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This article was co-authored by Luigi Oppido. Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years.
The wikiHow Tech Team also followed the article's instructions and verified that they work.
This article has been viewed 903,695 times.
This wikiHow teaches you how to connect a Windows or Mac laptop computer to an external monitor. Since most modern laptops will determine the best way to connect once you've plugged them into a monitor, the bulk of this process comes down to selecting the correct cable to bridge the gap between your laptop and your monitor.
Steps
Method 1Method 1 of 5:Connecting the Monitor
1Determine your laptop's video output options. Most laptops have a single display connection along the back, though some may be located along the side. There are a few main types of connections that your laptop may have:
- Windows:
- HDMI - This port resembles a 3/4 inch, six-sided, tapered port found on most Windows laptops.
- DisplayPort - Similar to HDMI, but one corner of the port is crimped while the other forms a 90-degree angle.
- VGA or DVI - VGA ports are colored with 15 holes, while DVI ports are usually black or white with 24 holes and a gap on one side. These ports are only found on older computers.
- Mac:
- Thunderbolt 3 [also called USB-C] - An oval port found on the sides of most modern MacBooks.
- HDMI - A six-sided, tapered port found on some MacBooks.
- Mini DisplayPort - A six-sided port found on Macs manufactured between 2008 and 2016.
2Determine what your monitor's video input is. Simple computer monitors usually only have one available input, while TV monitors have multiple inputs. You can expect to find HDMI or DisplayPort inputs on the backs of most monitors. Older computer monitors may use a VGA or DVI cable connection.
3Connect the cable to the video output on your laptop. Match the connector on the video cable end to the shape of the video output port on your laptop and insert the cable.
4Connect the other end of the cable to your monitor. Match the shape of the other end of the video connection cable with the port on the TV and insert it.
- If the monitor requires a different type of connection than is on your laptop, you'll need an adapter cable to connect to your monitor. Some adapters only serve as a bridge between two cable types. For example a VGA-to-HDMI adapter will allow you to connect a VGA cable on one end, and an HDMI cable on the other. Common adapter cables include the following:
- HDMI-to-DisplayPort.
- DisplayPort [or Mini DisplayPort]-to-HDMI.
- Mini DisplayPort-to-DisplayPort.
- USB-C-to-HDMI [or DisplayPort].
- VGA-to-HDMI.
- DVI-to-HDMI.
5Plug in and turn on the monitor. Attach your monitor to a power source [e.g., an electrical outlet], then press the monitor's Power
button.
- If you had to buy an adapter [not an adapter cable], you may also have to plug the adapter's power cable into a power source.
6Select the video source on the monitor. If you are using a monitor or TV that has multiple inputs, you will need to select the port you connected your laptop to on the monitor. To select the video source, press the button that says "Input", "Source". or "Video Select" or something similar on the monitor or remote.
7Wait for your laptop's screen to appear on the monitor. Once you see your laptop's desktop and icons [or some variation thereof] appear on the monitor's screen, you can proceed with setting up your laptop's display settings.
- If you're hooking up a VGA connection, which is a blue connection and has 3 rows of holes, you will likely need to switch displays. You can do this by pressing a function key on your keyboard.[1] X Expert Source
Luigi Oppido
Computer & Tech Specialist Expert Interview. 31 July 2019. Go to source
- If your desktop does not appear on the monitor, see Method 2 to detect a display using Windows, and Method 3 to detect a display using Mac.
Method 2Method 2 of 5:Detecting a Display in Windows
1Click the Windows Start menu
. It's the button that has a Windows logo in the taskbar. By default, it is usually in the lower-left corner of the screen. This displays the Start menu.
2Click the Settings icon
. It has an icon that resembles a gear. It's on the left side of the Windows Start menu. This opens Windows Settings.
3Click System. It's the first option in the Windows Settings menu. It's next to an icon that resembles a laptop computer.
4Click Display. It's the first option in the sidebar menu to the left. This opens the Display menu.
5Scroll down and click Detect. It's the grey button below "Multiple Displays" at the bottom of the screen. This makes Windows detect your displays.
Method 3Method 3 of 5:Detecting a Display in MacOS
1Click the Apple icon
. It's the icon with the Apple logo in the upper-left corner of the menu bar. This displays the Apple menu as a drop-down.
2Click System Preferences. It's the second option in the Apple menu drop-down. This opens the System Preferences window.
3Click Displays. It has an icon that resembles a computer monitor. This opens the Displays window.
4Press and hold Options. When you press "Options", a button that says "Detect Displays" appears in the Displays window.
5Click Detect Displays. It's in the lower-right corner of the Displays window when you press the "Options" key. This makes MacOS detect your displays.
Method 4Method 4 of 5:Adjusting Display Settings on Windows
1Open Start
. Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen. The Start menu will open.
2Open Settings
. Click the gear-shaped icon in the lower-left side of the menu.[2] X Expert Source
Luigi Oppido
Computer & Tech Specialist Expert Interview. 20 August 2019. Go to source
3Click System. It's a computer-shaped icon in the Settings window.
4Click the Display tab. This option is on the left side of the Display window.
5Scroll down to the "Multiple displays" section. It's near the bottom of the page.
6Click the "Multiple displays" drop-down box. Doing so prompts a drop-down menu.
7Select a display option. Click one of the following options in the drop-down menu:
- Duplicate these displays - Show an exact replica of your laptop's screen contents on the monitor.
- Extend these displays - Use the monitor as a continuation of your desktop space. With this enabled, pushing your laptop mouse to the far-right side of the screen will cause it to disappear from your laptop and appear on your monitor.
- Show only on 1 - Only show your laptop's contents on your laptop. This turns off the monitor screen.
- Show only on 2 - Only show your laptop's contents on the monitor. This turns off the laptop screen.
Method 5Method 5 of 5:Adjusting Display Settings on Mac
1Open the Apple menu
. Click the Apple logo in the top-left corner of the screen. A drop-down menu will appear.
2Click System Preferences. It's near the top of the drop-down menu. Doing so opens the System Preferences window.[3] X Expert Source
Luigi Oppido
Computer & Tech Specialist Expert Interview. 20 August 2019. Go to source
3Click Displays. This computer monitor-shaped icon is in the middle of the System Preferences window.
4Click the Displays tab. It's in the upper-left corner of the window.
5Change the monitor's resolution. Check the "Scaled" box, then click a resolution.
- You can't use a resolution that's higher than your monitor's built-in resolution [e.g., 4K].
6Change the screen scaling. Click and drag the "Underscan" slider that's at the bottom of the page left to show more of your Mac's screen on the monitor or right to zoom in the screen.
- This will help you fit your Mac's screen to the monitor if the image on the monitor is too large or too small.
7Extend your Mac's screen if needed. If you want to use the monitor as an extension of your Mac's screen [e.g., as space to the right of your Mac's screen], click the Arrangement tab at the top of the window and then uncheck the "Mirror Displays" box below the screen arrangement window.
- You can also adjust the position of the menu bar here by clicking and dragging the white rectangle at the top of the screen arrangement window left or right.
Community Q&A
- Question How do I hook up two monitors to my laptop? My laptop will only use one at a time. Both are hooked up, one to VGA and the another connected to HDMI.
Community Answer Maybe your laptop has hardware restrictions. Check your graphics card to see the maximum monitors it supports.
- Question My laptop has crashed. It is 10 months old, and now I can't get into the files. Can I use a monitor to get out important files?
Hypercharge2 Community Answer The monitor just lets you see the image on the screen or add an extra display. You should try the disc recovery tool.
- Question Can I just plug in?
Community Answer Pretty much; if you have an old monitor you should plug in a vga cable and the power cable. If you have a newer monitor, you need an hdmi cable with the power cord.
- Question My laptop screen is broken. Can I use my laptop screen with an external monitor?
Khumbulani Community Answer Yes, you can as long as you've got the required cable to connect the two.
- Question Why does the sound cut out when I use the monitor?
Community Answer That is probably because your monitor doesn't have any speakers; try plugging in speakers or headphones and see if that works.
- Question The screen on my Toshiba C350-1LQ keeps going dark. A torch shows it's all happening on the screen, but hard to see. It keeps happening, then the screen was replaced two weeks ago, and now it's happened again. What do I do?
Community Answer Maybe you could try making the screen brighter. Most laptop computers will come with hotkeys that adjust the screen brightness.
- Question Why is my DVI not sourcing on my monitor?
Community Answer Go to Settings, System, Display, and click on Detect to find the monitor. Then you can choose the way you want to expand your display.
- Question How can I view the data from one laptop on another laptop? The screen is broken.
Community Answer You would have to select a setting to share your screen from the broken-screened laptop to the working one, but as it is broken, this cannot be done. The only way to get your data back is to recover your hard drive.
- Question How do I connect my laptop to a monitor if it only has an HDMI port but the monitor is VGA?
Community Answer Use an HDMI-to-VGA adapter. You will need a VGA cable as well to connect the adapter to the monitor.
- Question My hp i5 laptop screen is broken. How can I get visuals on an HD television? I'm using a0HDMI cable but it won't work.
Jarod Smith Community Answer Some of them require you to use F8 to transfer to the TV. The only other option is to try to replace it.
Video
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Tips
- DisplayPort, HDMI, and USB-C can all carry audio, meaning that your monitor's speakers should be able to transmit your laptop's audio output if you're using one of these connections.
- If you are using an older video cable, you may not be able to get sound on your TV. You can transmit sound to an external set of speakers using the headphone port on your laptop. Use a 3.5mm auxiliary cable to connect to your headphone port. Use an adapter to connect to the speakers or audio input, if needed.
- You can update your computer's drivers to improve display detection and the quality of your connected display.
Warnings
- If your monitor isn't displaying your laptop's contents, you may have a faulty cable. Try connecting with a different cable, or using a different connector if possible.
Related wikiHows
How toSwitch Monitors 1 and 2 on a PC
How toConnect Two Monitors
How toUse Your TV as a Second Monitor for Your Computer
How toFix a Stuck Pixel on an LCD Monitor
How toRepair LCD Monitors
How toSet Up Dual Monitors with Hdmi
How toMeasure Monitor Size
How toUse Your TV As a Computer Monitor
How toCalibrate Your Monitor
How toFix a Scratch on an LCD Screen
How toAdjust Colors on an LCD Monitor
How toAdd an Additional Monitor to Your Computer
How toDischarge a CRT Monitor
How toDegauss a Computer Monitor
References
- Luigi Oppido. Computer & Tech Specialist. Expert Interview. 31 July 2019.
- Luigi Oppido. Computer & Tech Specialist. Expert Interview. 20 August 2019.
- Luigi Oppido. Computer & Tech Specialist. Expert Interview. 20 August 2019.
About This Article
Co-authored by: Luigi Oppido Computer & Tech Specialist This article was co-authored by Luigi Oppido. Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years. This article has been viewed 903,695 times. Co-authors: 13 Updated: August 10, 2021 Views:903,695 Categories: Computer Monitors | Laptops Article SummaryX
1. Locate the laptops video output types.
2. Look for the monitors video input type.
3. Connect a cable that fits a port on each device.
4. Power on the monitor and select the video source your laptop is connected to.
5. Right-click the Windows desktop and select Display settings.
6. Scroll down and click Detect.
7. Click Multiple Displays.
8. Select a display setup.
In other languagesEspañol:conectar una laptop a un monitor Français:connecter un ordinateur portable à un moniteur Português:Conectar um Notebook a um Monitor Italiano:Collegare un Computer Portatile a un Monitor Esterno Русский:подключить ноутбук к монитору Deutsch:Einen Monitor an einen Laptop anschließen Bahasa Indonesia:Menyambungkan Laptop ke Monitor Nederlands:Een beeldscherm aansluiten op je laptop العربية:توصيل جهاز كمبيوتر محمول بشاشة خارجية ไทย:เชื่อมต่อแล็ปท็อปกับหน้าจอ Tiếng Việt:Kết nối laptop với màn hình 日本語:ノートパソコンをモニターに接続する 한국어:노트북과 모니터를 연결하는 방법 中文:将笔记本电脑连接到显示器上 हिन्दी:लैपटॉप [laptop] को मॉनिटर [monitor] से कनेक्ट [connect] करें Türkçe:Dizüstü Bilgisayar Monitöre Nasıl Bağlanır فارسی:لپتاپ را به مانیتور وصل کنیم
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Reader Success Stories
John Dunn
Feb 13, 2017 "This is exactly what I was looking for. My work laptop is a little older and did not connect like my new home laptop. I can now run to the local computer store and purchase the correct cable. Thanks."
Matt Carroll
Jun 23, 2017 "I purchased an old-ish Phillips VGA-equipped monitor and want to connect it as a replacement screen for my Dell 3450 laptop.This article is comprehensive, and specifically answers each of my queries." Rated this article:
Annie L.
Oct 28, 2017 "Totally clueless, definitely not techno-minded at all. Followed wikiHow and got my monitor set up and working without a glitch, so far anyway... Thanks!" Rated this article:
Cathy Bennett
Mar 5, 2018 "Very clear and simple-to-follow instructions. Pictures were also useful. " Rated this article:
Jo Lin
May 28, 2017 "Seems very clear to me, but I haven't set to my laptop yet. Thanks."
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Aug 22, 2017 "Guided me through the process. Awesome." Rated this article:
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Aug 8, 2017 "Explanations made simple and easy. " Rated this article:
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