Stupid monitor tricks? [modified]
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As some of you know, the monitor on my laptop is AFU. Like most laptops, it has a VGA port for a second monitor. However, you have to go to your properties (i.e. right click desktop / properties, etc.) to extend Windows onto it. Since the primary display is toast, I can't see to do this on the laptop. Logged onto the machine from a desktop via Remote Desktop, but of course you can't access the laptop native display stuff from a RD session. Anyone know of the registry settings or other such hacks that I can use to force the Windows desktop onto the secondary monitor? Bonus points if you know how to also make it the primary display. In case you're wondering, I'm planning on yanking the monitor out, plugging in a touch screen monitor to the cpu / keyboard section, and mounting both in a wall for a quick & dirty touch screen wall interface. May as well get some use out of it, eh?
Christopher Duncan
www.PracticalUSA.com
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes
Copywriting Servicesmodified on Friday, March 19, 2010 4:21 PM
Close the lid to see if it'll automatically display on the external monitor. If so, plug in a keyboard and mouse and continue on as normal.
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:doh: :)
WE ARE DYSLEXIC OF BORG. Refutance is systile. Your a$$ will be laminated. There are 10 kinds of people in the world: People who know binary and people who don't.
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I completely agree, I should be able to do that! Unfortunatlely, the properties dialog box opens on the primary monitor. Even were it otherwise, I recall from when it was working that the UI would not allow the reversal, or the use of the external as the primary, which I always thought was cheesy. I dunno, maybe it worked properly when it had Vista and the Acer crapware installed. I'm getting a vision of a rather high tech doorstop...
Christopher Duncan
www.PracticalUSA.com
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes
Copywriting ServicesI haven't done this in a while, but I recall that Windows can maintain several hardware profiles. I believe that you can select one as the default, as well. Check the System applet in Control Panel, pick the current profile, and disable the primary display. IIRC, it should then select the second display as default on startup. You may have to disable the first display in Device Manager first, then save that configuration as a new profile. As I said, it's been a long time... I'd test it myself, but have only one monitor for two computers. :sigh:
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
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I haven't done this in a while, but I recall that Windows can maintain several hardware profiles. I believe that you can select one as the default, as well. Check the System applet in Control Panel, pick the current profile, and disable the primary display. IIRC, it should then select the second display as default on startup. You may have to disable the first display in Device Manager first, then save that configuration as a new profile. As I said, it's been a long time... I'd test it myself, but have only one monitor for two computers. :sigh:
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
Roger Wright wrote:
two computers
Yes, how very sad that you only have two computers. ;P
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Roger Wright wrote:
two computers
Yes, how very sad that you only have two computers. ;P
Tragic, isn't it? One old server I built from scrounged parts about 4 years ago, and one used Dell I picked up for $200. The server has a fan that sounds like the inside of a commercial walk-in beer fridge, and the client has a nearly full 40 GB drive with no slots for another. Maybe I should bolt the cases together and call it a dual-core PC.
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
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I completely agree, I should be able to do that! Unfortunatlely, the properties dialog box opens on the primary monitor. Even were it otherwise, I recall from when it was working that the UI would not allow the reversal, or the use of the external as the primary, which I always thought was cheesy. I dunno, maybe it worked properly when it had Vista and the Acer crapware installed. I'm getting a vision of a rather high tech doorstop...
Christopher Duncan
www.PracticalUSA.com
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes
Copywriting ServicesChristopher Duncan wrote:
Unfortunatlely, the properties dialog box opens on the primary monitor
Then move it over. Alt+Space, M, then move the window with the arrow keys. Actually once you've starting moving it using any arrow key, the window will follow the mouse until you click (or press Enter). I often have to use this trick to get at programs that remembered their last location (on my secondary monitor) but fail to check that the second monitor isn't connected at the moment.
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As some of you know, the monitor on my laptop is AFU. Like most laptops, it has a VGA port for a second monitor. However, you have to go to your properties (i.e. right click desktop / properties, etc.) to extend Windows onto it. Since the primary display is toast, I can't see to do this on the laptop. Logged onto the machine from a desktop via Remote Desktop, but of course you can't access the laptop native display stuff from a RD session. Anyone know of the registry settings or other such hacks that I can use to force the Windows desktop onto the secondary monitor? Bonus points if you know how to also make it the primary display. In case you're wondering, I'm planning on yanking the monitor out, plugging in a touch screen monitor to the cpu / keyboard section, and mounting both in a wall for a quick & dirty touch screen wall interface. May as well get some use out of it, eh?
Christopher Duncan
www.PracticalUSA.com
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes
Copywriting Servicesmodified on Friday, March 19, 2010 4:21 PM
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As some of you know, the monitor on my laptop is AFU. Like most laptops, it has a VGA port for a second monitor. However, you have to go to your properties (i.e. right click desktop / properties, etc.) to extend Windows onto it. Since the primary display is toast, I can't see to do this on the laptop. Logged onto the machine from a desktop via Remote Desktop, but of course you can't access the laptop native display stuff from a RD session. Anyone know of the registry settings or other such hacks that I can use to force the Windows desktop onto the secondary monitor? Bonus points if you know how to also make it the primary display. In case you're wondering, I'm planning on yanking the monitor out, plugging in a touch screen monitor to the cpu / keyboard section, and mounting both in a wall for a quick & dirty touch screen wall interface. May as well get some use out of it, eh?
Christopher Duncan
www.PracticalUSA.com
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes
Copywriting Servicesmodified on Friday, March 19, 2010 4:21 PM
All laptops I've ever seen have a function somewhere on the keyboard to switch to an external display. Sometimes these are multi-state, so wait a few seconds to see if the monitor comes alive before giving up. That saved my butt once when my laptop's LCD bit the dust. Another thing you might try, if you haven't already, is plug the monitor in before turning on the laptop, as often, it'll recognize an external monitor and simply use that as the primary display. Marc
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I think my laptop does that. Based on the images on the keys, looks like Function+F5. Look at your keys... see what story they tell (any show multiple monitors or anything like that?).
aspdotnetdev wrote:
...looks like Function+F5.
This is the key combination for my Toshiba laptop. Click the F5 key 1-4 times to cycle through the different combinations, one of which is to make the secondary monitor the primary display.
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