Why won’t my laptop screen show up on the video projector?

The question above is probably the most frequent support request that I get as the ITC coordinator. One of the following troubleshooting tips normally helps in solving the problem:

1. use the remote to make sure that the computer input has been selected. Several profs use the video projectors to display the DVD player so the input selection may still be set to video.

2.  press the Fn and F8 keys to toggle where both screens are visible (picture of a laptop and monitor together).

3. If you booted up your laptop without the projector connected or powered on, then the VGA port on your laptop may have been disabled. The best way to enable the port  is to restart your laptop while the video projector is on and has been connected to the VGA cable.

4. One of the pins in the VGA connector has been bent. Both students or profs can damage the connector if they hurriedly connect the cable without lining it up properly so the pins can be inserted with little effort. General rule is that if the connection does not fit easily, then double check the alignment.

One method that many people try which will not help at all is to restart the video projector – that will not force a reconnection. That is why it is best when you restart your laptop.

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