Multiple Monitor issues

**gollyath** · 03-04-2012

I have a Dell Inspiron 15r laptop connected to an external monitor. While installing windows 8, I had my external monitor as my default monitor. Now, in windows 8, the only monitor that I am able to use is my external monitor. The other is turned off. I have tried to extend the desktop through the settings, and it does it, because when I take a screenshot, It shows the background of my integrated monitor as if it was working fine. Its as if the monitor is simply turned off. Unplugging my external monitor does nothing, my integrated display remains off.
As far as I know, it is a driver problem with dell. I know that the monitor works, due to the fact that it reaches the BIOS screen at startup. I have attempted to install new drivers from dell, however, there are none on their website for windows 8 for my laptop. Any ideas?

**Trouble** · 03-04-2012

Hello and welcome to the forum.
There is very likely little to no actual driver support specific to Windows 8 available for hardware devices at this point and since your external monitor is or does seem to be working it is likely that there is a driver (maybe a generic Windows driver) installed. You may want to update that with something for Windows 7 or at least the latest version available from Dell for your Video card. A peek inside device manager should give you an idea as to what display adapter driver, version number and date you are currently using.
It may be that you will need to install a keyboard driver or software package from Dell that supports the use of your function key accompanied by one of your F Keys (the one that looks a little like a monitor maybe F2 or F4) in order to control which monitor is on at a particular time usually holding down the function key and tapping the appropriate Fkey will switch to one or the other or both.
Regards
Randy

**gollyath** · 03-04-2012

Hmmm... I have checked all of my drivers in device manager, and they all seem to be updated. My display driver is "Intel(R) HD Graphics Family (Microsoft Corporation - WDDM 1.2)"
Date:2/22/2012 Driver Version:9.17.10.2661
I also tried to roll back to the following driver, but it did not help.
Date:11/18/2011 Driver Version: 9.17.10.2584
My FN key works just fine, it has no problem extending or duplicating the display, however the main monitor remains off.

**DrWho** · 03-11-2012

The answer is comparatively easy. When Win-8 installs, it loads a generic (general purpose) video driver, that suits most monitors but not all. It does not load a video driver specific to your PC or your monitor.
Laptop monitors are pretty specific in their video drivers. A Win-7 driver may work, but there's no guarantee that it will.

Good Luck,

**Medicted60** · 03-11-2012

I would check with the laptop manufacturer and grab Win 7 drivers (same bitness as the OS) and install them and see what happens. Hey, cant's get any worse.

**Saltgrass** · 03-11-2012

Well, maybe another possible scenario. I was messing around and refreshing my install using the Windows 8 process. After the process was completed, I was receiving video corruption such as the task bar and its icons being displayed multiple times across the bottom of the screen. Using the snipping tool or the print screen would not show the corruption, but I could see it.

Like the OP, my video was being overlaid by another video source. The Desktop is there, but being masked by the overlay. Rebooting my system cleared the Video corruption and my was fine after that. So, possibly choosing another theme or going back to a Windows basic desktop or one of the other non-aero ones might help.

On my system, and I do show the same Intel graphics driver, I occasionally see an icon on the Taskbar that represents a clear window. Clicking on it makes it go away, but it does seem to be a fault of some kind.

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