Windows 10: Did the 10/11 updates kill the ability to use an external monitor?

My Surface laptop updated last night and my PC no longer recognizes or can find my external monitor. I've tried multiple different monitors, cables and none of them work any longer. Device manager scans won't even see the monitor

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External monitor blanking often

Hi,

Please answer these questions to assist you better.

• What is the make and model of your computer and external monitor?
• Have you installed all pending Windows and driver updates?
• Do you get any error message?

I suggest you to install all pending Windows updates in your PC and also update Display drivers. Follow the steps below.

Step 1: I would suggest you to check and install any latest Windows Updates available.

• Go to Start and then Settings.
• Click on Update and Recovery.
• Check for updates under
  Windows Updates.
• Restart the system and check if the issue is resolved.

Step 2: Please refer to the following Wiki article created by
Andre Da Costa on How to: Install and Update drivers in Windows 10.

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Do let us know if you still get random black screen in the external monitor. Thank you.

 

external monitors switch off randomly - possibly connected to Skype for Business usage?

Hi Robert,

It is possible that you're experiencing issues with your external monitors due to corrupted or outdated drivers. To assist you better, I'd like to gather more information:

• Are you using the same device when connecting your laptop to your external monitors?
• Have you tried updating your drivers?

Meanwhile, if not, I suggest that you follow the steps in this article about updating drivers in Windows
10.

Let us know if you need further assistance.

 

External monitor display settings

Hi,



Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community.



I understand that you are facing issues with the display scaling on your external displays. We will certainly look into this for you.

As you are using Vizio TV, you may have to try using custom resolution settings if the in-built settings do not provide the required settings.

For better clarity, please let us know:

• What is the version of Windows 10 that is currently installed on your computer? You can click on Search and type
  winver.
• Are you aware of any recent changes to the system, such as updates, after which you are facing this issue?
• What is the make and model of your computer?

Meanwhile, I would suggest you to check the steps mentioned in the Workaround section in

Windows scaling issues for high-DPI devices

I would also suggest you to check the Display drivers. Please refer

Troubleshoot external monitor connections in Windows 10

Set up dual monitors on Windows 10



Let us know how it goes.

Regards,

Vivian S