Adding a Second Monitor
Listed In Hardware » Graphics Related — Viewing Full Tutorial1. If you have a dual headed graphics card, skip this step. Otherwise first you need to add a second graphics card. A simple one will do. Open up your computer case and locate a free slot (PCI, PCI-E or AGP). Insert a graphics card of the correct type into the slot firmly, and close your case again. When you turn your computer on again, the 'Add New Hardware Wizard' will appear and just follow the instructions for installing the correct drivers.
2. Turn your computer off, and plug in your new monitor. I advise placing it to the right of your current one, as this is the default in the set-up procedure. Turn your computer on.
3. Right-click an empty space on your desktop and select Properties. Click the Settings tab, and you will notice two boxes labeled 1 and 2. These represent your monitors. The number one should be clear, and the number 2 faded as it is yet to be activated.
4. To activate your second monitor click the box labeled 2 and click the check box called 'Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor'. If you click Apply and your second monitor was on standby, it will come out of it and you will be shown your desktop background that you have on your main monitor. It will not have a taskbar or anything else. If you move your cursor over to the far right of your main screen you will notice it jumps over to the second monitor.
5. If you would like your new monitor to be your default one, click the number 2 box and click the check box called 'Use this device as my primary monitor'. If you positioned your second monitor on the left of your main monitor, click and drag the box number 2 over to the left of box number 1.
6. You have now successfully installed a new monitor. You can now place icons on your new monitor, or drag windows over, or even stretch windows between the two. Your second monitor will not have a taskbar, and so it makes it easy to remember which monitor is your main one.
I recommend using an excellent program to enhance Windows' dual monitor setup called Ultramon. You can download it from http://www.realtimesoft.com/ultramon/.
