Dual Screens without Dual Monitors

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David Sturzenbecher

Junior
Jan 15, 2011
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In Windows, is it possible to trick your computer into thinking it has two screens when only one is connected? I want to show one thing on a monitor, and view the second screen over VNC. I know if I actually have two screens connected, I can view both over VNC, but keeping that screen there when the second monitor is disconnected is proving tricky.

Thanks!
 
Re: Dual Screens without Dual Monitors

It's not what you want, but I've used MagicDisc to create a virtual CD drive on a computer that didn't have one. It shows up in "My Computer" as a normal disk drive and there's nothing to suggest that Windows knows the difference.

At least this shows that mimicing hardware in Windows is entirely possible.

Chris
 
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Re: Dual Screens without Dual Monitors

There might be a couple of ways, but hard to know without knowing what monitor outs your PC has and what connections your monitor has.

There are devices like Gefens DVI Detective that will act as a dummy display when connected - but for the price you could buy a monitor so its only really an option if you need to save space.

There is also the Matrox dual head 2 go but that is in the same boat as the detective.

If you have a monitor with 2 input connections you could try connecting both outputs to that and see if it detects without being the active input on the monitor.

If you are using VGA outputs, there may be a way to wire it up to fool an output on a computer, but these days detection is usually based on EDID info from the display so is likely harder to fool.


HTH

Gareth
 
Re: Dual Screens without Dual Monitors

Could you use something like a VGA to CAT 5 balun, which would provide the ID bit the computer needs, but might not let the computer know that there's nothing else connected to it?

(The advantage of this is that, whilst it may be more expensive, at least you have bought something that might be useful in its own right in other situations)
 
Re: Dual Screens without Dual Monitors

The computer itself has not yet been picked or constructed, but will most likely be a rack mount beast to run System Architect. It looks like I will need to at least have a video card capable of driving the second monitor though.
 
David Sturzenbecher said:
In Windows, is it possible to trick your computer into thinking it has two screens when only one is connected? I want to show one thing on a monitor, and view the second screen over VNC. I know if I actually have two screens connected, I can view both over VNC, but keeping that screen there when the second monitor is disconnected is proving tricky.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

What about air display? Free for the pc side, and it makes the pc think it has another screen (in addition to the 2nd hardware screen). Ie, my laptop when its running air display, thinks it has 3 screens, i. Laptop screen, ii. Air Display screen, iii. Hardware external screen.
 
Re: Dual Screens without Dual Monitors

It looks like air display only creates the second screen when there is a valid device running the air display software.
 
Re: Dual Screens without Dual Monitors

I just tried the demo version of Maxivista...and it gets so close. However System Architect appears to be too much of a graphics hog to play nice. I may try some Kramer Baluns next.
 
Re: Dual Screens without Dual Monitors

Alright, for those of you playing along at home..

The solution was easier then I thought

In Window 7, Go to your screen resolution settings
Click Detect
Click on "another display not connected"
Then pull down, "no displays detected" and change to "Try to connect anayway on:VGA"
Hit Apply
Then pull down "Show desktop only on one" to "Extend these displays" hit apply

You will then have VNC display two displays with only one connected.

I'm done posting to myself :)
 
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