Connecting an external monitor to my laptop.

markiemark2005

Hi everybody.
I got a cheap secondhand dell monitor to plug into my laptop. It got a standard cable.

When I plug it in, all I can see on the monitor is the very center of my desktop with none of my icons.

As this is a secondhand monitor, I got no software with it.

Is there anything I can do to get it working?


Thanks in advance

corkcomp

markiemark2005 wrote: »

Hi everybody.
I got a cheap secondhand dell monitor to plug into my laptop. It got a standard cable.

When I plug it in, all I can see on the monitor is the very center of my desktop with none of my icons.

As this is a secondhand monitor, I got no software with it.

Is there anything I can do to get it working?


Thanks in advance

did you check your resolution settings on the laptop? what make / model laptop is it? are you using extended desktop or just pressing button to flip entire display over to external vga?

markiemark2005

corkcomp wrote: »

did you check your resolution settings on the laptop? what make / model laptop is it? are you using extended desktop or just pressing button to flip entire display over to external vga?

I am just plugging it in, there is a display on the laptop and on the monitor, do I need to switch them over?

The laptop is a Dell Inspiron 1501

corkcomp

markiemark2005 wrote: »

I am just plugging it in, there is a display on the laptop and on the monitor, do I need to switch them over?

The laptop is a Dell Inspiron 1501

press the Fn key and F8 together and see if it switches over

danjo-xx

On a hp compaq laptop pressing the windows key + L switches it back and forth...worth a try!

corkcomp

danjo-xx wrote: »

On a hp compaq laptop pressing the windows key + L switches it back and forth...worth a try!

its a dell though:)

ricman

SET RESOLUTION ON LAPTOP to 1024x768 ,refresh rate 60mhz,eg old monitor may not work at 1200x1000 resolution.
TRY fn key plus function key, f6,f7,f8,f9, theres a function key with a square icon ,or 2 squares = activate external monitor.

duffman85

markiemark2005 wrote: »

Hi everybody.
I got a cheap secondhand dell monitor to plug into my laptop. It got a standard cable.

When I plug it in, all I can see on the monitor is the very center of my desktop with none of my icons.

As this is a secondhand monitor, I got no software with it.

Is there anything I can do to get it working?


Thanks in advance

You can get monitor drivers from Dell's support website(http://support.euro.dell.com/support/topics/topic.aspx/emea/shared/support/root/monitor_download?c=ie&cs=iedhs1&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=anavml) if you need them.

Check that you have the set correct resolution for the second display(the monitor).

Open up the Display properties by right clicking on the desktop and clicking properties.
There should be a picture of the two screens marked 1 and 2.
There is a dropdown box below the picture marked "Display" select the second item in the list.
The screen marked 2 should be highlighted.

See what the resolution is set to it sounds like it is too low 800x600 or something. Set the resolution to be the same as the laptop's(1280x800) or as close as you can if the monitor is not widescreen.

If you select "extend my desktop" I think you can set the resolution to whatever you want as long as the monitor supports it.

TouchingVirus

It sounds to me like your monitor is being set up as an extension of your desktop. To confirm: Move your mouse all the way to the right hand side of the laptop screen and keep trying to move right. It should disappear off the laptop screen and appear on the monitor. If this fails, move it all the way to the left and try keep moving.

You have a number of options:

1) With two displays in extended mode, you can change the "primary" display (the one with your icons and stuff) to either of the two displays. If you set it to the monitor then when you plug in the monitor it'll be primary, when you remove it, Windows should default back to the laptop. With extended mode you should note that the Monitor Resolution can be the same as, or different to, the laptop screen resolution so some windows that look great on one display may need to be resized when you drag them to the secondary display.

2) Set the displays in a mirrored configuration - both displays show the exact same thing. Both displays will be forced to have the same resolution. This is handy for laptops because your trackpad and keyboard as so close to your laptop screen that you can operate the laptop using that screen, and when watching videos you can leave the laptop on the desk, sit back and enjoy the show on the monitor.

3) Set it so that when you plug in the monitor, the laptop screen will be disabled and only the monitor will be used.

You can google instructions for your Laptop Model and Windows version to see how to set Mirror mode/Extended mode

markiemark2005

Thanks for the tips guys.

I can get it working when I use the fn + f8 keys. But, I want to run the monitor as the same as the laptop.

Does anybody know how to do this? I've tried googleing it but cant find out how to.

ricman

see here https://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/hwandprograms/monitors.mspx#3
or google setup multiple monitors plus your os,eg windows 7

bonzodog2

On my dell laptop (not a 1501) the Fn/F8 goes through 3 states, lcd only,external only, and both. Not necessarily in that order.

markiemark2005

I am using XP media centre, maybe thats my issue?