How do I switch the primary display on a T60/FireGL V5200?

[torlanglo]

I have a T60p with a ATI Mobility FireGL V5200. I have attached an external Dell widescreen LCD display to the laptop's external VGA port.

Using the Catalyst Control Center I'm able to enable the external monitor, but I'm unable to set the external monitor to be my primary display (I want the desktop icons, taskbar, etc. to be on the external display).

I have been able to do this for several years using my old T41 ThinkPad w/ATI Mobility Radeon 9000, so why shouldn't this work anymore.

Any help is appreciated,

Tor.

[jjesusfreak01]

I have a T60p with a ATI Mobility FireGL V5200. I have attached an external Dell widescreen LCD display to the laptop's external VGA port.

Using the Catalyst Control Center I'm able to enable the external monitor, but I'm unable to set the external monitor to be my primary display (I want the desktop icons, taskbar, etc. to be on the external display).

I have been able to do this for several years using my old T41 ThinkPad w/ATI Mobility Radeon 9000, so why shouldn't this work anymore.

Any help is appreciated,

Tor.

Well, you can always do this in BIOS if you cant get the Catalyst controls to work.

[torlanglo]

Well, I actually looked at the BIOS, but didn't see anything that directly applied to my situation. There were options for choosing the default monitor during boot, and there were options for how to handle monitors attached to a docking station.

Could you explain how to change the BIOS to make this work?

Thanks,
Tor.

[tselling]

Have you tried on the the Display settings page (with the two monitors displayed), to drag the second in front of the other one?

[rvacha]

In Catalyst select Displays Manager and make sure that both displays 1 and 2 (on the right) are enabled. After that you should be able to right click Desktop 1 or Desktop 2 (on the left) and select Swap Displays. The takbar always shows up on the display you define as the main display.

[Anthony S]

torlanglo
the display scheme I use in the office is exactly the one that you are looking for.

Use the ThinkPad Presentation Manager to set up this and other display schemes however you want them (you don't need to do anything in Catalyst Control Center or BIOS). And, if you have multiple schemes, switch between them with Fn+F7.

[torlanglo]

Hi tselling,

Have you tried on the the Display settings page (with the two monitors displayed), to drag the second in front of the other one?

I'm unable to do this using my version of the Catalyst Control Center (CCC). My CCC version (ver. 1.2.2275.5025) is the one that came with the T60p.

When I drag the monitors around it only changes their positions.

[torlanglo]

Hi rvacha,

In Catalyst select Displays Manager and make sure that both displays 1 and 2 (on the right) are enabled. After that you should be able to right click Desktop 1 or Desktop 2 (on the left) and select Swap Displays. The takbar always shows up on the display you define as the main display.

When right-clicking on the desktops I have the following options:

* Enable
* Primary
* Identify

but unfortunately the Primary option is disabled.

[torlanglo]

Hi Anthony,

Use the ThinkPad Presentation Manager to set up this and other display schemes however you want them (you don't need to do anything in Catalyst Control Center or BIOS). And, if you have multiple schemes, switch between them with Fn+F7.

I looked through the Presentation Manager options (and also upgraded to the latest version from Lenovo), but was only able to set up my 2nd monitor as a clone of the first (both monitors displaying the same windows). This is not what I'm looking for.

Do you know how to specify primary and secondary monitors, and that they should form one large desktop together?

Tor.

[torlanglo]

I was finally able to do what I wanted to do.

In Catalyst Control Center (CCC) I switched from Advanced to Basic view, then ran the "Easy Setup Wizard". This wizard then asked me which monitor I wanted to use as the primary display.

Kind of strange that an advanced feature is found in the Basic wizard and not anywhere in the Advanced view.

Thanks to all who helped!

Tor.

[Anthony S]

Hi Tor

I looked through the Presentation Manager options (and also upgraded to the latest version from Lenovo), but was only able to set up my 2nd monitor as a clone of the first ...

That is certainly not the only display scheme you can set up with Presentation Director (I'm using version 2.53).

Do you know how to specify primary and secondary monitors, and that they should form one large desktop together?

Start ThinkVantage > Presentation Director (or Fn+F7 then Manage Schemes...)
Click New...
Select Extended Desktop and click Next
Select Primary Monitor = External Monitor (and any other relevant options), click Test, then Next etc

Then you can create further display schemes according to needs. So, I think that Presentation Director is easier and more flexible.

But, of course, if you succeeded with Catalyst Control Center to get what you wanted, you can stay with that.