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09/07/2006
Setting Up Your Computer for Dual Monitors
Guy Graphics has been building computer for many years now and most our computers come equipped with a dual head video card. So the real question now is I have this dual head video card and two monitors now how do I set them up.
There are different kinds of connections (DVI, dual-link DVI, and VGA) and thus different monitors. I will explain these differences next week and what kind of video card you need for different monitors.
Today, I am going to help you set up dual monitors once you already have the right monitors for your video card. It’s best to plug in both monitors before powering on your computer. VGA monitors however can be connected after a computer is already on, but DVI monitors are not always recognize if you don’t plug it in before you turn on your computer.
So you have both monitors plugged in and it's time to set it up. You turn the computer on and you only get a signal on the primary monitor. The first thing to do is right click on your desktop and click properties (the display properties will open). Go to the settings tab and you will see 2 monitors - the 2nd monitor will be grayed out. If you click on it you will see the options change on the bottom. You will need to check the box for "extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor". This will turn on your 2nd monitor; you can then change the resolution and color quality to match the primary monitor.
If needed you can click and drag the 2nd monitor to either side of monitor 1 depending on how they are set up on your desk.
That's it you are now set up and running dual monitors. Depending on the brand of you video card you can go in and change the mode. You can set it up so the monitors are independent of each other. So the primary monitor has the start menu and bar. This also is usually preferred if your monitors are different sizes or not sitting right next to each other.
However you might want set it up in span mode. In this mode the start bar will extend onto both monitors. This is common when both monitors are right next to each other and with some older videos is required if you want overlay (video shown) on both monitors. I hope this helps - remember to check next week for my other blog for types of monitors and the video card connections you need.
Clayton Guy
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