Windows 7 - Tower with no Monitor

codyw · 07-18-2011

A friend recently gave me an old tower of his with Windows XP installed. He did not give me a monitor. I was hoping I could use a VGA monitor cable and be able to plug that cable into my laptop and the tower but I am having difficulties. There is no place for me to "physically" boot up to that tower. Do I need to buy another/different cable to do something like this?

GEWB · 07-18-2011

Quote: Originally Posted by codyw

A friend recently gave me an old tower of his with Windows XP installed. He did not give me a monitor. I was hoping I could use a VGA monitor cable and be able to plug that cable into my laptop and the tower but I am having difficulties. There is no place for me to "physically" boot up to that tower. Do I need to buy another/different cable to do something like this?

Don't even think about using the laptop screen as the desktop monitor unless you know exactly what you are doing, how the desktop was configured, etc. What you are proposing is having the XP desktop set up like a headless server, connecting the desktop and laptop via a crossover cable (or connecting to a network) then "running" the desktop using remote access from the laptop. Not a simple undertaking.

Buy a cheap used monitor and keyboard for the desktop - it's cheaper than replacing a fried laptop!

Regards,
GEWB

linnemeyerhere · 07-18-2011

+1 to the above

Britton30 · 07-18-2011

If your laptop has a VGA connector it is only for output, eg, if you want to view the laptop on an external monitor.

codyw · 07-18-2011

I didn't know my laptop could get fried doing that...

Will it be OK now or do I need to monitor it?

I'll have to look into some options for the tower.

essenbe · 07-18-2011

+1 to GEWB. I suspect that if your laptop still works, it is OK. You can pick up a cheap keyboard and mouse for $20 and find a used monitor for very little. That is a small price to pay for a computer.

Windows 7 - Tower with no Monitor

Tower with no Monitor problems?