Question : Problem: Inspiron 6000 external video problem

I have a Dell external 19" LCD monitor on my Inspiron 6000 that used to automatically come on when I turned on my laptop (now I have to turn it on manually by pressing keys (Fn+F8)).   When I disconnected the external monitor it would automatically go back to the laptop monitor.

It also has a screen resolution on the external monitor so that there are black areas above and below the area that is showing Windows XP in about one third of the screen area.  

I have downloaded and reinstalled the video drivers from Dell but this did not resolve the problem.  

I believe I may have hit some keys accidentally because it was working just before I picked up my laptop and then set it back down.

How do I get it back to have the external monitor come on automatically when I start my computer and display Windows correctly?

Answer : Problem: Inspiron 6000 external video problem

Here is a possible solution:
Click Start, point to Settings and click Control Panel.
Double-click the Display icon.
Click on the Settings tab.
Click on the external monitor to make it the primary display device.
Click OK.
Click OK again.


That should set your external monitor as the primary display device.  If you hit the Fn + F8 keys when moving it, it probably switched to the laptop monitor, then didn't save when you changed it back.  If that doesn't work, please let us know.

michko