Laptop monitor not detected
Second monitors offer an easy and convenient way to improve productivity or enhance your gaming experience. Not only that, but it also gives you a larger canvas that acts as an additional workspace for general multi-tasking. Show Connecting your second PC monitor is usually a plug-and-play process, but in some instances Windows 10 may not be able to detect the monitor. There are a few basic root causes of this problem, such as a damaged or malfunctioning cable, your PC lacks support for the second display, you have an outdated driver, or the display drivers cant handle the second display. If your second monitor is not detected, use this guide to troubleshoot and resolve problems with your monitor. Fix Second Monitor Is Not Detected in Windows 10You can start with the following basic troubleshooting tips. These may resolve your issue with the second monitor not detected before you need to dig deeper into other issues.
Restart Your PCRestarting your computer works effectively for many issues, including when your second monitor is not detected. A restart closes all other processes that are running and that may interfere with the connection between your PC and the second monitor. To restart your PC, click Start > Power > Restart. Force Windows 10 to Detect the Second PC MonitorIf there are no physical connection problems with your PC and second monitor, you can use the Settings app to force detection of the second display.
Connect a Wireless DisplayIf your physical connection (via cable) doesnt help Windows 10 detect the second monitor, try connecting a wireless display instead.
Confirm that the wireless display is on and discoverable. Select the display from the list, and then follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup. Check Your Display AdapterIf youre able to connect one external monitor, but the second monitor is not detected, its possible that your graphics card (also called a display adapter) cannot support multiple monitors at the same time. In this case, a display splitter wont help you extend your display to the second monitor either because it duplicates the same signal instead of creating two independent signals. If your PC only has a single video output port, it means you can only support one external monitor. To support multiple monitors, youll need a USB adapter for an extra video output port, or a docking station. Update, Reinstall, Or Roll Back The Graphics DriverA buggy, outdated, or corrupted graphics driver may be one of the main reasons why Windows 10 wont detect your second PC monitor. To resolve this issue, you can update, reinstall, or roll back the driver to a previous version to fix and restore the connection between your computer and the second monitor. How to Update a Graphics Driver
Windows Update will automatically download and install the update if it finds a newer driver. Check whether the second monitor is detected after updating the driver. Reinstall The Graphics Driver
During startup, Windows will try to automatically reinstall the graphics driver, after which you can try to connect to the second monitor again. Roll Back The Graphics DriverA driver update can stop Windows 10 from detecting your second monitor. If this happens, you can roll back the previous graphics driver to fix the issue.
If the roll back driver button is available, click Yes and then restart your computer. Manage Your DisplaysIf you used any of the fixes above, and Windows is now able to detect your second monitor, tell us about it in the comments section. For more on dual monitor setups, check out our guides on the best software programs to manage dual monitors, how to connect two or more computers to one monitor, and how to fix blank or black monitor problems. |