Use a laptop or convertible computer as a second monitor

Sometimes, one screen is just too little. You can use laptop computer screen as a second display to monitor messaging programs like teams and the like. Or for an HD display in hand for better screenshots. […]

In her home office, the author uses a computer with a wide but not particularly high-resolution gaming monitor. Space for a word– There is enough browser window! To create screenshots at higher resolution, a file is displayed Microsoft The surface is as if called out, and it is also present in the home office of the writer. But how do you use this as a second monitor on a PC?

Windows functionality is suitable for this purpose Wireless displayWhich sends its data via the Miracast transmission protocol. Miracast is often referred to as “HDMI over Wi-Fi”. So the picture and audio output (as with HDMI) – simply via one Wi-FiDirect connection between the two devices. Devices must support Miracast for it to work. try to.

Hints: We are calling the devices on the next “PC” (this is the main PC we’re working on) and the “Surface” (which we want to use as an additional screen on the main computer). Miracast is a standard Wi-Fi– Allied and supported by many manufacturers. So it works with many devices that are not working Microsoft Surface series. In the short test, the broadcast to the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon was immediately older.

Set up the wireless display

Turn on WLAN on both devices (i.e. the main computer and laptop to be connected), even if the devices are already connected to the network via Ethernet cables at the same time.

Install Windows functionality on the roof (= second display) Wireless display. To do this, open it on your Surface Start / Settings / System / Project on this computer. Click Optional features-Now click first Plus at Add a feature And search for it in the search box Wireless display. Check it out and click To install. Sometimes a restart is required after this.

It is now on the roof Start / Settings / System / Project on this computer. For security reasons, make the following settings so that first connections are only allowed on secure networks and secondly only from devices you want to allow this – that is, yours. Select “Some Windows and Android devices can display on this computer” Available everywhere in secure networks. at Ask if this PC is allowed to view Choose Only the first time. I made the same choice in Request the PIN to pair. Experience has shown that a PIN is required every time a call occurs; Circumstance Microsoft We hope to fix it in one of the following updates.

Then click Start the Connect app to view it on this computer. Surface will now switch to pairing mode with a large blue background. Switch this window to full screen. The PIN will only appear in this later, which you will have to enter on the main computer, and if it works, it will also show the picture of your main computer.

On your main computer, click on the mini computer at the bottom right Rumours-Icon or press the window+a To open an information center. Click The project. Choose Expanded, Followed by Connect to a wireless display. Select the Surface device it found and you’ll be asked for the PIN. Take a look at your Surface, which displays the PIN, and type in the PIN. Once done, Surface becomes your second screen.

Right-click on the main computer desktop And chose Display settings. Depending on the width on which side, you can place them in the correct order within the system. If your Surface (here named Screen # 2) is to the right of your computer screen, just use the mouse to hold one of the screens directly on that screen and move it to the other side. You can also use the mouse to specify whether the two displays that are resolved differently are flush at the bottom or the top edge.

That’s all. From now on, you can open any program on the main computer and use the mouse to remove it from your screen left or right, as it appears on the Surface screen or on the connected laptop screen.

Disconnect and use in everyday life

Once you later want to use the Surface or laptop you are using as a second screen again as a separate PC or to turn it off, click My main Computer at the top (center) in the small toolbar SeparatedTo disconnect.

Put a shortcut for on Surface Connection– Application in system tray. To do this, click Start, Faucet Connection a. In found ConnectionClick on the application Installed in the system tray.

Going forward, it works like this every time you want to temporarily use your Surface as a second screen: Start on your Surface Start / Settings / System / Project on this PC / Start Connect app to view it on this PC. Or you can use the previous file in a Taskbar connected Connection-abbreviation. On your desktop, tap the window+s, Choose Expanded And the Connect to a wireless display. If you type in the PIN, your Surface becomes a second screen again.

If it does not work

As indicated at the beginning, it was possible to easily add a Surface or ThinkPad as a second screen to the main computer. It didn’t work the other way around when the author tried: With Surface as the primary device, the previous flagship computer (to which the gaming monitor was attached) didn’t want to present itself as a wireless monitor.

This could be due to a main computer module that does not or does not fully support Miracast.

Clues point to incomplete Miracast support: tap affected devices the window+R, Faucet dxdiag And press Enters. Click Save all information. Place the text file on a file desktop from. Open it with a double click in the Notepad editor and immediately check in the top section “System Information” if it says “Miracast: Available, with HDCP”. Miracast support is available. If “Miracast: Not available” is actually mentioned here, it probably won’t work for this device. Even if “Miracast: Available, with HDCP” is also mentioned under “System Information,” don’t rejoice early on. Also search via Control+F (Control+FAfter mentioning Miracast in the file; It should also be found in the “Display devices” section.

If a line displays “Miracast: Not supported by graphics driver,” the attempt will likely fail in at least one direction: broadcast from This computer crashed when we tried to stream a file On Not this PC or its screen. You can now delete the DxDiag.txt file again.