Dual Monitors
By M. David Stone When I use my Windows 98 laptop at home, I usually plug in an external monitor and keyboard and leave the laptop sitting to the side of the monitor. I've heard you can use an external monitor and a laptop's LCD together to yield a much larger desktop. I know this is possible with desktop systems using two video cards, though I don't know how to do it. Is it possible to do this with a laptop? If so, how do I tell the computer to use two monitors? Sam Stinnett Using two monitors is a lot easier than you might expect. It's actually easier with a laptop than with a desktop system. Since most laptops already have two video adapters%u2014one for the built-in LCD and one for an external monitor%u2014you don't even have to add a card. Your general procedure is probably to plug the external monitor into the laptop's output connector or docking station, then use the laptop's built-in feature for cycling between showing images on the LCD or the external monitor or both. Taking advantage of both monitors at once takes no more work. Plug in the external monitor, right-click anywhere on your Desktop, and choose Properties to open the Display Properties dialog box. Then choose the Settings tab. If your laptop can handle two monitors, you'll see both represented in the dialog box. If you right-click on each one, you'll see a menu that includes the choice Enabled. One of them will not be checked. Click on Enabled to enable the monitor. (You may see a dialog box with a warning that some programs do not support more than one monitor. Read the details, so you'll recognize the problem if you see it, then choose OK to close the dialog box.) With that monitor still selected, make sure there's a check in the box labeled Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor. Choose Apply, and your desktop will take advantage of the additional screen real estate. It's that simple.
Dual Monitors