Attack of the Clones

May 23, 2005 5:49 PM

Is there a way to force a (Windows XP) laptop with an Intel video chipset to always clone the display out the external monitor port? Or a utility (or shortcut) that can turn on cloning with a simple double-click?

We've bought a pair of new Windows XP laptops for lecturer use (Powerpoint, et al). If you turn on cloning it will remember it until the next time the laptop is started without the LCD projector connected. Then it won't clone again until to tunnel four layers down a menu system off a system tray icon, or run the control panel and click on the clone button. I either need to force the laptop to always clone, find a checkbox that says "yes, there's a monitor connected, I don't care if you can't see it", or at the very least put an icon on the desktop that the lecturers can just double-click on.

posted by krisjohn to computers & internet (7 comments total)

I believe on many laptops there's a special function key, usually in a different color (green, occasionally), labelled (surprisingly) Fn. If you look above either the F-keys, or the number keys, there are some cryptic symbols. One of those symbols looks like two boxes. If you hold down the appropriate F-key and the Fn key, it will toggle between LCD, LCD+External, and External.

Sometimes. YMMV.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 6:07 PM on May 23, 2005

Can anyone confirm that the Fn approach works, ever, under XP? It's never done anything on the XP laptops I've been required to support.
posted by krisjohn at 7:12 PM on May 23, 2005

I can confirm that the Fn Keys (Function) work on an HP Pavilion ze4560us. However, the support for this functionality will vary from different systems and different video graphics subsystems.

Civil_Disobedient says it all really.
posted by PROD_TPSL at 8:08 PM on May 23, 2005

Fn works on all the Dell laptops I own...
posted by wzcx at 8:08 PM on May 23, 2005

Thanks. I'd given up on those keys, but they seem to work great on the new Toshibas.
posted by krisjohn at 8:41 PM on May 23, 2005

Provided you stick to the OEM drivers. I foolishly snagged a tricksy ATI driver for my Tosh Satellite, and it immediately fubared my ability to Fn the display.
posted by five fresh fish at 10:11 PM on May 23, 2005

That would probably explain my problems with Fn on other XP laptops in a presentation environment. They were all student laptops they'd brought in for Powerpoint. No doubt they're using Detonator or Forceware drivers. (Says the guy using Intel 1st party drivers on his laptop that buggered up 1400x1050 on the external display.)
posted by krisjohn at 10:59 PM on May 23, 2005