Computer and Software Support


Switch from onboard to external display on laptop

Most if not all laptops have a video connector in the back of the system to allow you to connect the laptop to an external monitor or screen projector. This is very useful for doing presentations to others or the project you are working on requires a bigger screen than your LCD screen.

There is three options to choose from on viewing and they are as follows...

  • View via the laptops screen only
  • View via external device only (such as a screen projector or an external monitor)
  • View via the laptop screen and external device

To switch between the three settings, you use two keys

  • FN key
  • Monitor key

The FN key is usually located on the bottom left corner on the keyboard. It is usually a different color than the regular keys.

The monitor key is usually on the top row of the keyboard. The graphic for the monitor varies depending on the make and model of the laptop. Due to the different locations and the different types of graphics, I cannot state the location or what it looks like here, you will need to consult the manual for your system for that information.

To switch from the two settings, you hold down the FN key and while holding it down, you press the monitor key.

You can also use this feature to troubleshoot a hardware issue with your laptop. If you suddenly are not able to get a picture on the screen, it could be from the following possibilities

  1. You have no external monitor or projector connected and you have the system set to display on external only.
  2. The screen on the laptop has gone bad
  3. The video card or some other hardware has gone bad on the system

To narrow it down, you can do the following

  1. Press the FN key and the monitor key. If the picture comes back, then you had it set to external only
  2. If number 1 didn't fix the issue, connect an external monitor to the system. Then press FN and monitor keys to cycle between the three options. If you get video on external monitor but not on the laptop screen, the laptop screen is bad.
  3. If you get no video when you cycle between the three options, the problem is with the video card or some other item besides the screen. You will need to consult technical support from the manufacturer or a computer repair shop.