Changing Primary & Secondary Monitors

On Sat, 27 May 2006 22:05:01 -0700, Bill Hunt wrote:

> I have a laptop and a data projector; the data projector is set up as the
> primary monitor and the laptop as the secondary monitor. This was not what I
> need, but the configuration was done by a friend who did not record the steps
> taken to do the configuration.
> When I go into Control panel,Display in Windows XP then no matter what I do
> (I have exhausted all possibilities in the various dialogs, I believe, the
> 'Use as Primary Monitor' remains grayed out for both monitors, thus I am
> unable to switch the order. Dragging the icons makes no difference either.
> Is there anyone out there who can help?

Wow, this is hard when we don't know what the friend did or what tool they
used.

Most laptops have an additional display configuration tool that lets you
direct where display output will go. On system's I've used, I can right
click on a tray icon or anywhere on the desktop and access a flyout menu.
If available, you should see "laptop screen" (or similar wording) in the
list. Most menus on portables even include a very nice "Presentation" mode
that may be more suited to an overhead projection scenario.

If not seeing a right click menu or a tray icon, switch Control Panel to
Classic View. It will show all icons individually instead of in categories.
I find this makes it easier to locate "extra" control panel icons such as
the one I'm describing.

If you discover that no such tool exists or you still need to undo whatever
the friend did, try unchecking the box to extend the desktop in the regular
Display Properties screen. XP should revert to cloning the display to both
output devices.

If after disabling the extended desktop, the options don't return to
designate primary monitor - dig a bit deeper. Go into Settings> Advanced.
Look for a tab provided by the display driver. Often you'll find a dropdown
list for primary and secondary monitor in this location.

--
Sharon F
MS-MVP ~ Windows Shell/User