I am trying to connect my laptop to a second monitor with and HDMI and VGA cord.
vga monitor connect to laptop
How to connect my laptop (VGA port) to TV (HDMI port) to use as a monitor?
I would like to connect a VGA monitor to a new laptop without VGA port...
Videos
So I have a new work laptop, and I would like to keep using my old monitor with it as a second screen; but it only has HDMI and USB 2, USB 3, USB C ports...
I did buy a VGA-HDMI converter but it was hardly working at all (the image was atrocious). It could be because I bought a cheap one, but before investing in a 30quids+ one I would like to make sure I am not throwing money away.
Or perhaps there is another option - I honestly do not know. (Get a docking station which connects with an USB?) Any suggestions are very much welcome. Thank you
Here are some of the specifications of the laptop (I could not find a model name; it is a DELL) Processor 11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-11850H @ 2.50GHz 2.50 GHz Installed RAM 32.0 GB (31.7 GB usable) System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor Pen and touch Touch support with 10 touch points
Are you saying you are using a HDMI - VGA cable?
A simple HDMI to VGA cable almost never works, because HDMI is digital and VGA is analog, and a passive cable cannot convert the signal.
To go from HDMI to VGA, the cable must include an active digital to analog converter, or you need to get a converter instead.
Most cheap HDMI to VGA cables are passive and those will not work.
To connect your laptop to a second monitor using both HDMI and VGA, follow these steps:
- Check Connections: Ensure that both the HDMI and VGA cables are securely connected to both your laptop and the monitor. Sometimes, a loose connection can prevent detection.
- Select the Correct Input Source: On your monitor, use the buttons to navigate the menu and select the correct input source. Make sure to choose either HDMI or VGA, depending on which cable you want to use. If you have both connected, try switching between them to see if one works.
- Detect Display in Windows: On your laptop, right-click on the desktop and select Display settings. Scroll down and click on the Detect button to see if Windows can find the external monitor.
- Use Keyboard Shortcut: You can also use the keyboard shortcut
Windows + Pto open the projection options. From there, choose either Duplicate or Extend to see if the monitor is recognized. - Update Drivers: Ensure that your graphics drivers are up to date. You can do this through the Device Manager by expanding the Display adapters section, right-clicking on your graphics card, and selecting Update driver.
- Check Display Configuration: If you are using a USB-attached monitor, be aware that the display configuration may not be retained after reboot. You may need to reconfigure it each time you connect.
If the monitor still does not detect the signal, consider testing the monitor with another device to rule out any issues with the monitor itself.
References:
- Docking station external monitors not working when a Windows 10 version 1703-based portable computer is connected
- When using USB-attached monitor, display configuration may not be retained after reboot
You need a HDMI-to-VGA adapter. Your laptop is outputting an HDMI signal which has to be converted to VGA.
Some connectors are physically different, but use identical signaling - in these cases a passive adapter is sufficient. Passive means there's no signal transformation necessary. It's just two different connectors wired together. For example, DVI-A is just repackaged VGA (aka D-Sub) and they can be passively adapted both ways. Similarly HDMI uses the same signaling as DVI-D, so you can convert between them without any electronics - just wires.
HDMI and VGA are completely incompatible, so you need an active adapter which will decode the HDMI signal and produce equivalent VGA signal.
You may be tempted to use a passive HDMI→DVI adapter and then a passive DVI→VGA adapter, but this won't work. HDMI would be converted into DVI-D, and the second adapter needs DVI-A input. DVI-D and DVI-A use physically compatible connectors, but the signal won't go through.
Note that while active adapters are directional (HDMI→VGA is completely different than VGA→HDMI), passive adapters are usually not. As long as passive adapter's plugs physically fit, it will work in both directions. So for example a HDMI→DVI adapter would work for DVI→HDMI too.
Many people get this the wrong way round.
Signals go from > to
You might think you're connecting your display to your computer, but you're not. You're connecting the computer to the display.
This means your signal goes from the computer to the display - that's an HDMI to VGA connection.
HDMI is a digital format, VGA is an analog format, so any connector you get must be an active connector.