AIBU to ask for advice setting up a dual screen with two VGA monitors?

[KavvLar]

Posting for traffic as this is driving me CRAZY and if I don't get it sorted my next AIBU will be AIBU to feck my monitors out the window?

I am trying to set up a dual screen to work from home. I have a work Surface Pro and I've bought two refurbished screens and a docking station. Once the screens came I realized they have VGA connections only, no HDMI or DVI.

I ordered a DVI to VGA splitter to plug both monitors into the docking station but it just duplicates the screen from my surface pro on both monitors. I want the ability to have two separate screens like I do at work.

Is there anything I can buy that would let me plug the second monitor into the docking station or the surface pro and make it work?

Please please please help before my brain explodes. Thank you.

Have you gone to display settings, scrolled down to multiple screens and changed it to extend rather than duplicate?

Look in display settings and see if you can extend the displays not duplicate. Sorry I know how to do it on a laptop but not a surface Pro

Actually does the device are the two monitors since it's a spliter you have?

Hope this helps

Or if not in settings, does pressing the Windows key +P the selecting "extend" not work?

then selecting

Does the dock have HDMI?

You may have two analogue outputs, which is why it’s duplicating. VGA and an HDMI to VGA should work.

Does the computer itself have two monitor outputs? I'm working on a duel monitor desktop machine here and both monitors are plugged directly into the machine. One into the VGA output and one into the DVI using a VGA to DVI adaptor.

Taking one output and splitting it will just split the output into a two copies.

I think my set up is screen 1 straight to the PC and screen 2 is on an HDMI cable connected only to screen 1. It works, anyway.

Thank you so much. You computer wizards I bloody love Mumsnet. You are all brilliant.

So if I extend as you guys above have e suggested, or windows P extend, it tells me that screen 1 is the surface pro and screen 2 applies to both monitors as duplicates. It won't let me do what I'd normally do.

@STAYTHEFUCKHOME the docking station does have a HDMI port, so if I got a HDMI to VGA adapter, and plugged one monitor into that, then left the second one as it is, would that work?

I fear I may have massively over complicated this but I was advised to get a docking station as the surface pro has very little to plug into.

Thanks for any and all input, I'm very grateful.

Yes that would work or two vga to mini display port cables would do it

If you're using a splitter, all it does is send the same signal to both screens.
As you've discovered, unless you have two video outputs on your laptop, you can't have two monitors with an extended desktop showing on them.
Beware of the DVI adapters though, you need the powered one which has a blue end, I think.

Before you buy a HDMI to VGA, if you can, try and dual screen with your VGA monitor and your tv on HDMI. It’ll be a good test to make sure it all works.

@mineofuselessinformation I knew the laptop wouldn't do it alone and that's why I thought I needed the docking station. Honestly all of this is a bit beyond my knowledge so I'm learning which is great!

@STAYTHEFUCKHOME good tip I will try that.

Thanks everyone.

I have a Surface Pro from work, with the official docking station (www.<a class="break-all" href="https://amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-1661-Dock-Station-Mobile/dp/B01BOVBQ4C).?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-am-i-being-unreasonable-3892016-AIBU-to-ask-for-advice-setting-up-a-dual-screen-with-two-VGA-monitors" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-1661-Dock-Station-Mobile/dp/B01BOVBQ4C). It has two Mini DisplayPorts. I noticed you mentioned you were using an HDMI to VGA splitter, which suggests you're using a different dock?

Can you confirm what docking station you have, as maybe some third party ones don't support a dual monitor setup....

The Surface device itself has a single Mini DisplayPort for connecting monitors directly, not using a dock. This actually does allow dual monitors to be connected, but only if they are compatible with the "Daisy Chaining" feature of DisplayPort. If they only have VGA inputs this won't be possible, but it seemed worth mentioning as others had said you could only have dual monitors if there were two separate video outputs.

@CasperGutman thank you. I bought a Kensington docking station, only because that's the one we use at work for the dual screen set up. So it should work with the surface pro (in theory) to do a dual screen, but I think we must have slightly more up to date screens at work though which is what's causing my problem.

Oh and I'm not using a HDMI to VGA thing yet. I have just got a DVI to VGA splitter. The DVI plugs into the docking station but the VGA didn't.

I think the recommendation has been to keep that set up for one screen, and try and get a second 'VGA to mini display port' or 'VGA to HDMI' adapter for the other screen.

I don't fully understand the pros and cons but I am going to try the TV as second screen with the hdmi cable later and see if that works. If it does I'll get that adapter, if not I'll try the other one.

Sounds like a plan. Good luck!

How’s it gone?

@STAYTHEFUCKHOME hmm OK I think. I fell short trialing the TV as the hdmi cable is hard to access from the TV so I couldn't test it easily. I was going to rope husband into helping me move stuff, if that doesn't work then I think I will take a punt on the mini display port adapter and keep my fingers crossed.