Two Screens Are Better Than One

The simplest way to sell this notion: Ask your clients how they work on a single screen. Assuming they switch among multiple applications, a dual-screen setup can help. For example, they could be looking at a Web browser open to some kind of technical information site on one screen while working on a Word document or spreadsheet on the other.

Dual-screen setups are relatively easy to implement, in part because the latest Windows versions recognize multiple monitors. That makes it easy to spread out across multiple screens. What's more, modern graphics cards on desktop PCs typically include a standard VGA port and a digital video port—usually a DVI-I port, which can output either digital or analog video signals. Because you can also drive one display from each of these two ports, adding a second monitor involves no extra outlays beyond the cost of the second display device.

Many notebook PCs also offer external video ports, and they will happily keep their built-in screens going while also driving a second, external screen. Also, notebooks that support docking stations or external port blocks often sport VGA and DVI-I connectors—for example, both Lenovo and Dell offer this option—and will even permit your notebook to drive two external monitors when docked.

When selecting a pair of displays, keep in mind that displays of the same size, if not exactly the same make and model, work best. This relates to your ability to position both displays right next to each other. It also relates to your ability to set the displays at the same height and viewing angle, to create something like a single visual field. So when you select displays for dual-viewing configurations, factor in the width of the display frame around the outside of the LCD itself. The narrower the frame, the easier it will be for your clients' eyes to adjust when jumping the gap between the two displays.

But even if you match the two monitors as closely as possible, you'll observe that driving a pair of identical LCD monitors—one with digital, the other with analog signals—will produce a slight but noticeable difference in color balance. You may also see a difference in relative sharpness, because digital signals unquestionably work better on digital LCDs than do analog ones. A little judicious tweaking of your displays can correct this to some extent. (For more, see my recent Recipe, Making the Switch from CRT to LCD Displays.)

Ingredients

To add a second monitor to a desktop PC or notebook docking station, or an external monitor to supplement the built in display on a standalone notebook, you'll need the following three components:

• Any Windows PC running Windows 2000 or later desktop or server version of that OS. (It seldom makes sense to do this on a server machine, but modern Windows operating systems will happily support it.)
• A second display, with a video cable that matches whatever graphical output is not currently in use on your graphics card (or video port on a notebook or notebook dock). This typically means either a standard VGA or DVI-I cable, both of which you should get with any new LCD display. Or, you can purchase a new cable at an electronics retail store for less than $20.
• If the PC or notebook to which you intend to add the new display doesn't already have the necessary driver installed—as will be the case if you're adding an identical display—find the driver CD that's included with the display, so you can install the driver yourself. Or visit the display vendor's Web site to download the driver to some known location on your hard drive. I keep my display drivers in D:\downloads\drivers\display to make them easy to find. I also rename the drivers to include the vendor name, make and model; this makes them easy to identify later.

Eight Steps to Adding a Second Display

Let's get started. Unless you encounter hardware problems or driver difficulties during the installation and set-up of the second display, the entire process should take only five minutes.

• Unpack the display from its carton, and inspect the graphics card or video ports on your notebook or dock to determine what kind of cable you'll need. (Hint: Match the cable to whichever graphics connector type is currently unused.) A standard VGA connector is a 15-pin D connector with three rows of pins, usually colored blue. A DVI-I connector is roughly rectangular in shape; it features two rows of two pins separated by a small metal blade to one side, and three rows of eight pins to the other side. If you have only an extra VGA cable and need a DVI cable, look in the monitor packaging for an adapter that has a VGA female on one side and a DVI-I male on the other. This will let you use one type of cable with the other type of connection, if you must.
• Shut down the Windows desktop or notebook PC to which you want to attach the second monitor. Start >Turn Off Computer >Shut Down will do the trick nicely. If it's not turned on, leave it turned off.
• With video cable and a power cable in hand, position the new monitor next to the old one (or next to the standalone notebook PC). Next, hook up the video cable to the monitor on one end and your PC's graphics card, or your notebook's (or dock's) video port, on the other end. Now hook up the power cable to the monitor, and turn the monitor on. The power switch or indicator LED should light up in orange, to indicate that the device is powered up, but that there is no PC connection active. This is just as it should be.
• Power up the desktop or notebook PC, allow Windows to boot, and turn on the first (primary) monitor. The indicator light on the first monitor will change from orange to green as the PC boots up and recognizes its normal monitor. When Windows boots up, it will recognize most LCD monitors—probably including the second one you just added—and will report that it has discovered new hardware during device enumeration. This is good news.
• When Windows finishes booting, right-click the mouse with the cursor positioned anywhere on the desktop on your primary monitor that's not occupied by an icon, active window, or toolbar—in other words, on the background. A pop-up menu like the one shown below will appear. Click the Properties menu entry, as shown:
• The Display Properties Control Panel program appears in response. Click the Settings tab to produce the window shown below, where your newly added display appears as a cross-hatched box labeled with the number 2 (for second monitor):
• In most cases, you need only click the checkbox at the lower left that reads "Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor" to put it to work on your desktop. Be sure to also drag the monitor so that it's positioned properly with respect to the primary monitor; that is, to the right or left of number 1, depending on where it's placed. The screenshot below shows monitor two, now that it's been enabled for display with the proper checkbox checked:
• Click the Apply button to make sure your changes take effect. Then close the Display Properties window. You should be able to move your mouse cursor from your primary window to the new monitor by moving the mouse in the direction of the new screen. If this works, you'll be able to drag windows over to that screen as you see fit, taking advantage of the new "double-wide" desktop workspace. You're done!
• Troubleshooting
• If, for some reason, the monitor power LED fails to switch from orange to green when you extend the Windows desktop to the device, you may have either driver difficulties, or your graphics card may be unable to drive two devices.
• The first repair maneuver is to try adding a driver for your new display. Return to the Setting tab in the Display Properties window. Highlight your number 2 display device, which is probably still grayed-out. Then click the Advanced button to the lower right, as shown in the screenshots above. This will open a properties window for the monitor. There you can select the Monitor tab to try loading the right driver explicitly.
• If that still doesn't work, you'll need to research the graphics adapter on your PC. Click the Adapter tab on the same properties window you just looked at, which will identify the graphics card or chipset (notebooks only) at your disposal. Visit the vendor's Web site to see if your graphics card or chipset doesn't support two monitors for some reason. If it does support two monitors, you can contact the system or graphics card/chipset vendor and ask Tech Support to help you bring up the second monitor. If it doesn't, you'll need a new graphics card. But you shouldn't anticipate that happening unless you're working with a PC or notebook that's more than five or six years old. What better impetus to get a client to upgrade their old systems than doubling up on display space?
• It's hard to overstate the value of two monitors. I recommend that you try this configuration out for yourself. But be careful: Once you do, you'll never want to go back to only one monitor. My advice: Start by budgeting a second monitor for yourself!
• ED TITTEL is a writer and trainer in Austin, Texas, who specializes in Windows topics and tools, especially networking and security.