S W I T C H T H E V I D E O I M A G E — If your computer is attached to an external monitor, press <Fn><F8> to switch the video image to the display.
If the display is difficult to read
AD J U S T T H E B R I G H T N E S S — Press <Fn> and the up- or
MO V E T H E E X T E R N A L S U B W O O F E R A W A Y F R O M T H E C O M P U T E R O R M O N I T O R — If your external speaker system includes a subwoofer, ensure that the subwoofer is at least 60 cm (2 ft) away from the computer or external monitor.
E L I M I N A T E P O S S I B L E I N T E R F E R E N C E — Turn off nearby fans, fluorescent lights, halogen lamps, or other appliances.
R O T A T E T H E C O M P U T E R T O F A C E A D I F F E R E N T D I R E C T I O N — Eliminate sunlight
glare, which can cause poor picture quality.
AD J U S T T H E W I N D O W S D I S P L A Y S E T T I N G S —
1 Click Start→ Control Panel→ Appearance and Themes.
2 Click the area you want to change or click the Display icon.
3 Try different settings for Color quality and Screen resolution.
R U N T H E VI D E O D I A G N O S T I C S T E S T S — If no error message appears and you still have a display problem, but the display is not completely blank, run the Video device group in the Dell Diagnostics (see "Dell Diagnostics" on page 103). If the problem persists, contact Dell (see "Contacting Dell" on page 149).
S E E "E R R O R M E S S A G E S " — If an error message appears, see "Error Messages" on page 111.
If only part of the display is readable
C O N N E C T A N E X T E R N A L M O N I T O R —
1 Shut down your computer and connect an external monitor to the computer.
2 Turn on the computer and the monitor and adjust the monitor brightness and contrast controls.
If the external monitor works, the computer display or video controller may be defective. Contact Dell (see "Contacting Dell" on page 149).
Troubleshooting