Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with laptop and monitor

Using netbook as external monitor for laptop

Charmian — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 03:57:12 -0800

Can I use a netbook as an external monitor for a laptop? If so, how? Would I need any special equipment for this, such as some kind of hardware or special software?

Pixels not included.

_dario — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 13:02:44 -0800

I'm at my wits' end trying to find a suitable LCD monitor to use as a secondary screen for an oldish Toshiba laptop. I have an laptop, a Toshiba Satellite A30 with an intel 82852-GM graphic chipset. I would like to buy an external monitor to use it (mainly) to watch movies. My size and price requirements direct me towards a 22" flat panel, so I looked into the market for those. Speakers are not a requirement since the audio output from the laptop is hooked to a hi-fi system, and the input port should be the classic VGA.

First disappointment: I saw an LG panel that looked great, (WG2234, apparently not marketed in the US) but - turns out - the laptop is not able to drive the panel with its native resolution (1680x1050). A little research on forums pointed out that there are many laptops with that same problem - apparently all those that have that graphics chipset which - besides Toshiba - was used by Dell, Acer and others.

A possible solution that was presented would be to download a developer kit from Intel and compile a custom driver for the resolution/frequency of that specific monitor. I don't want to do that, since success is apparently not guaranteed and I'd need the monitor anyway to make tests, etc., with a sizeable chance (I think) to damage it or void the warranty by feeding it the wrong res/freq values.

Browsing the list of resolutions the graphics card is capable of, turns out that no 16:10 resolutions are supported, while 16:9 resolutions as 1920 x 1080 are, so I turned my search into 16:9 screens, such as this Samsung 2233SN (apparently marketed as SW in the US), which looks good and has the right resolution.

Second disappointment: I had the monitor ordered from the store and took my laptop to check if everything matched, just to be sure. Despite numerous attempts by me and the guys at the store, there was no way to have the laptop and the monitor hook up correctly: even when the laptop resolution on the secondary desktop was 1920x1080, the monitor would have two black lateral bands, and all icons and such would be horizontally compressed, so in the end I had to leave it at the store.

My only hunch is that the 1920x1080 res. from the laptop is actually a lower resolution, which is then supposed to be stretched to a 16:9 factor by the display, but other than that, at this point I'm out of ideas. Can you suggest alternative models or - preferred - a way to have the (Samsung) monitor work as expected?

Laptop's Screen As a Second Monitor

Danniman — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 09:52:29 -0800

Is it possible to use my laptop's screen as a separate monitor? I have a Dell XPS M1530 with Windows Vista Home Premium and a custom built desktop PC with Windows XP and Linux ( Ubuntu).

I don't have enough room to put a monitor on my laptop desk so is it possible to use my laptop's screen as a monitor for the desktop PC as well? If possible, how?

VGA-output woes with old laptop connected to HDTV

kampken — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:11:22 -0800

I've connected a VGA-cable from my old Packard Bell Easynote (Windows XP) laptop to my Samsung HDTV but it doesn't display anything and the tv detects no input from the computer at all. I've tested the cable and tv with my Eee netbook and it works perfectly.

The PB laptop has a few hotkeys for switching screens but all they do is disable the laptop screen and nothing happens.
In Windows it only has 1 screen installed in Device Manager and Display Manager, which is the laptop LCD instead of having 2 screens like on my netbook and other computers. I suspect the problem is here.

I went to the Packard Bell website and got a list of all available drivers/utilities and reinstalled without any change. I think there is some sort of ACPI utility missing which would enable the hotkey function. However all the other hotkeys work just fine..so im not so sure. I no longer have any driver/restore cd's from the manufacturer so i can't reset the computer (cause i faintly remember it used to work back then)

I tried to install some Linux distros via LiveCD to see if the VGA-port would work there, but so far i've been unsuccessful since the cd-drive is malfunctioning and the BIOS is too old to boot from USB-drives. I've also checked the BIOS to see if the VGA-port is somehow disabled, but everything seems fine there.

So what are my options? I hope someone has a solution :)

Using laptop a sa second monitor, free software?

spacefire — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:26:44 -0800

Are there free alternatives to Maxivista software for using laptop as a second monitor? The laptop in question is an older model running Windows 98. So whatever software is suggested has to be able to support that OS.

Also, I plan to use the laptop/monitor for games too, mainly Microsoft Flight Simulator.

I can hook one more monitor up to my desktop computer, so if it were between paying $30 on maxivista or spending 30-50 on a monitor I would choose the latter.

How to hookup 2 external monitors to a laptop with one VGA port?

greenknightwatch — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 16:31:38 -0800

What's the best way to setup 2 external monitors on a laptop with just one VGA port ? I have two Acer AL2216W 22" LCD monitors (1680x1050) that I want to use to provide a dual screen display running off a Inspiron 6400 laptop.

The Inspiron 6400 has one VGA port and no DVI port. I have seen several USB to DVI or USB to VGA adapters which allow you to add an extra video output. Some of these units have external video cards in the cable. Some cables do not have an external video card.

Has anyone else tried this kind of setup with similar laptops, monitors? What equipment did you use to provide a second monitor output on your laptop?

Mail, stay! Stay! Bad dog!

explosion — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 07:02:38 -0800

How do I limit an application to one screen of a dual-screen setup in Mac OS X (Leopard)? A coworker recently switched from a desktop to a laptop at work, and I'm in charge of helping her work the kinks out and otherwise keep the migration as painless as possible.

She is using a Powerbook G4 connected to an Apple Display, and for all intents and purposes, she only uses the monitor at work. Normally, mirroring displays would solve the problem, but the laptop is a wide-screen computer, so mirrored displays leads to a letterbox effect on the computer.

The issue: Apple Mail seems to want to open new windows on the second (laptop) window, and we cannot figure out how to fix this behavior. Even if we drag the windows over, the next one opened will be back on the secondary monitor. As long as the external display is plugged into the laptop, the dock and menu bar are on the external display, so I am assuming OS X thinks of it as the primary display.

So I guess the crux of it is, how do I force applications to open new windows only in one display or the other?

Lets do the twist.

sandra_s — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:28:36 -0800

Help me achieve 3 monitors (2 external + 1 native) with my laptop, But there is a TWIST (literally). One of the external monitors must be rotated 90 degrees (to vertical).

For what I do, it makes my life SO much easier if one of my monitors is vertical. Right now I accomplish that with a Radeon dual monitor card in my desktop. Its software allows me to rotate either monitor.

I will be replacing my desktop with an HP Pavilion dv9700z notebook and the HP Docking Station. That will allow me 2 Monitors.

I have 2 Dell LCDs (a 19" and a 22" Widescreen) and would love to use both with my new laptop.

I can make 3 horizontal monitors by using a DualHead2Go converter box, but because of the way it works, that will only be able to give me 3 HORIZONTAL monitors (thanks to CC for that info)

Knowing that here are some questions:

1: Can I use my new laptop while simultaneously using my desktop to drive one or both of the external monitors?

2: Is there a device or software solution to accomplish what I need?

Thanks in advance!

P.S. I dont use my computers for gaming purposes.

bonus Question: If I cant have 2 external monitors, with one being rotated, Can I have my 1 external monitor and rotate it somehow?

i don't want to squint!

kidsleepy — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 06:05:47 -0800

Why did my external monitor lose confidence overnight? I hate wasting my MeFi question on technical stuff like this that probably is really simple to fix, but oh well. I'm frustrated enough.

My work computer is a Windows 2000 laptop. I have it set up to use an external monitor as the primary desktop, and the laptop display as the secondary desktop. Yesterday I came into work after leaving the computer in sleep mode over night (as I usually do during the week) and my external monitor would not wake up. Instead, it flashed the message "Input Check, H:Off V:Off." then went into "Power Save" and then shut off.

However, when I change the settings to use the laptop display as the primary monitor, my external monitor wakes right up and is functional as a secondary desktop. When I try to change the external back to primary, it goes back into "Power Save." For some reason it now only functions as secondary and not primary.

What did I do wrong and how do I fix it?

Vertical line on laptop monitor ... is this the beginning of the end?

momzilla — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 15:16:52 -0800

Vertical line on laptop monitor ... is this the beginning of the end? Today while I was working on my Dell Inspiron 9200 laptop, a vertical line appeared on the monitor. I rebooted the laptop, but the line, which looks like it is just one pixel wide, is still there. Is this a sign that my laptop monitor is about to bite the dust?

A new blue screen of death?

dpx.mfx — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 21:17:28 -0800

Tech help please. I've got a Toshiba Satellite laptop and sometimes the display stops working. The computer (an A105) is just over a year old. It's running Windows XP. As far as I can tell, its also running all the newest drivers.

Sometimes the screen turns completely blue. It's still getting power. The computer is still running - for instance, I can still hear the music from Itunes or the sound from a tv show running in Firefox. It doesn't seem to matter what programs are open, but generally I'm running firefox, Itunes, and gotomypc. Sometimes Word. This happens maybe once a week. Any ideas?

Making a laptop take VGA input, or a cheap, tiny display.

bsdfish — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 18:28:53 -0800

Making a laptop take VGA input, or finding a cheap, tiny display. I have a computer which I always connect to remotely. However, once in a blue moon, I need to physically hook up a monitor to it, usually for troubleshooting purposes. I am tired of disconnecting my primary monitor and hauling it to this 'server' whenever it refuses to boot due to something stupid.

So what I'm looking for is either:
A. A (hopefully USB) device that will allow me to turn a laptop into a monitor. Something like a USB video capture card which accepts VGA would be optimal. My laptop is a Macbook, so no PCMCIA slots.

B. A tiny (as in, several inches big) LCD monitor that I could keep next to the computer at all times.

Now cheap is the name of the game here -- I'd prefer to spend as little as possible on this, since quality isn't really important. If I can't find anything decent, I'll have to breakdown and get a KVM switch, which I'd like to avoid due to the need to run cables (my monitor isn't really close to this 'server'). I'm sure that people who run lots of servers must have easy ways of connecting a monitor to an arbitrary one. What should I do?

Quick fix iMac as monitor for another Apple.

Bengston — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 13:16:32 -0800

Is there any way that I can easily use my iMac Desktop (Current Intel Model) monitor as a second or primary monitor for my Powerbook using either the wireless network or a monitor adapter? Would using some sort of remote desktop allow me to utilize all the extra monitor space? I just want to use some software that I have on my 12" Powerbook on my friends much larger monitor that is unfortunately also attached to his iMac. Thanks.

hair in embarressing places

puffin — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 09:18:20 -0800

Hair inside laptop screen? For a few weeks now, it appears that a piece of hair is stuck inside of my laptop's monitor. Here's a picture. It was stationary until yesterday, when I flew home and brought my computer with me. Now it has shifted away from the end of the screen, and there is a new shorter piece about half an inch above it. Both pieces to be under the surface of the screen (so I can't just brush them off) but above the actual display -- the pixels look like they are under the hair. Is there anything I can do to get it out? The laptop is a ThinkPad T42 if that makes any difference.

How can I make a laptop display's VGA input work?

gregb1007 — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 08:01:28 -0800

What can I do to make a VGA input on an LCD monitor work? I have recently acquired someone's old 150mhz Presario 1600 (1997) laptop that has a VGA input at the back of its LCD display. I have a much newer 600mhz Presario 14XL20 whose display I threw away because it broke off from the computer.

I connected the newer laptop to the older one's VGA input, however hitting the "VGA input" button on the Presario 1600 gives me a blank screen instead of displaying the data from the other laptop.

There should be a way to make this work and I am hoping that you can give me some suggestions. A vga input in a laptop LCD display should be able to display the data from the computer connected to it. (Btw that same laptop without a diplaydoes display its data when I plug it in via the same VGA cable to my desktop PC's monitor.)

Laptop LCD to Desktop PC

blue_beetle — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 08:50:57 -0800

Laptop Screen adapter for desktop PC... I'm looking for a way to hookup a laptop screen from a broken laptop to a desktop computer. Does this exist? I've found some threads out on the web saying that it's possible, but not trivial. I have a 17" tru-brite screen from a Toshiba P30 laptop that i want to use as a second monitor. From my readings it looks like the signal format for laptop screens is neither Analog nor DVI related, but a conversion is possible. This could be a PCI card, or a cable adapter, or some sort of magic box that lets me plug in the tiny little plug from the screen. Hope me!

Damn you fancy LCD screen!!!

blahtsk — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 16:33:21 -0800

My laptop LCD "native" resolution is killing my eyes... I can't lower the resolution or everything gets all funky and fuzzy...

If I raise the DPI or use large fonts (Windows XP), it helps, but a lot of apps start looking weird. Being that I develop apps, I need to see what most users will see.

I have an external monitor I plug into sometimes that has a lower native res, but again I have to lower the laptop's res to get it to work with the monitor. Everything about the situation is kludgey.

I'm at a loss... any suggestions?
Thanks in advance.

Laptop Screen Problems

takeyourmedicine — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 15:45:37 -0800

Is there any hope for my laptop screen with an inch wide, and slightly opaque black line running down the right hand side? After closing my laptop screen a little too violently a one inch opaque bar gradually appeared towards the right side of the screen. It gradually got darker and has settled at the point of annoying (about 90% opaque-ness) meaning about two inches on the right hand side of the screen are useless (unless the top edge is squeezed - leading to about 50% opaque-ness.

The question is, is this repairable by myself and is it straight forward to have a new screen installed? I don't like having to resize all my windows to fit in - so would be prepared to fork out.

I've been quoted £250 - which seems ludicrous.

If this isn't possible, is it possible to resize the size of the screen on a laptop as it possible on traditional monitors so I don't have to keep resizing my windows - and can watch dvds without the black line?

The monitor is 17.4 inches (I think) and the laptop is 13 month old Acer 3500 so the rest of the hardware is all up to scratch. It is out of warranty. I am running Windows XP.

Display problems with a Sony Vaio PCG-C1VE

tomcosgrave — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 05:58:47 -0800

My girlfriend has acquired a second-hand Sony Vaio PCG-C1VE laptop. The OS is Windows XP. Her problem is that she can't get the display out of 640x480. She's looking for display drivers, specifically video drivers and monitor drivers if such things exist - she can't find them anywhere. Has anyone got any ideas?

Widescreen external monitor on laptop?

tabulem — Sun, 03 Sep 2006 21:36:12 -0800

Is it possible to drive a widescreen external monitor from a laptop? Is it possible to drive a widescreen external monitor from a laptop? I am concerned that the resolutions of widescreen monitors (e.g. 1680x1054) will not be supported by the graphics card in my laptop (which is an ATI Mobility Radeon 9000, in a Thinkpad T42).

On this page (at the bottom) I found a list of supported resolutions:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-57839

But is this list really just about refresh rate, will it actually support other resolutions that are not listed?

Thanks for your help...

My laptop screen wants to escape -- What do I do?

SuperNova — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 21:19:34 -0800

My laptop screen is separating from the rest of the computer! It looks like one of the two hinges is hanging on for dear life, and I'm concerned -- if it gets much worse, it will be detached on that side. Is there anything I can do? I'd planned to add some photos so you could see what I mean, but it's hard to get a good picture at close enough range to be useful. If it would help, I can always upload some kinda-blurry ones. Otherwise, just imagine a laptop monitor, slightly tilted, with one hinge popped out and just sort of sitting there.

I'm on a Toshiba Satellite A45, purchased almost exactly two years ago. I'm not a gentle person, but I've never had any problems and the laptop hasn't had any recent trauma I know about. I always close the cover when I go to bed, and usually during the day while I'm at work, if it matters.

Any idea what caused this or if it can be fixed? My laptop is my only computer and I really can't afford to replace it right now. Any thoughts on my next move would be greatly appreciated.

How do I get my laptop to work my monitor at > 60 hz?

callmejay — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 05:26:53 -0800

How do I get my external monitor to refresh faster than 60 hertz? I have a Dell notebook (D600 or D800, I don't remember) with a docking station and an external monitor. When connected to my desktop, the monitor displays 85 hertz no problem, but when connected to the notebook, I don't have any choices except 60 hertz.

Save my eyes!