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23287
December 31st, 2014 06:00
Dell Venue 8 with Windows 8.1 - Help! - Mistakenly selected Second monitor only
Hello Community!:
I'm in dire straits here. I was trying to get my Widi to interact with my TV so I could stream a movie...and it was not communicating. So like the knuckle head that I am...I started choosing each display option (dual monitors, extended display and then second monitor only). Well, when I selected "second Monitor only" and since I had no second monitor to extend to...I completely lost video functionality...now I can't tell if my tablet is on, off, what screen it is on, etc. I don't even know if it is working. I tried all the function keys with a wireless keyboard that I have, tried control/alt/delete to reboot, tried to turn off and reboot but nothing...can't even tell if its on or off. This all started last evening. I plugged in to charge overnight and hoped maybe it would reset or something...but no dice. Same thing now. At one point last night after I lost video functionality and after pressing way too many buttons on the keyboard...I did hear some commands coming from the speaker like some sort of disability assist but then it went away and I have nothing again. I was hoping there would be a key combination like FN F4 or something I could press to toggle back to PC only. I tried the Windows button and P....but nothing happened. Any help would greatly be appreciated. Thanks.
dgskas1
2 Posts
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December 31st, 2014 10:00
St. Lamar:
I've learned never to say never and never to say always. Windows did not revert back...hence the problem I was having. And no reboot, long hold of the power button, ctrl/alt/del or any other reboot method seemed to work. Believe me...I tried those obvious things thinking it should revert...but it would not even reboot. Working with any computer in the dark is not easy...the only thing you can use is the keyboard...so my thoughts were to use keyboard commands. The keyboard command to bring up the menu for toggling between monitors is the windows key and "P"...I tried that many times...but it still did not do anything.
I did post this same issue on a Windows 8 forum and got a reply from a user who said to use the windows key and "p" then to wait a second or two and then hit "enter" as if the screen was on, these commands should bring up the menu and then the default selection would be the "PC screen only" and then hitting "enter" would complete the selection bringing the display back to the tablet. I fiddled with that for a minute or two and still no dice. Since I have no screen and after pressing so many keys and trying to reboot...it was anyone's guess what screen my computer was on. But then I thought, well maybe the default selection was not "PC screen only"...so I thought maybe if I tried the windows key and "P" then use my arrow keys and hit enter...maybe I could bring it back that way. Well after several tries...I guess I got the combination right and it did in fact come back.
Thank you for your advice...and replying to my post.
St. Lamar
157 Posts
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December 31st, 2014 09:00
Hi, DGSKAS1, AFAIK, Windows will always revert to the primary monitor if the second monitor is not available, even if IT is being used as your primary monitor.
Try forcing a reboot. On the V8P, a very long power button press will do it. Then post back if you don't get the Dell logo and Windows starting.
St. Lamar
157 Posts
0
December 31st, 2014 12:00
Good solution. On my desktop, Win-P comes up with "Extend" selected. It would take 3 ups and enter to get "PC Screen Only."
Thanks for letting us know!