Dual Monitors on Win 7

[wsplawn]

I have dual monitors, one on my laptop and another bigger monitor for when I am docked and at the office.

Under XP I had it set so that when I closed the lid on my laptop, the lapto screen was shut off and all files that were subsequently opend were opened to the main big screen.

It appears now that when I close the lid the screen stays on and if there was a window showing on the laptop when the lid is closed it does not automatically switch to the big monitor. It used to under XP. Is there a way to duplicate this behavior in Windows 7?

There are times when I want to use just one monitor and shut the monitor built-in to the lap top - off. Is there an easy way to do so?

 

[wsplawn]

Wish someone would give a response to this. Surely I am not the only one. It appears the way Windows handles multiple monitors has changed substantially since XP.

 

[fseal]

It's possible that that feature was a specific driver for that laptop which would have to be reinstalled (if available) now that you have reinstalled the OS on it.

Laptops frequently have a lot of specialized hardware that required original drivers to work completely.

If there are some Vista drivers available for it they may work. Though be careful to only install the driver you need, not like an entire driver package!

 

[thewindowslinux]

I haven't had time to test out the problem with windows 7. As a technician, I know that the features you are talking about are in the power options. One of those tabs will give you a list of stuff on what to do on "when i shut the lid......" check there and then let me know if it works.

 

[wsplawn]

TheWindowsLinux

There is an option wrt what to do when you close the lid. Do nothing is what I chose in the past, but doing the same thing now gives a different result (under Win7)

However, the solution to my problem was to change my mindset on how things are done. The real question is not what happens when I close my lid, but rather, how do I get my screen on my laptop to shut off.

The solution has to do with the Change Multi-Monitor Option, new (for me) in Win 7. Pressing the Windows Key + P brings it to the desktop. There I can have one screen or the other off and have the equivalent of what I had before.

Thank you for your efforts to help me. This is a very nice OS but takes some getting used to.