All DVI-D cables are not created alike

[MacArtist]

So I am trying to get my 2nd monitor up and running and borrow a DVI-D cable my daughter had connected to a Samsung monitor.

Plug in the cable and I can't get any signal from the computer. Stays on "self-test" forever. Swap out the DVI cable for a different one. Everything works fine.

Plug it into the wife's Viewsonic and it works fine.

Some monitors (in this case Dell 2405s) are sensitive to cable types.

It was a frustrating few minutes until I figured this out.

The cable in question was purchased from newegg. Looks like a good cable.

Anybody had this problem before?

[kj4btkljv]

There are a couple types of DVI video cables, DVI-D, DVI-A, and DVI-I. Here's an "official" breakdown:

http://www.datapro.net/techinfo/dvi_info.html

Jeff

[mikebw]

Should be that all DVI cables are not created alike. But DVI-D specifically should be the same, except where Dual-Link variants come into play...

[testcase]

Of course it is possible for a brand new cable to be defective.

[MacArtist]

Not a brand new cable. About 8 months old.

It works fine on a Samsung monitor as well as a Viewsonic. Seems like the Dell UltraSharps don't like that cable for some reason.