April 1999

Setting Up a Multiple-Monitor Configuration

One of Windows 98's neatest features is its built-in support for multiple monitors. This feature allows you to connect more than one monitor to your system and stretch your desktop from one monitor to another. In fact, Windows 98 can recognize as many as nine monitors at one time. If you have a spare monitor lying around, you've probably wondered about setting up a multiple-monitor configuration. However, you may be intimidated by what seems to be a configuration nightmare. Fortunately, once you understand all the factors involved and have the right equipment, setting up a multiple-monitor configuration is a breeze.

In this article, we'll take a detailed look at what you need to set up a multiple-monitor configuration. Then, we'll show you how to configure Windows 98 to recognize and use multiple monitors.

Setting the stage

Before we get started, it's important that we set the stage for our discussion of multiple monitors in this article. While Windows 98 can recognize as many as nine monitors, we're reasonably confident that most of you who choose to venture into the multiple-monitor realm will be using only two monitors. Consequently, we'll explore this topic from that standpoint.

The video cards

The most important factor in setting up a multiple-monitor configuration is your choice of video cards. (You can use any monitor you want.) Once you have the right video cards in the proper configuration using the right drivers, everything else just falls into place. It's important to keep in mind that not all video cards will work in a multiple-monitor configuration. We'll discuss this in more detail in a moment.

Windows 98 enables you to use multiple monitors by supporting both a primary and a secondary video card. Typically, the primary video card is the card currently in your system and the secondary card is the additional card that you've added to your system.

The primary and secondary video cards must be either Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) or Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) video cards. Although the Windows 98 documentation states that setting up a multiple-monitor configuration requires you to have two PCI video cards, Windows 98's multiple-monitor feature also works with a combination of PCI and AGP cards. For example, we successfully set up a multiple-monitor configuration with an AGP card and a PCI card.

What type of video card is in your system?

Before you can add a secondary video card to your system, you need to discover the type of video card currently in place and determine whether that video card can be used in a multiple-monitor configuration. Again, keep in mind that not all video cards will support multiple-monitor configurations. To find out the type of video card in your system, right-click on the My Computer icon and select Properties from the shortcut menu. When the System Properties sheet appears, select the Device Manager tab and then double-click on the Display Adapters icon. When you do, you'll see the type of video card installed in your system. Our example system contains an ATI 3D Rage Pro AGP video card, as shown in Figure A.

Figure A: You can use Device Manager to find out the type of video card currently in your system.

While you're analyzing your current video card, you'll also need to find out which driver version it's using. To do so, double-click on the video card icon to bring up the properties sheet for the video card. Next, click on the Driver tab, as shown in Figure B, and then click the Driver File Details button. When you do, you'll see what drivers your video card is using and the version number assigned to those drivers. If you want to see if there's a more recent driver for your video card, click the Update Driver button to launch the Update Device Driver Wizard, which walks you through the entire procedure.

Figure B: You can find out your video card's driver version by clicking the Driver File Details button.

You can also find detailed information about your system's video card by right-clicking on the desktop and selecting the Properties command from the shortcut menu. When you see the Display Properties dialog box, select the Settings tab and then click the Advanced button. When you do, you'll see another properties sheet for your video card; here, select the Adapter tab, as shown in Figure C.

Figure C: You can also find detailed information about your video card by selecting the Adapter tab.

Does your video card support a multiple-monitor configuration?

Once you know the type of video card you have in your system, you'll want to find out whether it will work in a multiple-monitor configuration. To do so, you need to investigate the list of officially supported video cards in the article "Hardware requirements for multiple display support in Windows 98" on the Microsoft Support Online Web site. To locate this article, point your browser to support.microsoft.com/support and search for article number Q182708. By this time, other video card manufacturers may have developed drivers that add support for multiple monitors. Therefore, even if you don't see your video card listed here, you should check with your video card manufacturer to find out whether it has an updated driver for your video card that will work in a multiple-monitor configuration.

If you don't see your video card listed and there isn't an updated driver for it, you need to purchase two new video cards to set up your multiple-monitor configuration. Be sure you purchase video cards that are on Microsoft's list of supported cards. Alternatively, you might want to investigate a dual-graphic card, such as the Appian Duet. (You can learn more about the Appian Duet card at www.appiantech.com.)

Choosing a secondary video card

Once you've identified your primary video card and know that it will work in a multiple-monitor configuration, you can investigate your options for a secondary video card. You can choose a video card that's identical to the one currently in your system or you can choose another brand. However, when choosing a secondary video card, it's very important that you choose a card from Microsoft's list of supported video cards and drivers. Which type of video card (AGP or PCI) you select for your additional video card will depend on the type of video card currently in your system. Whether you end up configuring it as the primary or the secondary card depends on how your system's BIOS handles video configuration. Let's take a closer look at this aspect.

AGP vs. PCI

Most new systems on the market today come with a single AGP slot and several PCI slots. If your system has an AGP video card, you need to purchase a PCI video card. However, as we mentioned, how you configure that card depends on how your system's BIOS controls the video. This control factor is important in getting everything to work correctly, because when you install two video cards in a system and then turn it on, most systems find and configure a PCI video card before configuring an AGP video card. Of course, it's preferable to have your AGP video card serve as the primary video card because of its superior performance enhancements. However, in order to make this happen, your system's BIOS must allow you to specify which slot, either AGP or PCI, you want to configure as your primary video card. For more information on which video settings your system's BIOS allows, check with your system documentation or contact your system's manufacturer.

AGP as Primary

If your system has an AGP video card and your system's BIOS allows you to specify which slot is your primary video, the AGP slot is already configured as the primary video. If this is the case, simply add the PCI card to your system, connect it to your other monitor and restart your system. When you do, the PCI card will automatically be configured as the secondary video card. However, you should make sure that you add the video card to the PCI slot designated as number one on your motherboard. Check your system documentation or contact your system's manufacturer to find out which PCI slot is designated as number one.

AGP as secondary

If your system has an AGP video card, but your system's BIOS doesn't allow you to specify a slot as your primary video, you need to take out your AGP video card, and install the PCI video card and set it up as your primary video card. To do so, open Device Manager and locate your video card, as we showed you in Figure A. Once you do, click the Remove button, close Device Manager, and shut down your system. You can then open the case, remove the AGP card, and insert the PCI card. Make sure that you add the video card to the first PCI slot on your motherboard. Check your system documentation or contact your system's manufacturer to find out which PCI slot is designated as number one. When you finish, restart your system and Windows 98 automatically configures the new PCI card as the primary video card.

You can then shut down the system, add the AGP video card, and connect it to your other monitor. When you finish, restart your system and Windows 98 automatically configures the new AGP card as the secondary video card.

No AGP adapter

If your system doesn't have an AGP adapter, you'll of course use two PCI cards. Your decision on which video card will be the primary and which will be the secondary depends on the particular PCI slots the video cards are in. The video card that's in the first PCI slot is the primary video and the secondary video is the one that's in the second PCI slot.

Setting up the secondary video card in Windows 98

Once you've selected and installed an appropriate secondary video card and connected it to your other monitor, you're ready to set up the card in Windows 98. When you turn on your system, Windows 98 recognizes the new video card and the attached monitor and install drivers for both. You're then prompted to restart your system. After your system restarts, access Device Manager and double-click on the Display Adapters icon. When you do, you'll see two video cards listed.

We added an ATI All-in-Wonder Pro PCI video card to our example system. Once the drivers were installed for the secondary video card and the system restarted, our Device Manager tree displayed both video cards, as shown in Figure D.

Figure D: Both your video cards appear in the Device Manager tree once the drivers are installed.

If your secondary video card has a yellow exclamation icon over the top of it, chances are you'll need to updatethe video driver. To do so, follow the instructions we mentioned earlier for launching the Update Device Driver Wizard.

Enabling the secondary video card in Windows 98

If everything is functioning correctly, as Windows 98 is loading, the message shown in Figure E appears on your second monitor. This message remains on the monitor for a few seconds and then disappears once Windows 98 is up and running.

Figure E: This message appears on the second monitor while Windows 98 is loading.

As soon as Windows 98 loads, right-click on the desktop and select Properties from the shortcut menu. When the Display Properties dialog box appears, click on the Settings tab. You should now see two monitors in the middle of the page, as shown in Figure F.

Figure F: You should now see two monitors on the Settings page.

At this point, click on the second monitor icon. When you do, you'll see the message box shown in Figure G, which prompts you to enable the second monitor. To continue, click Yes.

Figure G: When you click on the second monitor icon, you'll be prompted to enable the second monitor.

At this point, the Display dropdown list box displays the secondary video card and monitor. The Colors and Screen Area panels show the settings for the secondary video card. When you first set up the secondary video card, it will probably be set to 256 colors at 640 by 480 resolution. You can now set the colors and resolution to the desired settings. If you change the resolution, the second monitor icon changes size, as shown in Figure H.

Figure H: When you adjust the resolution of the second monitor, its icon will change size accordingly.

At this point, make sure that the monitor icons correctly represent your actual monitor's physical positions. The monitor icons' positions control how you drag icons and windows from one monitor to the other. To investigate, right-click on the first monitor icon and select the Identify command from the shortcut menu. If the monitor icons are in the wrong positions, simply click on one of them and drag it to the correct position.

After you've finished, click Apply. As soon as you do, your second monitor comes to life. However, when it does, there's a good chance that your wallpaper is out of whack. To remedy this problem, simply click on the Background tab and reset your wallpaper. You can now drag windows and icons between your two desktops.

Conclusion

Configuring your system to take advantage of a multiple-monitor configuration is easy once you understand all the factors involved and have the "right stuff." In this article, we've explained the entire procedure, from choosing the correct hardware to configuring Windows 98 to use multiple monitors.

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