system.

You may need to delete the file maxidemo.sys or maxivista.sys from the folder c:\winnt\system32\drivers after the reboot before to make the uninstallation option of the virtual graphics adapter available.

Glossary

Term	Description
Primary PC	The PC which viewing range you would like to extend.
Secondary PC	The PC which acts as the second display.
Server Program	The MaxiVista program that sends the extended screen content to the Secondary PC. This software is installed on the Primary PC.
Viewer Program	The MaxiVista program that displays the extended screen of the Primary PC. This software is installed on the Secondary PC.
Extended Screen	The monitor display of the Secondary PC that you would like to use as an extra screen.

Troubleshooting

Following troubleshooting tips assist you in getting MaxiVista to work:

First Steps

The MaxiVista task tray icon color indicates the current program status. If the server program's task tray icon is green colored, then everything is running fine. You should see the desktop wallpaper/background of your Primary PC on the extended screen. Now just drag any program window from your Primary PC into the direction of your Secondary PC. If this should fail, you only need configure the correct position of your Secondary PC.
If you can drag to the extended screen but if the screen update rate is poor, please check out the performance tips.
If the task tray icon is yellow blinking or black, there is a network connection issue which may solved by the following networking troubleshooter:

Troubleshoot network problems

Most important: Have you configured the Firewall properly?
Ensure that the network adapters and drivers are installed properly and that the network cable is firmly connected (most network adapters indicate a physical connection via a LED light).
Make sure to have the latest drivers for your network interface adapters installed (especially when using Windows Vista/7). It may be necessary to check for updates.
When connecting via Ethernet, ensure that you are using a suitable cable (so called "cross-over" cable for a direct PC-to-PC connection or a "patch" cable if you connect the PC through a network hub/router/switch). It can be confusing because both cable types look absolutely identical. The cable might be labelled "patch cable" or "cross-over cable". When in doubt, consult your dealer.
Make sure to have latest versions of your physical video card drivers. The physical video cards must support at least 16 bit color depth (>65,000 colors).
Close all running programs on both computers except MaxiVista to eliminate the risk that another application can lock the network or filter out any network traffic. Especially, close all video card related applications and utilities, such as nView or display managers to isolate them being the cause of any issues.
If using the full version and if you performed a MaxiVista update on the Primary PC, please ensure to update the Secondary PC as well by creating a new viewer program. This can be done at any time from the corresponding server program menu command on the primary PC. The data protocol may have changed and the new server program may not understand an old viewer program or vice versa.
If using a USB-to-USB cable, please refer to the provided documentation to ensure that it supports the TCP protocol. Please ask your dealer or the cable manufacturer whether it supports TCP/IP.
If you have disabled the automatic network settings in MaxiVista, click on Configuration Network options and check that you have entered the correct IP address of the Secondary PC. We repeat: The IP address of the Secondary PC:
If you use the MaxiVista default network settings, you may try to use the manual IP address selection. Click on Configuration Network Manual. Then enter the IP address of the Secondary PC and restart the Server Program. Now, the server program does not need to send a UDP call to the network. If you do not know how to determine the IP address of your Secondary PC, please look at Step 3 below.

Verify the TCP/IP protocol installation

Ensure that all computers have the TCP/IP protocol installed (video tutorial):

On both PCs, click Start Settings Control Panel Network and Internet Connections Network Connections
Locate the icon of the network adapter which connects to the other PC.
Right-click that icon and select Properties. Make sure that the TCP/IP protocol is installed and enabled as shown here:

Find out the IP addresses

To continue troubleshooting, you need to know the IP address of the computers. These are the unique IDs under which the PCs can call each other:

Select the TCP/IP protocol in the above list and click Properties.
If there is no value for IP address shown, then the networking is not working properly. Further assistance can be found in the Microsoft Knowledge base.
IP addresses for local network usually begin with 169.254.x.y or 192.168.x.y (whereas x and y is a number between 0..255). If the IP address does not begin with either 169 or 192, the network adapter is most likely connected to the internet instead of a local network. MaxiVista however does not work over the internet.
The value x represents the "subnet" and both computers must have the same subnet value to be able to communicate.
The last value y is the individual ID of the PC. This value must be different for each network adapter on both PC.
If everything looks OK, write down the IP address.

Verify local TCP/IP functionality

If the IP addresses are correct, check whether the TCP/IP protocol is properly configured (video tutorial).

On both PCs click Start Run type cmd hit OK.
In the following window, type ping localhost and then press Enter.
If you receive "Request timed out", the computer's TCP/IP configuration is generally malfunctioning. Further help can be found in the Microsoft Knowledge base.

Check basic networking

Now, try to ping ("call") the opposing computer (video tutorial):

Type ping x.x.x.x (where x.x.x.x is the IP address you have just written down for the opposing(!) PC) and then press Enter.
If you receive "Request timed out", the calling PC cannot find the other PC on the network. Further help can be found in the Microsoft Knowledge base.

Check for port conflicts

In very rare occasions, it may be that the ports being used by MaxiVista are already occupied by another application. You can easily check that with the netstat command (video tutorial):

On both PCs open a command box by clicking Start Run type cmd hit OK.
Enter netstat -a

Check the output to verify if any other applications are using a MaxiVista related port. If so, the re-configuring of the other application for use with another port is required or you must close the other application before you can use MaxiVista. MaxiVista does not allow the changing of ports within MaxiVista.

If the last test was successful, it means that the network is functional and TCP/IP is working fine but definitely the required ports are blocked by any antirvirus/firewall/antispyware program or a hardware router/switch.

If using the Windows XP firewall, close MaxiVista, open the firewall settings and delete all MaxiVista related "exceptions" and launch MaxiVista again. Make sure that you unblock MaxiVista when the firewall warning message appears (video tutorial).

Please note, that certain firewall products may still affect the network connection, even if they are 'disabled'. For testing, you may consider uninstalling any network related 3rd party software and reboot your PC just to see whether it resolves the issue.

If using a router or switch, try a direct crossover cable instead, to eliminate the risk that such devices are blocking ports.

Still no joy?

We are sorry for the inconvenience you have experienced.

Unfortunately, the complexity of computer networking, with its infinite parameters, varying hardware setups and possible configurations, does not enable us with the ability to provide individual support on networking issues. We recommend you seek assistance with your local dealer or system administrator.