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Updating to Windows 11 broke my external monitor

Anonymous
2021-12-20T02:48:22+00:00

I recently updated to Windows 11, and I immediately regretted it. As soon as I did it, my laptop stopped recognizing my external monitor. I tried all the troubleshooting I could find, to no avail. I tried plugging it into my spouse's laptop (which, by the way, runs Windows 11), and it worked perfectly, so I know it's not an issue with the monitor or cable. I even tried using an HDMI port on a dongle--no dice. I tried updating the driver, reinstalling the driver, to no effect. I reverted to Windows 10, but it's still not working. What gives?

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Devices and drivers

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  1. Anonymous
    2021-12-23T18:17:59+00:00

    I'm not sure exactly what the term for it is. When you boot the computer, there's the option to interrupt the process and access the BIOS, right? Well, under that menu was the option to press F10 for hardware diagnosis, and under that was an option for testing the display. It runs a bunch of tests with different colors and figures.

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  2. Anonymous
    2021-12-20T22:27:44+00:00

    Geekpage guide:

    Fix 1: Identify Missing Display. I went to Settings > Display and clicked on "detect" under "Multiple Displays." I received a "Didn't detect another display" message.

    Fix 2: Update the Display Driver. I updated the display driver through the Device Manager tool. No change.

    Fix 3: Change the display frequency. There is only one frequency available (60.012hz). I was not able to change the frequency.

    Fix 4: Rollback the display driver: There was no option to rollback in the device manager. I manually selected the previous drivers through the process you provided. No result.

    Fix 5: Manually install the latest version of the display driver. I did this through Intel's updater tool. No result.

    IT Hacks guide:

    Check the monitor: I made sure the cable was securely seated in each port. I tried using both HDMI ports on my laptop. I connected the monitor to my spouse's laptop with the same HDMI cable and USB-C hub I use on mine. The monitor immediately worked on my spouse's laptop. That laptop is also a Lenovo running Windows 11, if that matters. This confirms that the issue is not with the hardware.

    Restart: No result.

    Update the graphics driver: see above.

    Reinstalling graphics driver: No result.

    Minitool guide:

    Restart: see above.

    Check monitor connection: see above.

    Update graphics driver: see above.

    Reinstall graphics driver: see above.

    WhiteWater-0513's question:

    There weren't actually a lot of suggestions there. From what I could tell, users suggested 1) restarting and 2) unplugging the cable and plugging it back in again. I tried both, with no result.

    I could go through the YouTube videos as well, but I don't think there were any additional fixes in those.

    Thanks for sticking with me, Greg.

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  3. Anonymous
    2021-12-21T01:00:45+00:00

    Greg,

    Good news! I don't know exactly what I happened, but it's working again. This time, when I restarted, I interrupted the startup sequence and ran the display diagnostics. It may be just a coincidence since it didn't seem to be testing the monitor, but it's working now.

    Thanks!

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  4. Anonymous
    2021-12-20T20:54:11+00:00

    Greg,

    Thanks for the very thorough response! First, to answer your question about the set-up: The monitor is connected to the laptop via an HDMI cable. I have two HDMI ports on the laptop: one built into the computer and another on a USB-C hub. I have tried using both of them.

    Here's what I have tried:

    1. Restarting (I've tried this a lot)
    2. Updating the display driver through the Device Manager.
    3. Updating the driver through the Intel updater tool.
    4. Updating the monitor driver through the manufacturer's website (ViewSonic).
    5. Updating the BIOS through Lenovo.
    6. Rolling back to the previous two versions of the display driver.

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  5. Anonymous
    2021-12-21T01:08:16+00:00

    So glad to hear it! I think that proves the problem is deep inside Windows or the Display adapter and not the monitor. We have the same problem with Bluetooth after some Updates. It's a Windows thing.

    May I ask which Display Diagnostics you ran? Was it the Hardware Troubleshooter suggested in first tutorial in my last post?

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