How-To: Setup dual monitors

Dual-monitors are all the rage these days. In this how-to I'd like to show you how to setup your dual-monitor configuration.

What you will need:

2 PC monitors. Make sure at least 1 of them as a DVI input as you don't always get a DVI to VGA converter with it.
A graphics card with 2 outputs (Usually VGA and DVI). Most new graphics cards have this capability

To get started power down your computer and connect one of your monitors to the DVI port on your graphics card. In Nvidia GeForce cards this will be the primary monitor by default; but this can be changed later on. In ATI Radeon cards I believe this will be the secondary monitor. Next, attach the other monitor to the VGA port.

Now turn your computer on. It may take a little longer than usual to boot to the desktop\login screen as it will have to detect the new hardware. It may also appear that the secondary screen isn't working. If so - don't worry about this we're going to fix it soon.

Once your computer has loaded to the desktop, insert the driver CD-ROM that came with the monitor and allow your computer to detect the hardware. When it brings up a dialogue asking you to choose where to install the drivers from, be sure to select your CD-Drive.

Now that you have your monitor installed, and your computer rebooted if necessary, it's time to configure the monitors to your liking. Let's start by changing the resolution through Windows (providing you have your desired monitor as the primary screen. If you don't see the section entitled "Changing the primary"). Access the Windows display properties as normal. Select the "Settings" tab. To change the resolution of the primary monitor, select the first item in the drop down list, like so:

Once you've done that, simply drag the slider below to the desired resolution.

Changing the primary

OK, so you've installed your monitors but the one you want to be the primary is actually the secondary. To change this is quite easy. Access the Windows display properties and select the "Settings" tab as pictured above. Select your secondary monitor from the drop down menu, once again pictured above, check the box which says "Use this device as the primary monitor" and hit "Apply". You can find the box located below the resolution slider pictured in the image above.

Your desktop on both monitors

Like everything so far, making your desktop show up on both screens is very easy to do. Open up the Windows display properties and open the "Settings" tab (It's getting kind of predictable, eh?). Select the secondary monitor from the drop down list and check the box labelled "Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor" and press "Apply". Notice that this doesn't give you a task bar at the bottom of the secondary screen (it also doesn't allow you to have a different wallpaper for each desktop; but that's a different story). This is where a handy little piece of handy software called UltraMon comes in. UltraMon helps you manage your dual-desktops. From giving you a task bar on the secondary display to setting up independent wallpapers on each screen. It even allows you to have icons on the second desktop and save them there like I have on my second screen: