help me install my monitor sans cd

March 29, 2010 7:08 PM

I just bought this LG monitor, and after I got it home and unpacked it I realized it (of course!) came with an installation CD. Problem: I'm using it with my netbook, which doesn't have a CD drive.

The installation CD has the driver install file, which is what I need. I don't currently have another [working] computer I can use to get the files onto a USB drive. Is that my only option? It would be inconvenient, and I couldn't install the monitor tonight, but it's doable.

I looked on the LG website for the driver files, but I couldn't find my monitor (W2040),. The installation CD has other monitors listed as well, which might use the same drivers? - but I couldn't find them on the LG website either.

The installation CD says that it is for, written exactly as below:
W2040T/W2240T/
W2340T
W2040S/W2240S/
W2340S

A google search did not turn up any drivers.

Any suggestions for how I can install this monitor? Is there somewhere the drivers are online that I'm just not looking?

posted by insectosaurus to computers & internet (12 answers total)

It should work out of the box. Just plug it in.
posted by demiurge at 7:13 PM on March 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

While you get the driver thing worked out, you can probably just use it as a plug-and-play. What happens when you just plug it in to the netbook and start hitting Fn-F8 (well, it's usually Fn-F8 to toggle laptop displays--it might be something different on yours)?
posted by box at 7:14 PM on March 29, 2010

I never install monitor software, it's usually 99% junk if not 100%. You'll be fine; if you are missing any functionality you should be able to get drivers online from the manufacturer's website.
posted by Billegible at 7:16 PM on March 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

Missed the missing drivers bit- if you can't find any then its almost certain you don't need any.
posted by Billegible at 7:17 PM on March 29, 2010

If it's just a monitor, drivers are unnecessary. Only the graphics card in your computer needs drivers, and you already have those. Moreover, hardware companies usually make terrible software, so you're probably be better off without it.
posted by k. at 7:21 PM on March 29, 2010

You can usually download those files from the manufacturer web site.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 7:21 PM on March 29, 2010

1- Go here: http://in.lgservice.com/

2- Click the "Device Driver" icon.

3- Fill out the boxes like so:

Product: Monitor
OS: (leave this alone)
Subject: 40

4- The first result should be the W40 drivers ZIP file. Download that and extract it; the W2040 drivers are inside.
posted by aheckler at 7:21 PM on March 29, 2010

Actually, correction. You have to run another self-extracting ZIP after step 4 above.

Then after that (sigh) you have to run the actually driver installer.
posted by aheckler at 7:23 PM on March 29, 2010

It's a monitor. Plug it in, turn it on, and you're good to go. Unless you're doing something really special, and need special monitor profiles (think graphic designer/photograher) or it's a USB monitor or something, you just plug it in.
posted by Geckwoistmeinauto at 7:25 PM on March 29, 2010

Thanks all. I did actually plug it in earlier, but was getting a "no signal" message. I'm not quite sure if the driver fixed it or if I wasn't setting up the monitors correctly earlier; in either case, it's working now.
posted by insectosaurus at 7:35 PM on March 29, 2010

You know that there is likely a key combination that you need to use to activate the external monitor - usually the function (Fn) key plus on of the F keys.

If you plugged it in the first time with the computer turned on, it wouldn't necessarily have been sending a signal to the VGA port - if it was plugged in and you rebooted the second time, the laptop would recognize the monitor and send a signal.

(just a wild guess as to what happened)
posted by davey_darling at 7:46 PM on March 29, 2010

A lot of times you need to hit a key combo or something to send a signal to the VGA port on a laptop/netbook.
posted by delmoi at 2:26 AM on March 30, 2010