Many laptop owners use this portable device as their primary computer. But if you want to watch a video, it is much more comfortable to use a large screen, for example, a modern TV with a large diagonal. In order to output to an external display on a laptop, you need to have a suitable connecting cable and make a small change to the operating system settings.
It is necessary
connecting cable (HDMI or VGA)
Instructions
Step 1
Determine which laptop-to-screen signal cable you need. Depending on how new your equipment is, there may be different options for outputs on a laptop. The laptops of the last two years have used the HDMI interface. Flat TVs and many large monitors support this signal transmission method. You can easily recognize it by the HDMI label and a shape similar to a regular USB flash drive connector. The difference lies in the width of the cable slot and the number of contacts.
Step 2
If your laptop and external display have this interface, find a suitable cable. It is often found in a TV package. Or you can buy it at any computer and consumer electronics store. In the event that one of the devices does not have HDMI, it is worth checking out another popular connector - VGA. It looks like a blue pad with two rows of holes, sometimes there is room for clamping screws on the sides. Check again that not only the laptop, but also the display has the same interface. After that, purchase a VGA cable with male-to-male connectors, that is, pins on both ends.
Step 3
Connect your laptop to an external display. To do this, connect a VGA or HDMI cable to the sockets of your devices. This must be done with the power supply disconnected. This applies to both the laptop and the screen. After checking the reliability of the contact between the connector and the socket, you can turn on the equipment to the network.
Step 4
Set up secondary display on your laptop. Right-click on an empty spot on the desktop and select Properties for Windows XP. Then select the "Parameters" tab and you will see a menu for setting the image output. For Windows 7 or Vista, you need to click the "Start" button, open the "Control Panel" menu and go to the "Appearance and Personalization" link.
Step 5
Then click on the "Screen" menu, the sub-item "Screen settings" or "Connect to an external display". Activate the "Find" button if the system does not display a schematic representation of the second screen. After that, select the operating mode: duplicating the same image on both displays or working only with an external display.
Step 6
After selecting the mode, the message “Save the current display mode?” Appears. Confirm your decision and click OK to close the customization window.
