Cannot Extend - Windows 7

I have a Dell lt with Windows 7 Enterprise 64-bit and a Samsung Syncmaster monitor. In the display settings, when I select the option to extend the displays, the lt shows the windows screen and the Samsung goes blank. Duplicating works but isn’t very useful.

Please advise. Thanks!

Hi Katie,

Thanks for posting! When duplicate works, it’s usually a sign that everything’s fine, it’s just a matter of getting accustomed to how Windows handles multiple monitors. But if’s a problem, it should be solvable.

We’ll start with trying to confirm a few things.

When you switch to extend mode, and try to move the mouse (or drag a window) off your main screen onto the blank monitor, can you make the mouse go off the edge of your main monitor? Does it appear on the USB attached screen?

Thanks!
Bernie

I actually cannot even see my open applications on either monitor when I switch to extend. My laptop goes to a windows screen & the separate monitor goes blank. I have to ESC out of it to end the “extend”.

Hi Katie - Thanks for your quick reply. Something definitely is off, let’s figure it out.

When you say the laptop goes to a windows screen - is that the default Windows desktop background on an otherwise black screen? with no taskbar on the bottom? Like this pic (but perhaps with a black border)?

!](https://sslproxy.getsatisfaction.com/sslproxy/SWhAdDNLMG5zdGFuVGlWenmLbJDGd3CABhjZermgcystANA4T6nd0pzV0fSzBRRGOd17A4b8ZLwi6-HESbXI0tllsx0hLVBAAP5XAOphG8QX2BUzUxkzusVMi6DAplaYd0CzRp1c7_U07xIvJBk-ddqceD0kOcb4c52yF0n1sinvo-Ourk2X1_bZvkRp72LM.jpg)](http://s3.amazonaws.com/satisfaction-production/s3_images/555112/change-desktop-background-windows-7-starter-300x187.jpg)

Or is the “windows screen” you’re seeing different? Can you describe a little more?

Also, totally separate question: Are you using a VGA, DVI, or HDMI connection to the monitor? If it’s VGA, next thing we’ll ask is to check if your monitor has an auto-adjust button (which many VGA monitors do), and to hit that button on the monitor, when you’ve gone into extend and the monitor is black.

We’re thinking that a mode is being set on the monitor that it’s not handling (thus going black), but these questions will help us figure out what the cause is, and how to fix.

Thanks for your patience!
Bernie

Hi Bernie,

The image you sent is the “windows screen” I see on my laptop. The monitor connection is a DVI.

Thanks,
Katie

Hi Katie,

Great - That makes sense. It means Windows is treating the external screen as the main monitor (but for some reason it’s blank).

If you move the mouse off way off to the left, then way off to the right, you’ll find that the pointer should move onto the laptop screen at some point.

And if you switch back to duplicate (easiest way is to hit the “Windows-P” combination and then select “duplicate”)

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and then open Windows’ Screen Resolution control panel

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And select your laptop screen (by name) and check the box to “Make this my main display” and then choose to extend the displays, and choose apply, you should get your taskbar and other items on the laptop screen.

But it doesn’t answer why the external screen is blank yet. Can you connect your monitor directly to the laptop (not through our adapter), and is it blank in that case too?

If possible, since you have just one external monitor, we’d recommend getting everything running first without the USB adapter (using the laptop’s built-in graphics connector, if it has one), then add the USB adapter back into the mix.

Thanks for letting us know!
Bernie

Thanks Bernie,

This is getting uglier.

“If you move the mouse off way off to the left, then way off to the right, you’ll find that the pointer should move onto the laptop screen at some point.” – Yep, this works.

"…select your laptop screen (by name) and check the box to “Make this my main display” and then choose to extend the displays, and choose apply, you should get your taskbar and other items on the laptop screen. " – This option is grayed out, see first image. The second image shows that the main display is the dup’d display?!

!](https://sslproxy.getsatisfaction.com/sslproxy/SWhAdDNLMG5zdGFuVGlWenmLbJDGd3CABhjZermgcystANA4T6nd0pzV0fSzBRRGOd17A4b8ZLwi6-HESbXI0qYjx2YeUlvz2epOL9sLa8uOeItmlnGVpr5fJUXleIaLgb2eJNOTAk_6WXyyXpbVqA==.png)](http://s3.amazonaws.com/satisfaction-production/s3_images/558636/MonitorError01.png)

!](https://sslproxy.getsatisfaction.com/sslproxy/SWhAdDNLMG5zdGFuVGlWenmLbJDGd3CABhjZermgcystANA4T6nd0pzV0fSzBRRGOd17A4b8ZLwi6-HESbXI0hVQV6cHkDjqhdYyGWurgsmaQBCdFJNFGMtaehLa3_Q4q9ooFHVfkW_F-BdzWIA10Q==.png)](http://s3.amazonaws.com/satisfaction-production/s3_images/558638/MonitorError02.png)

“Can you connect your monitor directly to the laptop (not through our adapter), and is it blank in that case too?” – My lt does not have a large enough port for the DVI connector.

Hi Katie - The control panel is making things a little difficult! (making you put it in extend, before choosing a different main display).

So let’s tackle this from two completely different directions.

Here’s a little crazy instructions on how to get extend working with one monitor blank and potentially hiding some of your windows:

  1. First, hit the Windows-P key combination and choose “Extend”
  2. Move your mouse onto the laptop screen, right click on the desktop and choose “Screen resolution” to open up that control panel
  3. if you can’t see the Screen Resolution control panel, we just need to move it onto the visible (laptop) monitor. You can do that by holding down the “windows” key on your keyboard, then in combination hit the right arrow key a bunch of times, and then the left arrow key a bunch of times, until you see the control panel show up on your laptop screen (the windows-arrow keys move the windows left and right across your monitors).
  4. Click the checkbox to change your primary monitor, and Apply.

Your laptop screen should have everything and be working now. Now, if the USB screen is still blank, we want to generate DisplayLink logs to figure out why that might be. Here’s how: http://plugable.com/support/displayli… Just email the .zip file it places on your desktop to support@plugable.com

Let us know if this is too complex or any trouble - thanks thanks for emailing that support file. For a monitor to work in duplicate but not extend, this is likely something small and simple - we just have to figure out what it is!

Thanks for your patience!
Bernie