If you want use a laptop as a monitor or to extend your desktop screen and use your laptop as a second or third monitor for your PC, I’ll show you how. While it may seem like a simple process where you have to connect your laptop to your desk with an HDMI cable, the reality is that it doesn’t work that way. The HDMI port that your laptop comes with will only serve as an output for your display, not a video input for any other device.
This means that if you want to display your laptop screen on a larger screen or connect it to another screen to enlarge your laptop screen, you can connect an additional screen to your laptop. Can do Oh, however, you can’t connect your laptop to your PC with a cable so your laptop can show what your PC is streaming.
Therefore, in order for your laptop screen to act as a monitor for another device, you must use the built-in Windows functions or use third-party software to make the two devices work correctly at the same time. Should do it must be used You must use it And, in this guide, we are going to show you several options for setting up your laptop as a second screen for your PC or as your main screen.
How to use a laptop as a monitor?
A laptop can serve as a secondary display for a computer in any capacity, be it business, gaming, or school.
You must have a good understanding of connection options, operating systems, and small screen settings to properly configure your laptop as a monitor.
It is considered one of the lesser-known features of Windows 10, although it is also considered to be moderately priced.
If you’re ready to use the tools you currently have to create a better workflow and lower the cost of buying a second monitor, this is for you.
Here are the steps you need to take to have great success when setting up a laptop monitor as a secondary display in your home or business.
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How to Converter your laptop display on Windows
First, you need to pick up the appropriate display cable to connect your laptop to the monitor. Your laptop may use an HDMI, DisplayPort, Mini-DisplayPort cable, or include a docking station, so find the right cable for your needs and connect it to your monitor.
Once done, open “Settings > Settings > Display”. You can also right-click on your desktop and click “Display Settings” or use the “Windows Key + P” shortcut to quickly switch between display modes.
If your laptop screen has successfully connected to your PC monitor, you should see a screen with two or extra numbers in the “Select and rearrange screen” section. Otherwise, click “Detect” to force Windows to search for another display.
If you’re not sure which screen is which, click “Identify” and a number will appear to indicate each screen. You can also rearrange the screen however, you like, just be sure to click “Apply” once you’re done.
Scroll down to “Multiple Displays” and click the drop-down menu. From here, you can choose from several options, but the one we focus on is “Expand these screens.” Select this option to expand your screen to multiple screens, and then check the desired screen that you want to make your main screen.
In addition, it is! Now you can work on multiple displays on your Windows laptop.
System requirements and features
Before we continue, let’s talk about the system requirements and how it works. For starters, it will only work on a Windows-based machine. The main machine must be running Windows 10, Windows 8.1, or Windows 7.
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Secondary machines can run any of the following operating systems and devices:
- Windows 11
- Windows 10
- Android (version 4.1 or later)
- iOS (version 9.3 or later)
- An HTML 5 web browser (Chrome (>16), Safari (>5.1), Internet Explorer (>10), Opera (>27))
- Windows Phone (Windows Phone 10/8.1)
- Windows Surface, Laptop and PC (Windows 10, 11) and Tablet.
- Mac OS X.
- Linux PC and Laptop
You must be running a local area network (LAN) that supports TCP/IP v4. The way it works is that the Spacedesk software on the primary machine captures the screen content and then compresses it by transmitting it to the Spacedesk software over the LAN on the secondary device.
A really cool feature of this setup is that this software will allow you to mirror your desktop or extend that desktop to other devices. When in extended mode, you can drag windows from one screen to another.
How to Use Your Laptop to Remotely Control Your Desktop PC
- Go to Teamviewer.us and download TeamViewer on both your laptop and desktop
- Once you have downloaded Team Viewer, install it on both the systems
- Get Team Viewer ID for your Desktop
- Open Team Viewer on your laptop
- On your laptop, type your desktop ID in the Partner ID field and click Connect
- It will ask for your desktop password, enter it and press login
- Now you can control your desktop PC with your laptop
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Benefits of using a secondary display
As we have already understood and configured the process of converting your laptop into a second monitor. The only question that arises is why do most users, especially programmers, do this at their workplace, especially those who work from home. Let’s see what benefits it can bring you if you are not sure about these settings.
Increase productivity
It doesn’t matter what profession you are in or what position you hold in a company. Having multiple displays will speed up your workflow and increase productivity in the same way. Surely a freelancer can benefit greatly from this. A proper setup with best office system can get the job done. Plus, you can connect your smartphone or tablet to some third-party applications. Increase productivity
It doesn’t matter what profession you are in or what position you hold in a company. Having multiple displays will speed up your workflow and increase productivity in the same way. Surely a freelancer can benefit greatly from this. A proper setup with best office system can get the job done. Plus, you can connect your smartphone or tablet to some third-party applications.
Using Different Programs
The basic idea is to use multiple software at the same time in Adobe Creative Cloud or Microsoft Office, games, documents, spreadsheets, movie/video streaming, etc. In fact, it looks impressive when you can easily drag a file from one system to another. Many people have an agenda that involves working and researching different topics together.
For example, a content writer must switch between multiple Chrome tabs to research and write content at the same time. Plus, if you need to watch a video and keep track of your mail, it can be useful at the same time. Also, many YouTube users, gamers, and Twitch streamers prefer this setting.
For Digital Marketers
Well, in the long run, double exposure has brought huge benefits to the marketers. It’s easy to copy and share media files, post updates, keep track of finances and other statistics, and more. It benefits cross-platform data sharing with just drag and drop, and it can be done easily. Multitasking has now been simplified and there is no question about it.
Read also: Why is my computer slow and how to fix it?
Conclusion
These are the most common ways to use my laptop as a monitor. If you have a spare laptop, you can do a lot of other cool things. Let us know how you found the guide and if the method worked for you by leaving a comment in the section below.
