How to disable a laptop screen?

OrbitzXT · Dec 2, 2011, 08:33 PM

I have a laptop with a VGA and HDMI out, and have two monitors hooked up to it via those two ports. According this site, I cannot have all three screens running at the same time. I knew that already though, and I'm getting the error message "Unable to save display settings." when I try and make it display on just the two monitors and not the laptop. What am I doing wrong and how do I correctly configure this?

N-Gen · Dec 2, 2011, 08:36 PM

OS? And where are you setting it, display driver config?

OrbitzXT · Dec 2, 2011, 08:41 PM

Windows 7, right clicking the desktop and selecting screen resolution. I selected the laptop screen and under "Multiple Displays" selected "Disconnect this display", so now I have it showing on only 1 external monitor, nothing else. At this point I thought I should be able to extend to the other monitor, but when I do it gives me unable to save display settings.

When I try and do it from nVidia control panel, there are five options...Laptop Display + Monitor 1, Monitor 1 + Laptop Display, Laptop Display + Monitor 2, Monitor 2 + Laptop Display, and "My display is not shown in the list"

N-Gen · Dec 2, 2011, 08:46 PM

Is there any Function + [Display Key] on the laptop? Maybe you could try using that to change something to enable using both.

sneekypeet · Dec 2, 2011, 08:52 PM

I'm with N-gen here, my Lenovo has a function key (like F2 or F3) that will do multiple screens or shut the lappy one down while I use the external connection.

OrbitzXT · Dec 2, 2011, 08:54 PM

I was able to shut off the laptop screen in Windows 7 "Screen Resolution" settings. But I still can't get the two external monitors to work together. I googled the issue and see a lot of people with the same problems, no fixes though. One solution talks about deleting a registry but I don't even have the registry key to delete.

N-Gen · Dec 2, 2011, 09:06 PM

Odd, what vga? Did your searches return the issue with the same VGA card or different ones as well?

gaximodo · Dec 2, 2011, 11:30 PM

you simply cant hook two external monitors together, one at a time

scaminatrix · Dec 3, 2011, 02:49 PM

What laptop is it Orbit?

N-Gen · Dec 3, 2011, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gaximodo

you simply cant hook two external monitors together, one at a time

It is possible, I've done it with DVI and VGA at the same time, it works only if the laptop screen is disabled since the GPU will only deliver 2 signals at any time.

OrbitzXT · Dec 5, 2011, 12:40 PM

Its a Sony Vaio VGN-AR190G. Still can't seem to get this to work. Could it have something to do with the two external monitors being different native resolutions? One is 1920x1200 and the other 1920x1080.

scaminatrix · Dec 5, 2011, 12:44 PM

Hook up both monitors while the laptop is off, turn laptop on, and while it's POST-ing, press Fn+F7. When it boots into Windows, it *should* set the display settings automatically with fingers crossed. Trying to switch displays on a laptop while in Windows gives problems sometimes.

OrbitzXT · Dec 5, 2011, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scaminatrix

Hook up both monitors while the laptop is off, turn laptop on, and while it's POST-ing, press Fn+F7. When it boots into Windows, it *should* set the display settings automatically with fingers crossed. Trying to switch displays on a laptop while in Windows gives problems sometimes.

I tried this, no luck. I also tried two monitors of the exact same model for the hell of it but no luck either. I thought to try more recent nVidia drivers, but their website tells me I have to get the drivers from Sony since laptop ones are modified, which is what I have already.

random · Dec 5, 2011, 01:21 PM

Hook one monitor up first then go to your personalize setting from rightclicking on your desktop to change the laptop's behaviour when you close the lid to disable the screen but keep everything else running. Then while your main display is now the monitor plug in the other one and see how you go.

digibucc · Dec 5, 2011, 01:34 PM

it depends on the hardware in the laptop, just becuase it worked for you N-Gen doesn't mean it always will. sorry but my bet is it doesn't work with your laptop, as all that should be necessary is disabling the laptop screen in display settings.

cdawall · Dec 5, 2011, 01:36 PM

Close the laptop.

N-Gen · Dec 5, 2011, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by digibucc

it depends on the hardware in the laptop, just becuase it worked for you N-Gen doesn't mean it always will. sorry but my bet is it doesn't work with your laptop, as all that should be necessary is disabling the laptop screen in display settings.

I was only referring to the somewhat general post stating it's not possible.

On a side note, this is the last notebook modified driver I've tested just in case you want to try it. There probably will be no more future releases by the modder.
http://www.notebookforums.com/t/2347...en-260-99-beta

OrbitzXT · Dec 5, 2011, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdawall

Close the laptop.

Closing it got rid of the laptop's display from being shown in the "Screen Resolution" list, so now it's just the two externals...but it still is saying Unable to Save Display Settings.

cdawall · Dec 5, 2011, 01:56 PM

sounds like the driver said no go. try updating drivers or running an non-mobile driver.

digibucc · Dec 5, 2011, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by N-Gen

I was only referring to the somewhat general post stating it's not possible.

yeah i just noticed my post sounds kinda asshole-ish. sorry about that, didn't mean anything by it

OrbitzXT · Dec 5, 2011, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdawall

sounds like the driver said no go. try updating drivers or running an non-mobile driver.

Noob question but which should I try? Its a GO 7600 GT. Nvidia said to go to Sony. It's Windows 7 32 bit.

cdawall · Dec 5, 2011, 02:12 PM

go on the NV site and check for 7600GT drivers. In all honesty I thought you were dealing with a newer laptop that one might be to far back to use both outputs.

N-Gen · Dec 5, 2011, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by digibucc

yeah i just noticed my post sounds kinda asshole-ish. sorry about that, didn't mean anything by it

No problem mate, we're here to discuss. If everyone had the same answer why would be be here?

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdawall

go on the NV site and check for 7600GT drivers. In all honesty I thought you were dealing with a newer laptop that one might be to far back to use both outputs.

This might be the case not with the series but with the card being mid-range notebook. My GO 7950GTX does fine with 2 outputs but there's a big difference between the two. However I don't see the actual point in it not supporting 2 external monitors but supporting internal + external, that's why it seems odd to me. I can see it being an issue if both used DVI connections but not in this case.

Dec 2, 2011, 08:33 PM	#1
OrbitzXT Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: New York City Posts: 1,734 (0.77/day) Thanks: 359 Thanked 61 Times in 56 Posts System Specs	How to disable a laptop screen? I have a laptop with a VGA and HDMI out, and have two monitors hooked up to it via those two ports. According this site, I cannot have all three screens running at the same time. I knew that already though, and I'm getting the error message "Unable to save display settings." when I try and make it display on just the two monitors and not the laptop. What am I doing wrong and how do I correctly configure this?

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Dec 2, 2011, 08:36 PM	#2
N-Gen Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Paola, Malta Posts: 541 (0.27/day) Thanks: 91 Thanked 149 Times in 122 Posts System Specs	OS? And where are you setting it, display driver config? __________________ Main Rig in Tech Specs Alienware Area-51 m9750 - Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 2.0GHz, 4GB DDR2 667MHz 4-5-5-9, Samsung 160GB Hybrid 256MB Flash Cache 5400RPM, nVidia GeForce GO 7950GTX 512MB Toshiba Satellite L650-13M - Intel Core i5-410M 2.26GHz, 4GB DDR3 1333MHz, Seagate 320GB 5400RPM, ATi Mobility Radeon HD5650 1GB Acer Aspire 5750G - Intel Core i5-2410M 2.3GHz, 8GB DDR3 1333MHz 9-9-9-24, Hitachi 750GB 5400RPM, nVidia GeForce GT540M 1GB (DDR3 ver.)

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PSU:	Kingwin 1000W
Software:	Windows 7 64-Bit

Dec 2, 2011, 08:41 PM	#3
OrbitzXT Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: New York City Posts: 1,734 (0.77/day) Thanks: 359 Thanked 61 Times in 56 Posts System Specs	Windows 7, right clicking the desktop and selecting screen resolution. I selected the laptop screen and under "Multiple Displays" selected "Disconnect this display", so now I have it showing on only 1 external monitor, nothing else. At this point I thought I should be able to extend to the other monitor, but when I do it gives me unable to save display settings. When I try and do it from nVidia control panel, there are five options...Laptop Display + Monitor 1, Monitor 1 + Laptop Display, Laptop Display + Monitor 2, Monitor 2 + Laptop Display, and "My display is not shown in the list"

Dec 2, 2011, 08:46 PM	#4
N-Gen Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Paola, Malta Posts: 541 (0.27/day) Thanks: 91 Thanked 149 Times in 122 Posts System Specs	Is there any Function + [Display Key] on the laptop? Maybe you could try using that to change something to enable using both. __________________ Main Rig in Tech Specs Alienware Area-51 m9750 - Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 2.0GHz, 4GB DDR2 667MHz 4-5-5-9, Samsung 160GB Hybrid 256MB Flash Cache 5400RPM, nVidia GeForce GO 7950GTX 512MB Toshiba Satellite L650-13M - Intel Core i5-410M 2.26GHz, 4GB DDR3 1333MHz, Seagate 320GB 5400RPM, ATi Mobility Radeon HD5650 1GB Acer Aspire 5750G - Intel Core i5-2410M 2.3GHz, 8GB DDR3 1333MHz 9-9-9-24, Hitachi 750GB 5400RPM, nVidia GeForce GT540M 1GB (DDR3 ver.)

Dec 2, 2011, 08:52 PM	#5
sneekypeet Unpaid Babysitter Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 19,003 (7.32/day) Thanks: 3,035 Thanked 5,487 Times in 3,950 Posts System Specs	I'm with N-gen here, my Lenovo has a function key (like F2 or F3) that will do multiple screens or shut the lappy one down while I use the external connection. __________________ Hers: ASUS Maximus V Gene / i7 3770K / Swiftech H220 / 4X8GB Corsair Dominators / ASUS GTX660 / Corsair AX-760 / Windows 7 64bit / Fractal Design ARC Midi R2 Test: Gigabyte Z68X-UD4-B3 / i7 2600K / A lot Of Coolers / Ripjaws Currently / HIS HD7950 IceQ Turbo / Silverstone SST-ST85F-G / Windows 7 64bit / InWin D-Frame Limited Edition

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Dec 2, 2011, 08:54 PM	#6
OrbitzXT Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: New York City Posts: 1,734 (0.77/day) Thanks: 359 Thanked 61 Times in 56 Posts System Specs	I was able to shut off the laptop screen in Windows 7 "Screen Resolution" settings. But I still can't get the two external monitors to work together. I googled the issue and see a lot of people with the same problems, no fixes though. One solution talks about deleting a registry but I don't even have the registry key to delete.

Dec 2, 2011, 09:06 PM	#7
N-Gen Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Paola, Malta Posts: 541 (0.27/day) Thanks: 91 Thanked 149 Times in 122 Posts System Specs	Odd, what vga? Did your searches return the issue with the same VGA card or different ones as well? __________________ Main Rig in Tech Specs Alienware Area-51 m9750 - Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 2.0GHz, 4GB DDR2 667MHz 4-5-5-9, Samsung 160GB Hybrid 256MB Flash Cache 5400RPM, nVidia GeForce GO 7950GTX 512MB Toshiba Satellite L650-13M - Intel Core i5-410M 2.26GHz, 4GB DDR3 1333MHz, Seagate 320GB 5400RPM, ATi Mobility Radeon HD5650 1GB Acer Aspire 5750G - Intel Core i5-2410M 2.3GHz, 8GB DDR3 1333MHz 9-9-9-24, Hitachi 750GB 5400RPM, nVidia GeForce GT540M 1GB (DDR3 ver.)

Dec 2, 2011, 11:30 PM	#8
gaximodo Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Canberra Australia Posts: 253 (0.15/day) Thanks: 43 Thanked 62 Times in 54 Posts System Specs	you simply cant hook two external monitors together, one at a time

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Dec 3, 2011, 02:49 PM	#9
scaminatrix Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: By the Channel Tunnel, Kent, England Posts: 2,432 (2.07/day) Thanks: 1,834 Thanked 802 Times in 672 Posts System Specs	What laptop is it Orbit? __________________ MKMods Tribute Rig - the Power of the Community HeatWare Did I make the 2,000,000th post? If an 8 Core can hit 6Ghz with an H100 i'll post pictures of my hot fiance - Pestilence Every day I come to this site, I am reminded why I come to this site every day!!! - Iggster

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Dec 5, 2011, 12:40 PM	#11
OrbitzXT Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: New York City Posts: 1,734 (0.77/day) Thanks: 359 Thanked 61 Times in 56 Posts System Specs	Its a Sony Vaio VGN-AR190G. Still can't seem to get this to work. Could it have something to do with the two external monitors being different native resolutions? One is 1920x1200 and the other 1920x1080.

Dec 5, 2011, 12:44 PM	#12
scaminatrix Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: By the Channel Tunnel, Kent, England Posts: 2,432 (2.07/day) Thanks: 1,834 Thanked 802 Times in 672 Posts System Specs	Hook up both monitors while the laptop is off, turn laptop on, and while it's POST-ing, press Fn+F7. When it boots into Windows, it should set the display settings automatically with fingers crossed. Trying to switch displays on a laptop while in Windows gives problems sometimes. __________________ MKMods Tribute Rig - the Power of the Community HeatWare Did I make the 2,000,000th post? If an 8 Core can hit 6Ghz with an H100 i'll post pictures of my hot fiance - Pestilence Every day I come to this site, I am reminded why I come to this site every day!!! - Iggster

Dec 5, 2011, 01:21 PM	#14
random Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 2,473 (1.48/day) Thanks: 1,248 Thanked 627 Times in 407 Posts System Specs	Hook one monitor up first then go to your personalize setting from rightclicking on your desktop to change the laptop's behaviour when you close the lid to disable the screen but keep everything else running. Then while your main display is now the monitor plug in the other one and see how you go. __________________ Visit my YouTube Channel ONE OK ROCK 「完全感覚Dreamer」 (Drum Cover) TD9KX

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Dec 5, 2011, 01:34 PM	#15
digibucc Join Date: May 2009 Location: In the mountains :) Adirondacks in NY (US) Posts: 3,708 (2.54/day) Thanks: 4,540 Thanked 1,447 Times in 1,040 Posts System Specs	it depends on the hardware in the laptop, just becuase it worked for you N-Gen doesn't mean it always will. sorry but my bet is it doesn't work with your laptop, as all that should be necessary is disabling the laptop screen in display settings. __________________ Donate to TPU TeamSpeak Server TPU TS: ts21.gameservers.com:9207 PSN / XBL / Steam = digibucc \| Origin / BF3 = digibuc

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Dec 5, 2011, 01:36 PM	#16
cdawall where the hell are my stars Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: some AF base Posts: 16,021 (6.42/day) Thanks: 457 Thanked 2,753 Times in 2,222 Posts System Specs	Close the laptop. __________________

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Dec 5, 2011, 01:56 PM	#19
cdawall where the hell are my stars Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: some AF base Posts: 16,021 (6.42/day) Thanks: 457 Thanked 2,753 Times in 2,222 Posts System Specs	sounds like the driver said no go. try updating drivers or running an non-mobile driver. __________________

Dec 5, 2011, 02:12 PM	#22
cdawall where the hell are my stars Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: some AF base Posts: 16,021 (6.42/day) Thanks: 457 Thanked 2,753 Times in 2,222 Posts System Specs	go on the NV site and check for 7600GT drivers. In all honesty I thought you were dealing with a newer laptop that one might be to far back to use both outputs. __________________

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