How to Connect two Monitors to a Laptop – Top 3 Solutions

How to Connect two Monitors to a Laptop

We all know that having several displays may boost our productivity and provide the greatest experience, particularly when using a laptop. 

But how can you link a laptop to external monitors? It’s the ideal location. This article explains how to connect two monitors to your laptop in a simple manner.

Here are a few important things to keep in mind.

  • Things to check before the start
  • How to set up to connect two monitors
  • Bonus Tip.

1 – Things to check before the start

At the very least, many Windows laptops now enable multiple displays. However, you should check to see whether your laptop can support two external displays. And it all relies on your Windows operating system, graphics card capabilities, and driver support.

However, since Windows XP/7/8/10 all allow multiple displays, you should verify your laptop’s graphics card and connection.

Check the graphics card

To begin, double-check that your graphics card supports multiple displays. Every graphics card usually has at least two outputs.

However, you must verify the graphics card characteristics on the manufacturer’s website, locate your graphics card, and verify the specs to determine whether it allows the addition of two external monitors.

Assume you’re working with an NVIDIA GeForce graphics card.

In such a case, go to the official website and search for your graphics card, then look at the specifications to see whether it supports multiple displays.

Read Also: Best Laptops for AutoCAD 

Check available ports on your laptop

Then you’ll want to double-check your laptop’s ports. In general, a computer or laptop should have at least one of the following four ports:

Display Port may provide an interface with high-definition audio content protection as an option.

White plastic and labels are used to color-code the Digital Video Interface (DVI).

Blue plastic and labels are used to color-code the Video Graphics Array (VGA).

The High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) cable may link a variety of visual devices as well as provide sound.

You can verify your laptop’s connection on the back or sides. In addition to the connection on your laptop, the displays should also have the necessary connections.

Connecting them this way will save you time and money. You’ll need to buy an additional converter, such as a DVI to HDMI converter, if you don’t want them to clash.

Don’t give up hope if the connections on your laptop don’t match the connections on your display cords. There is a solution! To continue, you may use one of the options listed below:

  • Use a converter, such as an HDMI to DVI converter. If you have two different ports for your laptop and monitor, this will work.
  • To have two HDMI ports, use a switch splitter, such as a Display splitter. This works if your laptop only has one HDMI port but you need two HDMI ports.
  • A docking station may be used in a variety of situations.

2 – How to set up to connect two monitors

You may begin attaching the two displays to your laptop now that everything is set.

The most essential thing to remember is to connect your displays regardless of whether or not your laptop is switched on. When a new monitor is plugged in, Windows will usually identify it.

Our laptop, for example, has VGA and HDMI connections, and our external displays have VGA and HDMI connections as well:

  • Connect the first external monitor’s cord to the appropriate video port on your laptop. So we connect the first external monitor’s VGA connection to our laptop’s VGA port.
  • Connect the second external monitor’s cord to the laptop’s other proper port. So we connect the second external monitor’s HDMI wire to the laptop’s HDMI port.
  • Right-click an empty space on your laptop’s desktop: Click Display settings if you’re running Windows 10.

3 – Bonus Tip

External displays are not always properly recognised by your laptop. This may, however, be caused by a bad connection, a bad monitor, or a bad set of connections.

Check that all of the cables are connected properly, then do several tests using a different monitor and a different line.

If your graphics card driver still does not function, it seems that it is unable to properly handle a large number of displays. It’s critical to keep your drivers up to current.

There are two ways to update drivers: 

  • manually 
  • automatically.

Manually

You may manually update the printer driver by going to the manufacturer’s website and selecting the proper driver for your Windows OS, then installing it on your computer. This requires both time and computing expertise.

However, if you don’t have the time or patience to manually update drivers, Driver Easy can do it for you. With only a few clicks, its free version can identify and download outdated drivers on your Windows system.

With either the FREE or PRO version of Driver Easy, you can update your drivers automatically. The Pro edition, on the other hand, takes nearly two clicks and includes full support as well as a 30-day money-back guarantee:

  • Driver Easy may be downloaded and installed.
  • Run Driver Easy and choose Scan Now from the menu. After that, Driver Easy will check your computer for any driver problems.
  • To automatically download the proper drivers, click the Update button next to a flagged device. This is possible with the free version, which you may download and instal on your computer.
  • Alternatively, you may select Update All to have all the missing or out-of-date drivers for Windows immediately downloaded. When you select Update All, you’ll be asked to upgrade to the Pro version.

Frequently asked questions

Q1: Can a laptop be connected to two monitors?

A: Nearly every Windows laptop – at least, we haven’t heard of one that doesn’t – will support almost two displays. If you can find a method to connect them in, some computers will handle two external displays. You could, for example, plug one into an HDMI connector and the other into a VGA port.

Q2: How can I expand the screen on my laptop to two monitors?

A: Select Screen resolution from the context menu by right-clicking any vacant area on your desktop.

Select Extend these displays or Duplicate these displays from the various displays drop-down list.

Q3. How can I use HDMI to connect two displays to my laptop?

Sometimes your computer only has one HDMI connection, which is common on laptops, but you need two ports to connect two external displays. In this situation, switch splitter’ or ‘display splitter’ may be used to create two HDMI ports.

Final verdict:

Before proceeding, you must first understand how to connect two monitors to a laptop HDMI if you are unfamiliar with hardware and networking.

Now, before you begin the procedure, you must first determine if your system is compatible with the same setup.

Before we go into the settings, let’s have a look at the HDMI port. The HDMI connection is a highly common video output that allows for all-in-one audio and video production.

Rectangular connection is the most common kind and will suit most systems. Although tiny computers do not have this component, you will need to buy an extra tiny HDMI or HDMI cable.

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