| Windows XP Professional supports multiple monitors, a great feature first developed for Windows 98. You can run up to ten monitors with Windows XP, but most commonly, you will probably run just two or three. By using multiple monitors, you can place a large amount of information on your screens at once. Use one screen for working on video editing, Web design, or graphics and the other for toolbars. Leave a Web or email display on at all times while you use the other monitor for current tasks. Display huge spreadsheets across both screens. The following are some rules and tips to know about using multiple monitors: Some laptops support attaching an external monitor and can display different views on the internal LCD screen and on the external monitor. This feature is called DualView, and if your laptop supports it, your user's manual will show you how to enable the feature. You can ignore this section's instructions on installing a device adapter and just follow the instructions for setting the Display properties to use the second monitor. Because most computers don't have more than one or two PCI slots open, if you want to max out your video system, look into the new breed of multimonitor video cards available from Matrox, ATI, and various other vendors. In a single slot, you can drive two or four monitors with these cards. With only two slots, you can drive four to eight monitors. Multimonitor video cards are available for either AGP or PCI slots. Many multimonitor situations consist of two cards: either two PCIs or a mix of one PCI and one AGP. If you mix AGP and PCI, older BIOSes sometimes have a strange habit of forcing one or the other to become the "primary" display. This is the display that Windows first boots on and the one you use for logging on. You might be annoyed if your better monitor or better card isn't the primary display because most programs are initially displayed on the primary monitor when you launch them. Therefore, you might want to flash-upgrade your BIOS if the maker of your computer or motherboard indicates that such an upgrade will improve the multiple-monitor support for your computer by letting you choose which monitor or card you want to make the primary display. If you're unhappy with your system's choice of the primary display, you can adjust it with Display properties once both displays are running. | If you aren't having luck assigning the primary display, and your secondary card is taking over the role of primary display, see "Can't Select the Primary Display" in the "Troubleshooting" section at the end of this chapter. |
The operating system always needs a VGA device, which becomes the primary display. The BIOS detects the VGA device based on slot order, unless the BIOS offers an option for choosing which device is to be treated as the VGA device. Check your BIOS settings to see whether any special settings might affect multimonitor display, such as whether the AGP or PCI card will default to primary display, or the PCI slot order. Slot 1 is typically the slot nearest the power supply connector. The design of the card itself is what makes it capable of operating on multiple monitors with Windows XP, not the driver. Don't expect any vendors to be able to add multiple monitor support simply by implementing a driver update. Either the card can support multimonitoring, or it can't. Some cards should technically be able to do so but are not stable enough to handle the capability at this time. Some motherboards with onboard I/O such as sound, modem, and LAN may have difficulties with multiple monitor configurations, especially if the devices share an IRQ with a particular PCI slot. You might want to disable any onboard devices you're not using to free up resources that can be used for additional video cards. Just because a set of cards supports multimonitoring under Windows 98 doesn't mean it can under Windows XP. These two operating systems have completely different video architectures.
TIP Microsoft doesn't provide much specific information on which video cards/chipsets work in multimonitor mode, perhaps because BIOS and motherboard issues can affect the results different users will have with the same video cards. The RealTimeSoft Web site contains a searchable database of thousands of working combinations as well as links to other multiple monitor resources, including RealTimeSoft's own UltraMon multi-monitor utility. Check it out at www.realtimesoft.com Follow these steps to install a secondary display adapter for use with multiple monitors: 1. | Boot up your system into Windows XP Professional, and right-click a blank area of your desktop. From the resulting pop-up menu, select Properties. | 2. | Go to the Settings tab. Confirm that your primary display adapter is listed correctly (that is, if you have an ATI Rage Pro, then ATI Rage Pro should be listed under Display). Your display adapter should not be listed as plain-old "VGA," or multimonitoring will not work. If this is the case, you need to find and install correct Windows XP drivers, or consult your display manufacturer's Web site. | 3. | Be sure you are using at least Medium (16-bit) color quality. Then click OK, and when prompted, select Apply Without Restarting. | 4. | After you've confirmed that you have drivers loaded for your display adapter and that you are in a compatible color depth, shut down and then power off your system. | 5. | Disconnect the power cable leading to the back of your system, and remove the case cover. Confirm that you have an available PCI slot. Before inserting your secondary display adapter, disable its VGA mode if possible by adjusting a jumper block or DIP switch on the card. Newer cards use the software driver or BIOS settings to enable or disable VGA mode. | If you have problems setting up your monitor, see "Can't Select the Primary Display" in the "Troubleshooting" section at the end of this chapter. |
| 6. | Insert your secondary display adapter, secure it properly with a screw, reassemble your system, and reconnect the power. Next, connect a second monitor to the secondary display adapter. | 7. | Turn on both the monitors, and power up the system. Allow the system to boot into Windows XP. | 8. | After you log in, Windows XP detects your new display adapter and brings up the Hardware Wizard. Confirm that it detects the correct display adapter and, when prompted, tell Windows XP to search for a suitable driver. Then click Next. | 9. | Windows XP then finds information on the display adapter. When you are prompted, insert your Windows XP installation CD or the driver disk that came with your adapter, and click OK. | 10. | Windows XP then copies files. When the process is completed, click Finish. Windows XP then also detects your secondary monitor (if it is a PnP monitor). When you are prompted, click Finish again. | 11. | Now that all appropriate drivers are installed, right-click a blank portion of your desktop, and select Properties again. Next, go to the Settings tab. You will notice that two Monitor icons now appear in the center window of the display applet representing your two monitors (look ahead to Figure 30.13). Left-click the Monitor icon labeled 2, and it is highlighted in blue. Figure 30.13. A system running dual monitors. The relative size of monitors 1 and 2 reflects the resolution (monitor 1 has a higher resolution than monitor 2).
| 12. | Under Display, your secondary adapter should be displayed. In the lower-left corner below the Colors section, check the box labeled Extend My Windows Desktop into This Monitor. | 13. | When Windows XP gives you a warning concerning compatibility, click Yes. | 14. | While the Monitor icon labeled 2 is highlighted, adjust the color depth and resolution for the new monitor. | 15. | You might want to change the way your monitors are positioned by left-clicking and holding down the mouse button while you drag the Monitor icons. (Note that the displays must touch along one edge.) When you find a desirable position, just release the mouse button, and the Monitor icon is aligned adjacent to the first Monitor icon. Also note that wherever the two displays meet is the location your mouse will be able to pass from one display to the next, so a horizontal alignment is preferred for a standard desktop monitor arrangement (see Figure 30.13). | 16. | Click OK. Windows XP then asks whether you want to restart or apply your changes. Select Restart to allow Windows XP to reboot your system. | 17. | After the system is rebooted and you log on to your system, multimonitoring should be functional, and you should have an extended desktop displayed on your second monitor. You also should be able to move your mouse into this extended desktop. |
NOTE You can set up Windows XP with more than one secondary display adapter, up to a maximum of nine additional displays. To do so, just select another supported secondary display adapter with VGA disabled, and repeat the preceding steps with another monitor attached to the additional secondary adapter. After you finish these steps, you can drag items across your screen onto alternate monitors. Better yet, you can resize a window to stretch it across more than one monitor. Things get a little weird at the gap, though. You have to get used to the idea of the mouse cursor jumping from one screen into the next, too. TIP If you're not sure which monitor is which, click the Identify button shown in Figure 30.13 to display a large number across each monitor for a few seconds. | If you're having trouble getting your multimonitor setup to work, see "Can't Select the Primary Display" in the "Troubleshooting" section at the end of this chapter. |
TIP If you don't have enough open slots to install the extra adapter(s) needed for multiple monitors, you might want to buy a single "multiheaded" video adapter card that supports two or four monitors. |