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If you are running Windows Vista on a Laptop and wish to utilize dual displays, this is just the article for you. Instead of replicating the content on your laptop screen on to your external display, you’ll be able to extended your desktop across both. By doing so you’ll gain extra screen real estate meaning more space to work in. Once you have a successfully functioning dual display setup, windows can be dragged across from one screen to another and you can have two fully maximized applications visible at once!
Some Small Requirements:
- Decent Laptop with VGA or HDMI output
- A monitor with VGA or HDMI input
- A VGA or HDMI cable to connect both together
Getting To The Settings:
- Connect your laptop to your external monitor
- Right Click on your desktop and select Personalize
- Open the Display settings window (at the bottom)
Next arrange the two monitors to the setup you have. Monitor 1 would be your laptop’s display and Monitor 2 is your additional display. So, for example, if your laptop is on the left and the monitor is on the right, drag the two boxes around so that Monitor 1 is on the left and Monitor 2 is on the right.
Extending The Display:
- Select Monitor 2 in the visual or from the drop-down menu
- Check the box besides “Extend the desktop onto this monitor”
- Just hit Apply. The screen should flash and you are done!
You should now be able to drag a window, this web page for example, from one screen onto another. If you would like to move your Start Menu onto the other display, just drag it onto the other screen. (Right-click and unlock the Taskbar first!) Also note that sometimes Vista messes up the resolutions, so if one of the windows looks horribly wrong go back to the Display Settings and manually drag the bar to the correct resolutions for each monitor. If your machine is using either the NVIDIA or ATI control panel, I suggest using that to configure your setup instead of using the default Vista Display Settings.
If you have any problems, questions, or suggestions feel free to express them below!
Related Article: Setup Multiple Monitors In XP
One more thing to add. When I do plug in my second monitor, my laptop screen goes black and i get a message on the external monitor that says “check signal cable” which is always on anyway when the cable is disconnected. i am baffled. hopefully someone will want my books and can give me some insight to get it working again!
First, try to figure out if your monitors are working or not. The laptop should be working perfectly on it’s own. You should also be able to just use the monitor alone. If both those are working single at a time, then we know it’s just a setting issue.
You can also go to http://www.hp.com and grab the latest video card drivers for your laptop. That might solve some possible issues.
Also make sure you are pressing the check box on the “Extend desktop to this monitor” for the secondary display, not the primary!
Unless there’s a hardware failure, it should be easy to solve!
OK so how do i tell if they are working correctly? When I look at the display settings they are crossed up. That is, the monitor labeled “1” is actually my external monitor which is not working) but is displayed as though it is and (meaning lit up and not cross-hatched out) as I can tell with the name (i think) in the box below the two monitors (SyncMaster 2243BW…..). When i look at its properties it says the adapter is NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS. The laptop monitor works fine as long as i don’t plug in the external and then neither works. The one labeled primary display (but the picture shows it is the external BUT when you identify it, it is the laptop display) is checked as the main monitor. When i try to check the box for monitor 2 (which should be the external by its name — (Default monitor) on NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS — it will allow me to check “extend” but when I apply the settings nothing changes. This is very frustrating. Sorry to bug you but i am hoping that you can figure this out. Should i download the video driver as you have suggested? that makes sense BUT the laptop video IS WORKING — it is just labeled wrong and i can’t get the external to work…….
Try upgrading the video card drivers. Then get back to me.
Then try using the NVIDIA Control Panel to setup Dual Displays.
Do that instead of using the Windows Vista Interface!
If that doesn’t work, we’ll figure something out!
OK, tried updating the video card driver – Under display adapters it does say NIVDIA GeForce 8400M GS which is my laptop driver (i think). went to NVIDIA control panel. IT does say i have two displays – laptop and Samsung (my ext monitor). I tried to get it to do dualview which it accepts but the samsung says “check signal cable” still on the screen. just about ready to throw the whole thing against the wall. I do appreciate you doing this for someone you don’t even know!!! is it possible my VGA cable is bad? One other thing to note. A week ago or so I had my wireless dsl modem go down and had to buy a new one. Netgear had me install the router before i could use the wireless. is it possible that doing that created the problem? sorry but as much as i research and write about technology and how it impacts us i am an “intermediate” user and not really savvy about any complexities. btw if you want to see some fun stuff go to http://www.csudh.edu/psych/Rosen's_Rock_'n_Roll_Technology_Clock_Recycled_Art.htm
thanks again!!!
When I plug my second monitor (Sony 32″ TV) into the computer, the laptop screen goes blank and on the 2nd monitor says:
“Cannot display this video mode, change computer display input to 1360 x 768 @ 60 HZ”
But my video card will only go to 1280 x 800!!
I cannot make any changes in the Nvidia Control Panel because when the 2nd monitor is plugged in, the laptop screen is blank. (I think it is set to only show one display)
If I unplug the 2nd monitor then the Control Panel only shows the laptop as the only monitor.
Is there a file somewhere that I can change so that the 2nd display only goes to 1280 x 800??
It sounds as though your video card isn’t capable of handling such a high resolution. It looks like it is offering the max resolution it can handle.
The best you can do is mess with the two sliders or dropdowns for choosing multiple monitor resolutions in the interface on the NVIDIA control panel.
I have a dual screen setup, and just have a general question. Is it possible to play like a video full screen on the secondary screen? When I try to do this, anytime I click on anything on the original screen it no longer is full screen.
Help, My desktop monitor is identifying as “2” while my TV is “1” How do I swap those about?
It doesn’t matter which is numbered which. Just identify which number belongs to which physical monitor. Once that’s done, just arrange them the way they are positioned in reality in the software. You can also select “this is my main monitor” on the display you want the start menu to appear on.
Well I got it working OK but then I tried to use skype and it keeps breaking up, it was a bit better when I cloned the two screens but still not usable…any ideas?
Is it just lagging? If your computer doesn’t have a powerful enough of a video card to handle a dual display, it might have that issue.
It cleared after I rebooted and I had no problems, that is until my second monitor suddenly died…never buy Samsung the products are inferior and customer service is a complete disgrace :( just google them and see what I mean
hmm interesting. I’ve got the Samsung 206BW and it’s actually one of the best monitors I’ve had. I picked up a ViewSonic and it had a ton of dead pixels and the display kept having rolling lines going threw. Got a replacement same issue, so I got rid of it. I also got a Dell recently, it’s also has a really grainy texture, everything looks weird. Samsung was great in my case.
But I believe you, I’m sure others have had problems with Samsung. I guess I just got lucky!
“I guess I just got lucky!”
Just hope it stays that way!
http://www.customerservicescoreboard.com/Samsung?&mes=comment
Hi,
I have 2 identical monitors hooked up to my desktop pc (XP). Everything is working perfectly well except that the clarity of image on the second monitor is not as good as the first. The screen resoluton and other settings are all identical. Any suggestions appreciated.
the size of the screen is different if that is the case just change the resolution and it should work
hello my sony monitor has is um well really messed up the top of the monitor is on the bottom but the screen is right side up i realy dont know how to explain it but when i move my mouse to the top of the monitor it goes to the bottom of the monitor and the top of a web page is at the bottom. what do i do. and i’m not good at making sentences with periods. i’m also a bad speller. nothing hapens when i change the resolution or move the monitor #2 farther up than the laptops. what so i do =[ =] now random smileys =] =[ =p =/ ='[
Re-arrange the two Windows numbered 1 and 2 to be besides each other as seen in the preview. You might have them arranged vertically.
i like pie
+1 :)
What sort of pie?
and how about tarts?
Thanks for the helpful post! I have a Dell xps m1530 running Vista. Do you know if it’s possible to connect two external monitors to the laptop? I’ve read that it may be possible with additional hardware, but even that wasn’t ideal because the resolution limit was low. I’m thinking about two 1920×1080 monitors if possible. Thanks!
Some of my users have been having trouble with the Dual monirtors. We upgraded our laptops from the Inspiron E1505 to the Latitude E6400. When someone is away from there desk for fifteen minutes the computer locks(company policy). The people who have the Dual monitor come back and there monitor is switched up and they have to reset them(This is only on the new laptop). They usually make the extended monitor as there main and the Laptop as the extended real-estate. I have researched this issue and found nothing. We were running Vista on our other computers as we are on these. I am thinking it has something to do with the new laptops but I cant quite put my finger on it. Thanks for any suggestions.
I had patches install over the weekend a now have the same issue as your users. Vista with lenovo t400 laptop and lenovo external monitor.
Did you find out what the issue is and how to correct it?
i have more then two external monitors and i would like to extend each of them from my laptop screen, one to the left and one to the right, i do have a spliter so both cables can go into my one jack in my laptop but i do not now how to deferenciate the two external screens from each other, how do i do this?
any help would be appreciated
noticed there haven’t been too many replies lately, is anyone responding to help request here anymore? did everything mentioned above and got to the point of getting desktop on screen. then drag item over to my 2nd monitor and i see it moving but it just creates a new window on my laptop but doesn’t open on the 2nd monitor. any further info would be appreciated.
Okay I am trying to set up powerpoint with office. In the midst of it I was switching my monitors around and was having trouble getting it all to work. Well eventually I did something and now neither the computer monitor or the power point screen have anything showing up on them. there is no way for me to see what the computer is doing in order to switch it back or fix it. Please help I am desperate. Thank you, Jon
Hi,
I have a notebook (Compaq 8510w) with Vista SP2.
I use my notebook in various situations, I always setup the second screen as an extension of my desktop. I use it at the office where it is connected to a HP LP2475w screen, at home where I connect it to a Samsug TV on the PC port, and also to a vidéo projector. They all have different setups (resolution, positions…) and I have to reset the parameters every time I switch to an other device.
Is there a way to store the various configurations so I don’t have to reset them every time I change my dual display?
Hello there. I have tried doing the instructions above (I plugged in both monitors, opened the display settings and tried extending the desktop), but no matter what happens, the “second monitor” always ends up as my laptop screen, not my second monitor – even when the laptop screen is closed. Also, if I push the F4 key, it changes the “first monitor” between the two actual monitors I have, while keeping the second monitor as my laptop. How do I fix it so that the first monitor is on the first screen, and the second one on the second screen? Thanks in advance, Rachael.
I at one point had another monitor tv atached to my laptop. I turned it onone day and my laptop screen was blank and 2nd monitor said signal out of range. I can no longer connect to another monitor without my main screen blanking out how can i fix this?
Hello this is a great article but i ran into some problems. i downloaded the new drivers and the computer was able recognize the T.V. but the T.V. just say no signal when ever i try to connect. Any advice?
Ant help appreciated… VGA to TV worked fine for ages, but now it’s not being recognised… blank blue screen on the TV whilst laptop reverts to black screen so I can’t see what I’m doing. Right clicking laptop the graphics options “output to” option has gone missing and in graphics properties I just get ‘two displays must be connected…’ blah for multiple display, but how can I select multiple display when plugging the VGA cable in gives me a black screen. I’ve tried the display settings extend desktop… nothing. Please help!
Hi there thanks for the info, I am able to work easily using two monitors. My OS is Vista, I fixed the resolution problem by tweaking the resolution a bit.
Thanks a lot!
After automatic updates were installed on my computer I can no longer access my two monitors.
I use NVIDIA on Windows Vista. It can see the monitor but it will not turn it on even when I right click on it and “Extend It”.
Please can someone help? I want to uninstall the update for NVIDIA or even remove the program all together.
Its driving me nuts because he worked fine without the update.
Jason