Reference number: CH001185

How can I connect an external display to my laptop?

Question:

How can I connect an external display to my laptop?

Answer:

All laptops today will have a VGA or other video connection port that will allow you to connect your laptop to an external monitor, TV, flat-panel, or other display device such as a projector. To do this, simply connect your monitor to the VGA connector on the laptop, as shown in the picture to the right.

Note: If your monitor or display is using a different type of connection such as a DVI type connector, you'd need to get a DVI to VGA convertor. Additionally not all TV's will have a VGA connector. In this situation you would need to connect the laptop using composite or S-Video cables.

Once the external display has been connected to the computer, depending on the type of laptop and it's settings, it will either automatically start displaying what is being shown on the laptop display, or in the case of many laptops, you'll need to press a series of keys on the keyboard in order to switch how to display the picture on the laptop. For example, pressing the keys FN (Function) + F4. This key will often have a picture of a monitor next to it to help indicate what key it is.