New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

how do i get dual monitors on m9700??

post #1 of 13
6/12/08 at 11:26am
Thread Starter 
I just bought a Samsung SyncMaster 920NW monitor and I am trying to hook it up to my Alienware m9700 as a second monitor, but even when I fool around with the Display settings the screen remains blank... any hints?
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 13
6/12/08 at 11:37am
In XP you’ll want to click Start then Run and type desk.cpl and click Ok (same for Vista).

Go to the setting tab, with your external monitor attached you should see two monitors in the top pane.

Click the secondary monitor (its probably grayed out), then check “Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor”

After you apply your secondary monitor can be used, you’ll notice the mouse will move to/from both screens. you can move the monitors on the top pane so the desktop is properly extended.

Setup looks like this
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 13
6/12/08 at 11:42am
Thread Starter 
I tried that, but whenever I click apply, it just resets itself (Extend my Windows etc. unchecks and screen 2 goes back to where it was...)
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 13
6/12/08 at 11:54am
Thread Starter 
I saw someone else suggested using Driver Cleaner Pro... how do I use that? What do I clean?
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 13
6/12/08 at 12:10pm
nope, its your video card driver preventing it then... I know you're using Nvidia but each driver has a slightly different setup interface...

from the NVIDIA control panel, under display you should see something along the lines of "Set up multiple displays" from here its pretty self explanatory. your best bet will be DualView.

Also, have you connected the external monitor and then reboot? Give that a shot and try the first thing again

Also, to force the windows default to be effective you can connect the external monitor, hit reboot, then close the lid on the notebook before it comes back up. this should force it to use the external monitor but i bet you want extended desktop set up.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 13
6/12/08 at 4:23pm
If you have SLI enabled, you can't use multiple monitors on the m9700. Try disabling SLI, then following the procedures marker01 is listing.

If I remember right, you can use SLI with the laptop monitor, or an external monitor, but not both at the same time.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 13
6/12/08 at 4:43pm
Thread Starter 
Awesome! Got it working thanks both.

Anyway, people are saying that it increases the FPS using dual monitors.... how so? The game only runs on one of the monitors correct?
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 13
6/12/08 at 4:46pm
doh! It's been so long since i SLI'd on a notebook to totally forgot about that, good call HH.

I cannot think of any rhyme or reason someone thinks they get better FPS with dual monitors. You cannot have SLI enabled to use dual monitors. Maybe they meant they are getting better FPS on an external monitor then their notebooks monitor. Higher refresh rate can do this at times.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 13
6/12/08 at 5:49pm
Agreed, you must have SLi turned off.
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 13
6/13/08 at 12:56am
Maybe they meant you get better performance with dual core processors...?

The advantage of two monitors is you can have two things going at once full screen. For example, playing games on one while watching porn on the other.
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 13
6/13/08 at 1:19am
someone say pr0n?
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 13
6/13/08 at 2:43pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hammerhead View Post
Maybe they meant you get better performance with dual core processors...?

The advantage of two monitors is you can have two things going at once full screen. For example, playing games on one while watching porn on the other.
As enticing as that is.... I noticed that when I put a video on Full screen (Dave Matthews... just as good as porn) I cannot then move my mouse to the other screen.... is that normal?
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 13
6/13/08 at 2:56pm
Yes, it depends on the app.
try this, open another app (internet explore) then open the movie and put it in full screen. Alt+Tab to the IE browser and you should have full access to both screens.

only problem here is some full screen apps shutdown when you alt+tab. but Windows media player / media center is not one of them
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home