How to Install a Monitor on an Acer Laptop

Monitor cables come in two varieties: VGA and DVI.

Many laptop users add external monitors to their systems to gain screen space. While laptop displays are perfectly fine for most tasks, working on a larger display is more comfortable, especially if you run many programs at once. You can also duplicate your main display onto a monitor for watching movies, playing games or giving presentations. Nearly all laptop computers, including Acer models, support adding a monitor.

Instructions

1. Plug the monitor's video cable into your Acer laptop. This cable has two identical male ends. Align the cable with the video port on the left or right of your laptop and push inward. Notebook computers generally have one monitor-out port for connecting an external display: a Video Graphics Array (VGA) or a Digital Visual Interface (DVI) port. VGA ports contain three rows of five small holes each for connecting a 15-pin cable. DVI ports have 24 pins with a small horizontal slit to the right.

   The monitor should have a cable with the correct number of pins to fit one of these ports. VGA cables generally have blue heads, while DVI cable connectors are usually white. If your computer is DVI-only and your monitor supports VGA, you must obtain a DVI-to-VGA adapter. VGA-to-DVI adapters are also available if you have a laptop with a VGA port and a DVI monitor.

   Note that there are three types of DVI. DVI-Digital (DVI-D) ports output video in digital format only, DVI-Analog (DVI-A) ports support analog only and DVI-Integrated (DVI-I) ports work with both formats. Nearly all computers with DVI use DVI-I, so there is no need to worry about compatibility between the digital and analog formats.

2. Twist the screws on both sides of the VGA or DVI connector to secure it to cable. Make sure the other end of the video cable is attached to the monitor. Both ends of the video cable are identical, so you can connect it to the monitor just as you did the laptop. Plug the remaining end into the video port on the monitor and twist the thumb screws to secure it.

3. Plug the monitor in to a power outlet if you have not already done so. Connect the power cable to the back of the display. Turn the unit on.

4. Configure the display settings. Windows 7 automatically detects any monitor you connect and mirrors your laptop screen. Right click on the Windows Desktop and select "Screen resolution" to change the default configuration. Navigate to "Multiple displays" at the bottom of the menu that appears. Change the setting to "Extend these displays" using the drop-down menu if you want to display different applications on each monitor. You can also change the screen resolution using the "Resolution" drop-down menu. Click "OK" to save any changes.

References

• "Absolute Beginner's Guide to A+ Certification"; Mark Edward Soper: 2004
• "Repairing and Upgrading Your PC"; Robert Bruce Thompson, Barbara Fritchman Thompson: 2006

Resources

• Acer: Support