How to connect your laptop to projector tips - Common problems and solutions

Basically it is very simple to connect laptop with projector but there may occur some problems

Which can be avoided very simply

Common projection problems are:

1)  The user does not know how to set the laptop so that an image is sent out to the

     computer projector.

2) The laptop goes to sleep during the presentation and the signal being sent to the

     projector is terminated.

3) The screen saver comes on during a presentation and the signal being sent to the

     projector is terminated.

4) The laptop’s resolution settings are set improperly so that the projector is not being

    fed the correct image resolution.

Step 1: Check your power

Always use the laptop’s power adapter when projecting. This will not affect your ability to

project, but it will eliminate the possibility of your battery going dead mid-presentation.

Step 2: Set your laptop’s Energy Settings

Set the laptop’s Energy Settings so that the laptop NEVER goes to sleep or into an energy

saving mode. If your laptop goes to sleep during your presentation the hard drive will spin

down and you will lose your projected image.

To turn off all power saving features:

ƒClick “Start/settings/control panel/Power options”

ƒ In the “Power options” box choose the “Power Schemes” tab

ƒ Set all 6 pull-down menus to “Never”

ƒ Under “Power Schemes” choose “Save As” and type in the word “projection”

ƒClick “Apply”

ƒ Click the “Advanced” tab

ƒ Under “When I close the lid of myportable computer” choose “None”.

ƒ Click “OK” to save and exit the “Power Options” menu.

So now every time you use the laptop for projection all you have to do is open the “Power

options” window and choose the “Projection” profile under “Power Schemes”.

Step 3. Set the laptop’s Display Settings

Set the laptop’s Display Settings so that the resolution matches the native resolution of the

projector. The most common native resolution of our computer projectors is XGA, or 1024 by

768 pixels. You can check the native resolution on our Computer Projection page. To set the

resolution:

ƒ Right click on the desktop.

ƒ Click the “Settings” tab.

ƒ Set the “Colors” to “True Color (32 bit)”.

ƒ Set the “Screen area” to “1024X768 pixels”.

ƒ Click “Apply” (if confirmation window opens click “OK”.)

ƒClick “Advanced”.

ƒClick “Displays”.

ƒ In the center pane marked “Panel” click the round blue dot so that the Panel is

“Primary”.

ƒ Click on the word “Panel”.

ƒ Under “Panel Attributes” make sure “Scale image to panel size” is checked.

ƒClick “OK”.

ƒ In the left pane marked “Monitor” click the little blue wedge to the left of the word

“Monitor” so that an image is displayed on the picture of the little computer monitor.

ƒ In the left pane marked “Monitor” click the round blue dot so that the Monitor is

“Secondary”.

ƒClick “Apply”.

ƒClick “OK”.

Step 4: Send the image out to the projector

Learn how to send the image out to the projector.Audio Visual includes directions with all its

computer projectors instructing the user to do the following things BEFORE you power up

your laptop:

ƒ Connect the laptop to the projector with the supplied computer video cable.

ƒ Turn the on the projector

ƒ Ensure the correct source is set on the projector controller P.C. or laptop.

ƒ Now you can turn on your laptop.

If this procedure is followed the laptop will automatically sense the presence of the external

projector and send the signal automatically out to the projector.

Troubleshooting Problems

1. When it does not work: For various reasons, including failure to follow the procedure in step

#4 above, the user will get an image on either the laptop OR the projector, but not both. In

order to turn on both the image to the laptop and the projected image you have to use the

laptop’s function keys to turn on the display(s).

you can use the “Function/F8”key combination. Pressing this key combination

several times (waiting several seconds between pushes) will toggle you through 3 different

settings:

• Image on projector only

• Image on laptop only

• Image on both laptop and projector

The Function key combination may vary depending on the make of the laptop computer. Look

for a small monitor or the word “LCD” on one of the “F” keys.