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Dual Monitor Set-up

1K views 21 replies 4 participants last post by  managed 
#1 ·
Help, please! I've been trying to set up dual monitors for over a week and I am the most tech savvy person in my office, so I don't know where I'm going wrong or what I'm missing and have no one to turn to!

I have a vga and displayport output computer and 2 monitors that support vga and hdmi. I have a vga to vga cable and a displayport to hdmi cable. I also have a vga splitter and vga to hdmi cable. Surely the pieces and parts I need to make this work are in my hands. I've tried every combination and have ended up with zero results. I have checked my computer and it doesn't have a gpu, so I feel that the advice I've found is solid advice, but it just isn't working, so I'm obviously doing something wrong.

I have one monitor hooked up vga to vga and the second monitor hooked up displayport to hdmi, however when I try to turn the second monitor on, I receive the following error message: "No Signal, Please Check Input" and when I go to the display settings on my desktop, the detect button does nothing.

What am I missing? What am I doing wrong?
 
#2 ·
All computers have a GPU, or you would see anything :)

Can you confirm what computer you have and the serial number / service tag?

I am not sure why you would need a splitter. But as for the HDMI/DP cable, it may be possible that the cable is incorrect, as in it's unidirectional (HDMI to DVI and not DVI to HDMI)
 
#3 · (Edited by Moderator)
It's a refurbished ThinkCentre (?? I've never heard of it before, but it's what they had for me when I started at my current job)

All of the cables were either already here in a giant box of extra cables, or I purchased them because I thought I needed them. The splitter is currently back in the box, lol, but I just wasn't sure what I needed. The computer has a displayport output and the monitor has the hdmi input, so I got a cord that males into both the displayport and the hdmi port.
 
#4 ·
I removed the product key as that is for the Windows OS and not specifically the serial number. The serial number may be on the back of the machine. If you are able to see on one monitor, you can go to Command Prompt by typing CMD in the search menu (Or Start > Run if Windows 7) and press enter. Next, type wmic bios get serialnumber and press enter. It should show I think a 13 digit code. That will be the serial number I need.

As to the issue, can you confirm that the 2nd monitor can use the VGA to VGA cord?
 
#8 ·
Yes, the VGA cord works in both monitors. When I first got the second monitor, I found the splitter and was able to have the same screen on both monitors, but not the dual screens I am needing/looking for, so I unhooked the second monitor and did some research on the kind of cables I would need, and if the computer was even capable of supporting a dual monitor setup.
 
#10 ·
Hey, thank you for your help, I was able to restart everything and rollback my drivers and now I'm up and running.

I have run into another issue, however, and it's about to make me want to quit my job and never touch another computer again for as long as I live 😩

The problem I am having now is that my internet windows do not have a toolbar at all when they are on my second screen. I can't minimize, maximize, or close without right clicking the app on my taskbar. This isn't happening with any of my other programs or my email and I can't get my internet browsers back to my first screen because I don't have the toolbar up top to drag it over.

Please help me before I curl up in the empty office and cry until I die.
 
#11 ·
With the 2nd screen Internet browser active hold down Alt key and press Spacebar, then release Alt and press R key, that should restore the browser window to normal size and show the toolbar. If you need to resize that window use the mouse to drag the bottom right corner to the size you want.
 
#14 ·
1623356049691.png


This is what I get when I do that, and now I can't access the toolbar that is still visible, it's like a flat image.
Did you try the method in my previous post, using the keyboard ?

So in those screenshots the left hand half is on Monitor 1 and the right half on Monitor 2 ?
Looks like you are using Microsoft Edge as your Internet Browser, is that correct ?
Yes, but I restarted my computer and it hasn't happened again since, so fingers crossed this issue is solved as well. I've never felt like a bigger idiot when it comes to computers than I have this last week and a half, so frustrating. But I'm very thankful that this forum exists and there are so many people so ready and willing to help!

Thank you so much!!!
 
#12 ·
The first print screen shows both excel and word open, everything as it should be, functioning, I can min, max, close, move, everything per usual.

Photograph Rectangle Product Font Screenshot


This second print screen shows what my internet browser is looking like when I toggle over to it. The white blank space at the top is like the desktop. If I click in the white space too far to the right, it actually opens the short cuts I have saved to the top right of my screen.

Product Rectangle Font Screenshot Operating system
 
#13 ·
Did you try the method in my previous post, using the keyboard ?

So in those screenshots the left hand half is on Monitor 1 and the right half on Monitor 2 ?
Looks like you are using Microsoft Edge as your Internet Browser, is that correct ?
 
#15 ·
You can remove the Solved at the start of the thread's title if you like, until you're sure everything is ok.

We all had to start somewhere and there is always more to learn so don't feel bad, you did well. :)
 
#16 ·
Thank you for the compliment, I appreciate it. It's funny, I actually feel like I accomplished something big because at my last job there was a tech person who did it all for us and it took like 30 seconds, so I thought, "I've seen this done 50,000 times, I know what I need to do" and when it just wasn't working out for me, it shook my confidence. But I do appreciate everything I've learned, especially through this forum!
 
#20 ·
Lol, you're right Mark, I should have realised that myself.
Haha! You guys are too funny! I'm a file/probate clerk at a law firm and I'm the newest hire in 17 years, if that tells you anything 😂

We have an it guy, but he's not in house and he works for multiple other companies so it can be hard to get him in here unless it's an emergency with our server, so I would almost put money on it being a pay cut for me, since they pay him per service and not a salary or hourly rate.

I'll keep my "boring" position and just tackle these fun little projects to break up the monotony! I'm sure I'll need you all again, because these ladies and attorneys were blown away that I knew as much about Adobe as I did :ROFLMAO: so I'm sure they'll all come to me now that I successfully set up my dual monitors (which should have been a lot easier than it was, but they don't know that).

Thanks again, this seems like a wonderful community and I'm so very glad to have stumbled across you guys!
 
#21 ·
You are definitely welcome back any time! You're right about it being a wonderful community. Lots of good, knowledgeable people here!

Go forth and impress your coworkers. ;-)
 
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