diff --git a/src/spice2x/games/iidx/iidx.cpp b/src/spice2x/games/iidx/iidx.cpp
index 51d5db4..2376485 100644
--- a/src/spice2x/games/iidx/iidx.cpp
+++ b/src/spice2x/games/iidx/iidx.cpp
@@ -79,6 +79,7 @@ namespace games::iidx {
     char IIDXIO_LED_TICKER[10] = {' ', ' ', ' ', ' ', ' ', ' ', ' ', ' ', ' ', '\x00'};
     bool IIDXIO_LED_TICKER_READONLY = false;
     std::mutex IIDX_LED_TICKER_LOCK;
+    bool IIDX_TDJ_MONITOR_WARNING = false;
 
     // io
     static bool HAS_LIBAIO; // this is how we detect iidx27+
@@ -475,9 +476,8 @@ namespace games::iidx {
         }
 
         // check -monitor + TDJ mode
-        if (!GRAPHICS_WINDOWED &&
-            options->at(launcher::Options::DisplayAdapter).is_active() &&
-            TDJ_MODE) {
+        if (!GRAPHICS_WINDOWED && D3D9_ADAPTER.has_value() && TDJ_MODE) {
+            IIDX_TDJ_MONITOR_WARNING = true;
             log_warning(
                 "iidx",
                 "\n\n!!! using -monitor option with TDJ is NOT recommended due to known  !!!\n"
diff --git a/src/spice2x/games/iidx/iidx.h b/src/spice2x/games/iidx/iidx.h
index 0ec9662..997d1a7 100644
--- a/src/spice2x/games/iidx/iidx.h
+++ b/src/spice2x/games/iidx/iidx.h
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ namespace games::iidx {
     extern char IIDXIO_LED_TICKER[10];
     extern bool IIDXIO_LED_TICKER_READONLY;
     extern std::mutex IIDX_LED_TICKER_LOCK;
+    extern bool IIDX_TDJ_MONITOR_WARNING;
 
     constexpr int IIDX_TAPELED_TOTAL = 17;
     // data mapping
diff --git a/src/spice2x/games/sdvx/sdvx.cpp b/src/spice2x/games/sdvx/sdvx.cpp
index e25eae7..0e15b3c 100644
--- a/src/spice2x/games/sdvx/sdvx.cpp
+++ b/src/spice2x/games/sdvx/sdvx.cpp
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ namespace games::sdvx {
     std::optional<std::string> ASIO_DRIVER = std::nullopt;
 
     // states
+    bool SHOW_VM_MONITOR_WARNING = false;
     static HKEY real_asio_reg_handle = nullptr;
     static HKEY real_asio_device_reg_handle = nullptr;
 
@@ -295,12 +296,10 @@ namespace games::sdvx {
         }
 
 #ifdef SPICE64 // SDVX5+ specific code
-        bool isValkyrieCabinetMode = avs::game::SPEC[0] == 'G' || avs::game::SPEC[0] == 'H';
-        auto options = games::get_options(eamuse_get_game());
+        this->VALKYRIE_MODEL = avs::game::SPEC[0] == 'G' || avs::game::SPEC[0] == 'H';
         // check -monitor + UFC mode
-        if (!GRAPHICS_WINDOWED &&
-            options->at(launcher::Options::DisplayAdapter).is_active() &&
-            isValkyrieCabinetMode) {
+        if (!GRAPHICS_WINDOWED && D3D9_ADAPTER.has_value() && this->VALKYRIE_MODEL) {
+            SHOW_VM_MONITOR_WARNING = true;
             log_warning(
                 "sdvx",
                 "\n\n!!! using -monitor option with VM mode is NOT recommended due to    !!!\n"
@@ -330,10 +329,9 @@ namespace games::sdvx {
         Game::attach();
 
 #ifdef SPICE64 // SDVX5+ specific code
-        bool isValkyrieCabinetMode = avs::game::SPEC[0] == 'G' || avs::game::SPEC[0] == 'H';
 
         // LCD handle
-        if (!isValkyrieCabinetMode) {
+        if (!this->VALKYRIE_MODEL) {
             devicehook_init();
             devicehook_add(new games::shared::LCDHandle());
         }
@@ -372,8 +370,7 @@ namespace games::sdvx {
                 nvapi_hook::initialize(avs::game::DLL_INSTANCE);
             }
 
-            // check for Valkyrie cabinet mode
-            if (isValkyrieCabinetMode) {
+            if (this->VALKYRIE_MODEL) {
                 // hook touch window
                 // in windowed mode, game can accept mouse input on the second screen
                 if (!NATIVETOUCH && !GRAPHICS_WINDOWED) {
diff --git a/src/spice2x/games/sdvx/sdvx.h b/src/spice2x/games/sdvx/sdvx.h
index 32f5655..98b7440 100644
--- a/src/spice2x/games/sdvx/sdvx.h
+++ b/src/spice2x/games/sdvx/sdvx.h
@@ -23,6 +23,9 @@ namespace games::sdvx {
     extern bool BI2X_INITIALIZED;
     extern SdvxOverlayPosition OVERLAY_POS;
 
+    // states
+    extern bool SHOW_VM_MONITOR_WARNING;
+
     class SDVXGame : public games::Game {
     public:
         SDVXGame();
@@ -30,5 +33,11 @@ namespace games::sdvx {
         virtual void attach() override;
         virtual void post_attach() override;
         virtual void detach() override;
+    private:
+        // don't be tempted to make this into a public or a global variable
+        // various modules need to check if VM mode is active and they should
+        // not depend on the fact that SDVX module is active (since it can be
+        // inactive on cabs or partial I/O setup)
+        bool VALKYRIE_MODEL = false;
     };
 }
diff --git a/src/spice2x/launcher/launcher.cpp b/src/spice2x/launcher/launcher.cpp
index 521decb..18d831e 100644
--- a/src/spice2x/launcher/launcher.cpp
+++ b/src/spice2x/launcher/launcher.cpp
@@ -344,8 +344,13 @@ int main_implementation(int argc, char *argv[]) {
         GRAPHICS_FORCE_SINGLE_ADAPTER = true;
         GRAPHICS_PREVENT_SECONDARY_WINDOW = true;
     }
-    if (options[launcher::Options::DisplayAdapter].is_active()) {
+    if (options[launcher::Options::DisplayAdapter].is_active() && 
+        options[launcher::Options::DisplayAdapter].value_uint32() != D3DADAPTER_DEFAULT) {
         D3D9_ADAPTER = options[launcher::Options::DisplayAdapter].value_uint32();
+
+        // when we fix up adapter numbers, we only fix the first adapter, and not any subsequent
+        // adapters, so we can't deal with multi-monitor games
+        GRAPHICS_FORCE_SINGLE_ADAPTER = true;
     }
     if (options[launcher::Options::CaptureCursor].value_bool()) {
         GRAPHICS_CAPTURE_CURSOR = true;
diff --git a/src/spice2x/launcher/options.cpp b/src/spice2x/launcher/options.cpp
index 8a7f814..f3e22e8 100644
--- a/src/spice2x/launcher/options.cpp
+++ b/src/spice2x/launcher/options.cpp
@@ -207,7 +207,7 @@ static const std::vector<OptionDefinition> OPTION_DEFINITIONS = {
         .name = "monitor",
         .desc = "Sets the display that the game will be opened in, for multiple monitors.\n\n"
             "0 is the primary monitor, 1 is the second monitor, and so on.\n\n"
-            "Not all games will respect this. Does not work at all with multi-monitor games like TDJ/UFC. "
+            "Not all games will respect this. Not recommended for multi-monitor games like Lightning Model / Valkyrie Model modes. "
             "Disable Full Screen Optimizations for best results",
         .type = OptionType::Integer,
         .category = "Graphics (Full Screen)",
diff --git a/src/spice2x/overlay/windows/iidx_sub.cpp b/src/spice2x/overlay/windows/iidx_sub.cpp
index 2394941..1f3c1b3 100644
--- a/src/spice2x/overlay/windows/iidx_sub.cpp
+++ b/src/spice2x/overlay/windows/iidx_sub.cpp
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ namespace overlay::windows {
             this->disabled_message =
                 "Close this overlay and use the second window.\n"
                 "If you don't see the window, double check your DLL type and apply TDJ I/O patches as needed.";
+        } else if (games::iidx::IIDX_TDJ_MONITOR_WARNING) {
+            this->disabled_message = "TDJ mode subscreen overlay is not compatible with -monitor option";
         }
 
         float size = 0.5f;
diff --git a/src/spice2x/overlay/windows/sdvx_sub.cpp b/src/spice2x/overlay/windows/sdvx_sub.cpp
index 909a0c8..b730f32 100644
--- a/src/spice2x/overlay/windows/sdvx_sub.cpp
+++ b/src/spice2x/overlay/windows/sdvx_sub.cpp
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@ namespace overlay::windows {
         bool isValkyrieCabinetMode = avs::game::SPEC[0] == 'G' || avs::game::SPEC[0] == 'H';
         if (!isValkyrieCabinetMode) {
             this->disabled_message = "Valkyrie Model mode is not enabled!";
+        } else if (games::sdvx::SHOW_VM_MONITOR_WARNING) {
+            this->disabled_message = "VM mode subscreen overlay is not compatible with -monitor option";
         } else if (GRAPHICS_WINDOWED) {
             if (GRAPHICS_PREVENT_SECONDARY_WINDOW) {
                 this->disabled_message = "Subscreen has been disabled by the user (-sdvxnosub).";