How To Fix Second Monitor Not Detected On Windows 10

In today’s world, having a second monitor in your computer system is a must. Whether you are an aspiring music producer, a dedicated gamer or even to simplify your work, having a second monitor can quickly help you with your work. This is by far one of the best ways to boost the productivity rate of your work and also helps you in multitasking.

When it comes to multitasking, a second monitor connected to your system can be a valuable aspect that helps you expand your workspace. But sometimes, due to hardware or software problems, your computer system might show you an error message which may contain the following lines, “ Second monitor not detected by Windows 10.” This is a widespread problem with many pcs, and it may look hard to fix, but in reality, if you know what you are facing, the solutions are very simple. Despite connecting all the cords and cables properly to your system, the error message can pop up anytime.

There is nothing to worry about it, and No, your system is not corrupted; it just needs some modification; and in this article, I will guide you through every step to counter this error and how to fix this problem. You do not need to call an expert or take your system to one for that.

First of all, we need to know when and why this message can show up on your monitor. There are several reasons behind your second monitor not getting detected by your system, but when you sum it up, there are mainly two options,

  1. Primary settings (Hardware troubleshooting problems).
  2. Advanced settings (Software troubleshooting problems).

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How To Fix Second Monitor Not Detected On Windows 10

Hardware troubleshooting problems and fixes:

Due to some inconsistency between your hardware parts, your computer may not detect your second monitor. Hardware problems are very rare in this case, and to some extent, unplugging and re-plugging your cords and cables can fix the issue.

Some of the solutions to hardware troubleshooting are:

  • Unplugging and re-plugging your cords and cables of your computer system.
  • You are changing the HDMI cable or the display cable that you are using to connect your second monitor.
  • Check whether both of your displays are in the same refresh rate or not. Sometimes different refresh rate of monitors can cause your system not to detect your secondary monitor.
  • Cleaning up the ports of your monitor and your CPU as dust are easily attracted to metallic surfaces and can hinder the connectivity issue.
  • Checking whether every connection is made correctly can also help you.
  • Sometimes your computer system may lack the support for a second monitor; in that case, you need to check whether your system is capable of supporting a second monitor or not.
  • Sometimes the problem is caused because of the wrong ports. Make sure to connect the output port and the input port of your monitor correctly.
  • Sometimes big problems can have a more straightforward solution which we might ignore completely because it is in front of our eyes all the time. Try restarting your computer.
  • If you are using many devices on your system such as an external microphone, camera, external sound recorders, try unplugging them for a while until your pc detects your secondary monitor.
  • Try checking the power consumption of your system. If your pc does not get an adequate amount of power supply to run a secondary monitor, it might show you the error.
  • Some monitors might have multiple input ports in them. You need to check whether you have connected your monitor to the correct port or not. This is a widespread mistake even with people having good knowledge about computer systems.
  • Sometimes the graphic card that you are using might not be compatible with your monitor, so if you have another monitor, try plugging that to check whether the problem is with the connectivity or the graphic card.
  • If you are using an HD or High- definition display, then this problem might occur. One of the best ways to fix this problem is to update your system’s firmware to match your monitor. You can easily visit the website of your monitor and check for the latest firmware update.
  • If you have done all the above methods and still your system cannot detect your secondary monitor, try plugging it into another system to check whether the monitor that you are using is defective or not.

These are all the ways you can fix your computer system to detect your secondary monitor by using hardware troubleshooting methods. If you have completed all the above mentioned and still finding it hard to fix the error, then it is time to go for advanced techniques.

Don’t be scared; this might sound intimidating at first, but if you follow all the requirements step by step, then you can fix the problem all by yourself. Whether you are an expert in computer software solutions or just a novice who wants to boost their productivity rate with a secondary monitor, following these simple steps will help you to fix your problem for now and for the future.

Software Troubleshooting problems and fixes:

Software problems may arise within your computer system due to many reasons. Outdated firmware, outdated software, corrupt programs that are running behind the background can easily defect your windows and can make them vulnerable. This can sometimes cause your system not to detect your secondary monitor.

One of the main thing that you need to check before doing anything is to have the current and the latest version of the windows that you are using. This may sometimes hinder the performance of your system as support for outdated versions of windows may or may not support dual monitor setups. This happens due to the inability of the software system to work alongside new technologies.

Some of the ways you can use software troubleshooting methods to detect your secondary monitor are:

  • Forcing your computer to detect your secondary monitor: This is very easy and simple. Sometimes you need to move your computer to see the monitor. This can be done manually by going to the settings menu of your pc. Do the following-
    • You can manually go to the settings menu, or you can press Windows key + s. This will open up the universal search bar
    • In that bar, type Settings and press enter
    • Once you are in the settings menu, go to the system menu. This will be the first option.
    • Once you are in the System menu, go to the left sidebar and click on Display.
    • In the display option, you will see a section naming Multiple Display. Under the multiple display section, click the Detect option.
    • This will force your computer to detect any secondary monitor that is connected to your system.
  • Connecting to a secondary external wireless display: If you are trying to secure a secondary external wireless display, your pc might not detect it on the first try. To solve this, follow these instructions-
    • On your keyboard, press Windows key+s and type Settings, and press enter.
    • In the settings menu, click on Devices
    • Under the devices menu, click on Bluetooth and other devices
    • Click on the “Add Bluetooth and other devices” add button.
    • This will open up a menu to select the “Wireless display or dock” option.
    • Make sure that your wireless display option is in discoverable mode.
    • This will show up your wireless display in a list. Choose and select your wireless collection.
    • After that, follow the onscreen instructions to set up your display.

Checking your graphics driver:

Sometimes due to an outdated or corrupted graphics driver, your windows might not detect your secondary monitor. This is very common with un-updated graphics drivers. To fix this issue, you can try out three options, mainly updating, reinstalling and rolling back to your previous graphics driver who can easily select the error of not detecting your secondary
Monitor.

  • Updating your installed graphics driver: There are several software that can help you to update your graphics driver, but we will suggest you try to do it manually by following the given instructions. You will need a working internet connection for this.
    • Go to your start button on your taskbar and right-click on it.
    • This will open up a drop menu. In that menu, click on Device manager.
    • In the device manager menu, you will see the Display adapters category.
    • Click the category to expand it, and there you will find your graphics card
    • Right-click on your graphics card (display adapter) and select the Update driver option from the dropdown menu.
    • In the update driver menu, select “Search automatically for updated driver software.”
    • Once your drivers are updated, restart your computer. This will help you to detect your secondary monitor.
  • Uninstalling and reinstalling your graphics driver: if updating your graphics driver does not help you to detect your secondary monitor, you can always uninstall and reinstall the driver. For this, you will need a working internet connection.
    • Go to your start button on your taskbar and right-click on it.
    • This will open up a drop menu. In that menu, click on Device manager.
    • In the device manager menu, you will see the Display adapters category
    • Right-click on your graphics card (display adapter) and click on Uninstall device.
    • A menu will appear. It would help if you unchecked the ‘delete the driver software of this device’ box.
    • Then click on uninstall.
    • After that, please restart your compute,r, and when it starts again, go to the device manager.
    • It would help if you found your computers name under the Computer option.
    • Right-click on it, and in the dropdown menu, click on Scan for hardware changes
    • After this, while startup, your windows will automatically download the graphics driver that it needs to do the process. While it can be done automatically, we will suggest you do it manually and go through some extra steps to ensure that the driver you have installed is correct and up to date.
  • Rolling back and using your previous graphics driver: If updating and reinstalling your graphics driver doesn’t help your windows detect your secondary monitor, you can always roll back to your last graphics driver. Sometimes newer versions of graphics driver are not compatible with dual monitors setup. If this happens, you will find a yellow exclamation mark on your driver, which occurs when the version of the drivers that you have is either not compatible with your system or is corrupted by anyhow. To fix this, all you need to do is to follow these steps.
    • Go to your start button on your taskbar and right-click on it.
    • This will open up a drop menu. In that menu, click on Device manager.
    • In the device manager menu, you will see the Display adapters category
    • Right-click on your display adapter to expand its dropdown menu and click on properties
    • This will open up your graphics driver property menu. Click on the Driver tab next to the general account.
    • Under the driver tab, you will see an option saying Roll back driver and click on it.
    • Then restart your computer.

Sometimes the rollback driver option might be greyed out. In that case, rolling back to your previous version will be unavailable. If this happens, you need to visit the Windows support website, and from there, you can easily download the last version of your graphics driver. Note that before doing that, you need to know the current version of your graphics driver. If you are downloading the last version of your graphics driver from the website, you might need to explain why you are reverting to an older version. Provide the reason and click on yes. After that, your previous graphics driver will get downloaded and installed in your system

By following the process mentioned above in the correct order, your system will be able to detect your secondary monitor.

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