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On Windows 7 machines, the Windows key + P hotkey will show all the options available even if it cannot perform the action requested


Symptoms

Consider the following scenario:

On a Windows 7 laptop with hybrid graphics

Connect a DVI and a VGA monitor
Connect a USB keyboard and mouse
Set the Close Lid action to "Do nothing"
Close the lid of the laptop screen and to use only the external monitors
On the keyboard, use Windows key +P to try and duplicate the display across the DVI and VGA displays

When you try to clone the display across two video cards, it is not possible and will show the display only on the DVI monitor.

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Cause

Windows key + P will always show the same options (Computer Only, Duplicate, Extend, Projector only) available even if it cannot perform the requested action.

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Resolution

This is by design for Windows 7. Windows cannot Duplicate the display across different video cards on systems with hybrid graphics. Due to this, some options will not be possible with certain monitor configurations.

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Keywords: kb

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Article Info
Article ID : 2298961
Revision : 1
Created on : 1/7/2017
Published on : 8/6/2010
Exists online : False
Views : 104