Windows 10: Windows 10 randomly disconnects external monitors when laptop screen is open

I searched around for similar topics but none I found really aligned with an issue that crops up periodically.Our general setup isell Latitude 7xxx/9xxx series laptopDell USB-C hub monitor 24" using ThunderboltDell Ultrasharp monitor 24" connected via MST and downstream from the hub monitorThe problem:Windows will randomly and without user intervention set the two external monitors to be "disconnected."I've noticed that this only happens if the user keeps the laptop open and thus has three monitors. If the laptop remains closed, the issue never arises as one of the two monitors is acting

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Laptop screen will only work once it has been connected to an external monitor, even if that monitor is switched off

Having an issue whereby I cannot see or use the Laptop screen without first plugging it into an external monitor.

• 
  Upon Windows startup unconnected to any external monitor
  
  • 
    DELL opening logo can be seen on Laptop screen
    
  • 
    Screen goes black with backlight
    
  • 
    Mouse pointer can be seen onscreen if moved to the right, as though a second monitor is connected on the left hand side.
    
  • 
    Attempting to press enter and type in password in the correct order as though the screen was functional does not do anything
    
• 
  Upon connecting to an external monitor (even if switched off)
  
  • 
    Laptop screen will suddenly appear, all functionality restored
    
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  Upon disconnecting again from external monitor
  
  • 
    Laptop screen remains visible and functional
    
  • 
    Lock screen /unlock screen no problem
    
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  Upon shutting and opening the laptop lid
  
  • 
    Screen black with backlight, same results as windows startup, mouse pointer can be seen and moved as though a second screen is connected on the left
    
  • 
    No functionality until reconnected, even for a second, with an external monitor.
    

Troubleshooting:

• 
  Restarting multiple times, checking multiple display screen is not activated:
  
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Windows 10 Laptop Screen partially freezes when re-opened several minutes after disconnecting from external display

We're having an issue that is being experienced on 3 different laptops running Windows 10 (all Lenovo Thinkpad's, but different models), where the screen
partially freezes/or glitches after being disconnected from external monitor. The only way to get it to work properly again is to restart the computer.

Description of behavior:

• When we disconnect the laptop from an external display and open the laptop (or reconnect to external display)
  several minutes or hours later a
  portion of the screen cannot be interacted with as if it froze. A mouse is undetected in that portion, but is usable everywhere else.
• It seems to be always some portion of the right side that freezes. If an application was open on that portion, the size of the unusable part I believe typically matches the size of the active application that
  was there before disconnecting from the external display.
• To describe the frozen state:
  • Example: Excel file at full screen. When behavior starts, you can't operate anything on the right side of the file (i.e. closing the file using the x, etc). If you try to move the window it's almost like the right side is just a screenshot that always
    stays on top. Everything moves behind it.
• Behavior has been replicated when external monitor is connected via Thunderbolt 3 and USB cable. Behavior also replicated with Single and Dual external display set-ups.

The only thing that seems to prevent the behavior is:

• Immediately upon disconnecting the laptop from the external display, open laptop and let it "re-adjust" to the internal display. So far, the laptop on which this workaround was tried hasn't experienced the behavior.

Does anyone know what's causing this issue and how to resolve it without the workaround above?

Thank you!

 

Applications Not Opening on my External Monitor

I have a Toshiba Satellite laptop running Win 10. I have a Samsung external monitor attached via HDMI.

My background display and task bar DO appear on the external monitor, but when I open applications such as Outlook, Google Chrome, etc., they open on the laptop screen NOT on my external monitor.

I have shutdown both the laptop and external monitor and rebooted. The external monitor is listed in Device listing. I have the display setup for Extended Desktop and when I select Identify, it shows me 1 as the laptop and 2 as the external monitor.
I have unplugged both ends of the HDMI cable.

How do I get apps to open on my external monitor? Thanks for any assistance. Cheryl