How to Set Up Dual Monitors

Posted on March 3rd, 2009 by monsterguide

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Do you think your desktop space is insufficient for your PC activities? If you’ve got an extra monitor with you, you can set up dual monitors for your system, to increase your productivity. It’s easy to set up, and here’s how to do it.

What You’ll Need:

PC
A dual video card (can support dual monitors)
Two monitor cables, VGA or DVI

Procedure:

Check the back of your PC, and look for the video input. If there’s only one digital video input (DVI) or video graphics adapter (VGA), you’ll have to buy a video card that can support two inputs. You should know the bus type of your card first, though before you pick out any video card.

dual monitors

If you have bought a dual video card, switch off your PC, and open it. Get the old video card out, and replace it with the new one. Video cards usually snap in, so make sure yours does, to assure you that it fits properly. Your new video card must be snug and compact in your system.
Close the PC once the video card is installed. Then, attach both the cables to the monitors, one each. Switch on your PC and install the software that contains the drivers that your new video card has. If your video card is already able to support dual monitors, you can just skip this step, since the drivers are probably installed already.
Once the installation is done, restart your PC. One monitor will be active while the other is blank when you reboot, but don’t worry. It’s just because you haven’t changed the properties to extend the desktop into the other screen.
To activate your second screen, go to the desktop, and right-click. Select properties, then settings. A second monitor option will be listed. Open it, and an option to “extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor” will appear. Check the box next to it.
Restart your computer. Your dual monitors will then be set up when you reboot.

Dual monitors make your work or gaming experience more enjoyable, giving you a wider space to use. Just follow these tips, and soon, you’ll experience this convenience.