I connected an external display to my laptop now no internal

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  1. Posts : 91
    Windows 10 Pro x64
       #1

    I connected an external display to my laptop now no internal


    Hey guys, so i'm running B10074 on my laptop , and I connected my external display to it as well as my external keyboard and mouse at my desk so I could sit there and do the setup etc without moving all of that out of the way. I had the laptop lid shut and off to the side while I was doing this. Then, I shut the laptop down, unplugged all the external peripherals, and turned it on again. It went through the windows boot sequence with the spinning circles, then black screen. After 20 minutes of frustration, I realised that the laptop would show a login prompt only when I plug in the external monitor BEFORE i start it, and only if the laptop is closed while it is booting (when the lid is closed during boot, the Dell logo and spinning circles come up on the external display)

    I further figured out that in Control Panel, it only displays the external display, its like the computer doesn't even recognise the internal display anymore. I dont know why that would be since when I first booted it up and installed drivers, I was using the internal display and everything was working fine.
    Any help appreciated as well as pointers on not running into this again
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 91
    Windows 10 Pro x64
    Thread Starter
       #2

    Control Panel screenshot :)I connected an external display to my laptop now no internal-cpanel.png (normally this would have display '1' and '2')
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 13,896
    Win10 Version 22H2 Pro and Home, Win11 Pro and Home
       #3

    Notebooks/Laptops with the external VGA port [or DVI maybe HDMI] have an Fn + Fx key to toggle between the LCD panel, the external monitor or both at the same time. sometimes the fx key will be marked with a couple of squares. Have to experiment to see which works for you. It's in the User Manual.
      My Computers


  4. Posts : 13,896
    Win10 Version 22H2 Pro and Home, Win11 Pro and Home
       #4

    Notebooks/Laptops with the external VGA port [or DVI maybe HDMI] have an Fn + Fx key to toggle between the LCD panel, the external monitor or both at the same time. sometimes the fx key will be marked with a couple of squares. Have to experiment to see which works for you. It's in the User Manual, can't tell you more as the Notebook's Model Name and Model Number aren't listed.
      My Computers


  5. Posts : 91
    Windows 10 Pro x64
    Thread Starter
       #5

    I'll give that a go, Fn+F8 was suggested elsewhere, didn't work, but didn't try any other fn keys. Will try it
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 91
    Windows 10 Pro x64
    Thread Starter
       #6

    No-Go on that
    Thanks anyway though :)

    Laptop is a Dell Inspiron 15 7548 (2015 edition)

    Specs are in my spec button thingy on here.

    The monitor is connected via HDMI, there is also a minidisplay port i believe but I do not have an adaptor for that.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 23,195
    Windows 10
       #7

    If its the same as my Dell Inspiron (2013 Model), try Fn+F1

    It sounds like it is set to the last option from this (external only), I have my tv connected via HDMI, and Fn +F1 toggles between, Laptop Only, Duplicate, Extend, 2nd Screen Only
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 91
    Windows 10 Pro x64
    Thread Starter
       #8

    I gave that a go, no dice.... You are correct that is how I have set up , the "Second screen only" so it turns off the laptop display. I think the issue comes when I restart the PC with this configuration still applied. I've learnt my lesson Lol... But what you and others are implying is that the internal display is still recognised by the OS, which it is not. If it was, in my control panel, I would see 2 displays, "1" being the laptop display, "2" being the external. But now I only see "1" the exernal display with no mention of the internal anywhere. Even when I boot up, the Dell logo and spinning circles show up on my external monitor NOT the internal display.

    I guess this is good because I have found a bug, many bugs actually, in my struggles of getting windows 10 running on my PC, namely this and then the display driver. Seems like there are bugs in the way it handles displays. Normally when the laptop is running Win8.1 or Win7 i can have the external display set up no problems in the same manner I do, and as soon as I disconnect it, the "second screen only" setting does not apply because there is no second screen, so it goes back to the first one. Then when I plug in the external monitor, it goes to that screen and nothing displays on the internal.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 5,286
    Win 10 Pro x64
       #9

    What model of graphics card it came with? AMD Radeon R7 M270?
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 91
    Windows 10 Pro x64
    Thread Starter
       #10

    badrobot said:
    What model of graphics card it came with? AMD Radeon R7 M270?
    Yeah Its a dual graphics... The Intel HD 5500 and the R7 M270. Both drivers are installed
      My Computer


 

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