Why Can’t I Use My Second Monitor?
A client of mine came to me and asked, “I’d like to use my second monitor with my computer. Can we do that? I can’t get it to work.” My initial response was, “Of course you can. Let’s look at what you need for your model, and we will make it happen.”
My client told me that he had tried a few different things, all of which would have been the first steps I would have taken as well, but he was not able to get it to work. So naturally I was a little perplexed.
Not a big deal though. We come across strange computer issues all the time. So, I started to look up the computer model and quickly realized what the problem was. He had a pretty old computer, and his model’s graphic’s card did not support more than one monitor. It was an integrated GPU (graphics processor, meaning the normal CPU (computer processor) has a GPU built into it to save on space, cost, and power consumption.
Today’s integrated GPUs are getting pretty good, supporting 2-3 external monitors without causing too much of a drain on the CPU’s performance. However, early generation integrated GPUs like the one that my client had just couldn’t do it. Since the computer was as old as it was, my suggestion for them at the time was to upgrade to a new computer.
Newer Computer Options
What if I have a newer computer but can’t get another external monitor to work?
If this had been a newer computer, I would have started with the same step; confirm what the GPU is and what it supports. Sometimes GPUs don’t support a certain resolution monitor, so you might need to eliminate that as a possibility. However, let’s assume that the monitor is supported, but still not working with the computer. What do you do then??? (I’m going to assume that you have already restarted your computer since you’ve noticed the monitor will not work. If you haven’t please try that now before you go any further.)
1. Does the monitor work with anything else?
A step that gets skipped by many is to confirm if the monitor is working with any other computer or device. This will help you confirm that there isn’t anything wrong with the monitor, the monitor cables, or how you are trying to use it (correct input or other monitor setting issue). If the monitor works without issue on another computer, you will need to move on to the next step. If it doesn’t, then it may not be the computer at fault. The monitor, cables, or something else might need some help. Reach out to us and we can walk you through this.
If the monitor works as is with another computer, then we’ll need to proceed to the next step and troubleshoot what’s wrong.
2. Is the monitor cable inserted into the computer fully?
You would not believe how many times this is the problem. DP (DisplayPort) cables for example are prone to have this issue, and often on the monitor side of the cable. The cable may look like it is completely in but there will be a slightly larger than normal gap, small enough not to notice. Pulling the cable out and pushing it back in magically gets it in completely.
3. Is your computer up to date?
I know, I know, updates. Argh. What a pain in the… well, you know. But seriously, it could help. We want to get all the easy things out of the way first before wasting time on the hard stuff. Nothing worse than reinstalling a computer and realizing that the issue had just been a needed update or lose cable. *Fair Warning: If you haven’t done so already, this is the time to make sure you save any open files you have and close out of any extra programs you have open.
– Click the Start Menu or search field on the taskbar and type “check for updates” to find the “Check for updates” option in System settings. Click it once it appears.
– Now find and press the Check for updates button.
– If it finds some needed updates, install those. Restart if needed. Check to see if the monitor works after that. If it doesn’t work, we will now need to get into some more technical steps. If you’re not comfortable with the next steps, please feel free to reach out to us and we can help you.
4. Check and reinstall video drivers
Each piece of hardware you have in your computer needs a “driver” to allow it to correctly communicate with the actual computer itself. It makes sure that they are able to talk the same language and that the computer knows exactly what it can and cannot do. There are times that because of a Windows update, a device’s driver might no longer work correctly with the computer. Usually the manufacture of the hardware is able to know this ahead of time and are able to push out a update for the piece of hardware via Microsoft’s Windows Update platform, but many times not. If that is the case, you may need to manually go and find the correct driver for your hardware. In this case, your GPU. (I suggest doing this before moving on anyway, JUST to be on the safe side.)
– Click the Start Menu or search field on the taskbar and type “device manager” to find the “Device Manager” option under the Control panel. Click it once it appears.
– Look for the “Display adapters” section and open it with the arrow to the left. Here you should see your computer’s video driver for your GPU.
– Right click the GPU listed there and click the “Update driver” option.
– Click the option at the top to “Search automatically for drivers”
– Likely you will see that the computer believes that it has the best version available for this. Click the button below for “Search for updated drivers on Windows Update.” This is technically a repeat of step 3 above, however there is a chance it can find something new if another update was run that was blocking this one from happening.
– If it did find something, go ahead and test your monitor to see if it works now. If nothing was found, it’s time to go get the newest driver for your GPU from the manufactures’ website. Again, if you don’t know how to do this or are not comfortable with it, please reach out to us at Work From Home Pro and we can help you.
Once you’ve got the correct driver saved locally on your computer, we can go ahead and uninstall the old driver.
– Go back to the main Device Manager window and right click the GPU again, but this time click on the “Uninstall Device” option. Follow the steps given and then you will likely need to restart your computer. Note that due to the fact that your GPU driver is now uninstalled, your current monitor may look different. That’s ok. We will fix that shortly by reinstalling it.
– Once that is complete, Windows might decide to notice it has a better driver for your GPU and try to install it automatically. This is fine, let it happen if it wants to. If not, you will need to reopen Device Manager. Go back and open the Display adapters section again. Here you will likely see a generic Windows driver listed. The first thing you will want to do is follow the steps again were we tried “Update driver” by right clicking what you see under Display adapters. If Windows finds the driver, let it install it (another restart likely) and then check to see if the monitor works. If so, awesome. If not, keep going. Note: you may need to unplug and re-plug in your monitor at this point to get it to be seen.
– If Windows couldn’t find the driver, or it didn’t fix the issue with the monitor, go ahead and find the saved driver you got from your GPU’s manufacture website. Double click and run that installer. Again, you likely will need to do a restart here. Once complete, check the monitor again.
PRO TIP: If you are using a docking station, you may need to also need to go to the dock’s manufactures’ website and update the docking station’s driver. The steps are very similar to the above steps, but you’ll need to find your dock in the Device Manager instead.
5. Run System File Checker (SFC)
There is a chance that other files on our computer have somehow been corrupted and that is what is blocking the monitor from working with your computer. For this, we will need to us the Command Prompt to run a process that will kick this off.
– Click the Start Menu or search field on the taskbar and type “CMD” or “Command Prompt” to find the “Command Prompt” app option. This time, RIGHT CLICK it and choose the “Run as administrator” option. Click Yes to the next popup to run this and then the Command Prompt window will appear.
If you’re trying this on a company computer and are not able to run this as an administrator, you’ve officially reached the point where you will need to work with your company’s IT department to fix this issue.
– Here you will simply type the following, followed by hitting Enter on your keyboard: sfc /scannow
This will start the system can. It could take some time. Feel free to let this run in the background while you do something else.
After the process is complete, check to see if you had any errors. You may need to run the SFC command multiple times to fix them all. Then check again to see if this has resolved the monitor issue. Note: you may need to unplug and re-plug in your monitor at this point to get it to be seen.
6. Try logging into your computer as a different user
There is a chance that this could be a user account issue. If so, test to see if another user account works on your computer. You’ll need to sign out first. To do that, click on the Start Menu, then click on your user account name at the top of the list of options to the left, and the click the “Sign Out” option. Once you are out, sign back in with a different account.
7. Seek professional help
If you still can’t use the monitor, it’s time to get some help. Seriously, get some help… suffering in silence does not help anyone. Work From Home Pro is here for you and ready to help. You can reach out to us through our Contact Us page. We don’t bite, and we will calmly and professionally work through the problem with you, even better than you 15 year old nephew will. We can assist you remotely and do every step while you watch from the comfort of your home.
