There are multiple ways in Windows operating system to share your screen. Sharing presentation through Skype and using a bigger secondary monitor are very common ways of sharing content with others. Though traditional, physical projector is also an important device in many organizations to mirror or extend your PC screen especially during conference calls and online meetings for presentations. It enlarges your display making it visible to a wider audience and convenient for you to highlight important sections on your screen.
However, Windows 10 users may encounter a range of issues with projectors including undetected device and other connection errors. If you have problems using your Windows PC with a projector, you may try the following solutions to fix the issue.
Basic Troubleshooting
If your computer cannot detect a secondary display, there could be a problem with the connection.
- Check whether the projector is connected to the computer using the right cable (HDMI or VGA) on the correct port.
- Ensure that the projector is powered on and ready for use.
- You may try connecting with a different cable or test your cable to ensure that the cable is not broken.
Once you have confirmed that everything is connected the right way, now you can proceed and try the next solution.
1. Fixing “Windows logo + P” Keys Shortcut
The projector menu will slide out whenever you press “Windows logo + P” keyboard shortcuts. However, sometime it will not work and is a difficult task to choose whether to extend or share the monitor screen without the project menu options. If you struck at this frequently, here is a shortcut solution for you:
- Ensure to connect your monitor or projector.
- Press “Windows logo + R” keys to open Run command prompt.
- Type displayswitch and press enter.
- You will see the Windows project menu sliding from the right.
- Choose one of the actions like duplicate, extend or second screen only to start sharing your screen.
2. Try Windows Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter
This feature enables you to search, detect and resolve hardware issues in Windows 10 PCs. This tool can help you to identify and fix projector related issues.
- Open Windows Settings app by pressing the “Windows logo + I” keys on your keyboard and then open the “Update & Security” settings.
- On the left panel, select “Troubleshoot” and on the right window scroll down to click to expand the “Hardware and Devices” option.
- You will find this under the “Find and fix other problems” section.
- Click the “Run the troubleshooter” button to start searching for hardware issues.
- Windows will automatically check for any issues with all internal hardware and connected devices and suggest a fix for the problem.
- Click the button to apply the suggested solution and check whether the issue is resolved.
3. Updating Your Device Drivers
Windows can fail to detect a projector if your drivers are out of date. To fix the problem you should check the driver issues and update them.
- Press the “Windows logo + X” keys on your keyboard and choose “Device Manager” on the resulting power user menu.
- First, expand the “Display adaptors”, right-click the device and select “Update driver” from the menu to update the graphics drivers.
3.1. Manual Drivers Updates
You can update the drivers manually by downloading the specific driver from the manufacturer’s website and save the driver file on PC.
- In this case, you need to select “browse my computer for driver..” option when updating the driver.
- Select the driver file you have downloaded and follow the screen instructions to install.
However, this can be a challenge, as you need to find the latest driver that is compatible with your system.
3.2. Automatic Drivers Updates
This option allows Windows to search for updated drivers on your PC local storage and the internet and installs exact drivers for you.
- Select the first option in the step above, “Search automatically for…” and wait as the system searches for the latest version of the drivers.
- You can also installed third-party software that automatically scans driver issues and automatically downloads and installed the correct version.
If updating the display adaptors drivers does not fix the problem, you may repeat the same procedure to update the “Ports (COM & LTP) drivers including the HDMI or the VGA adapter drivers.
4. Roll Back your Drivers to a Previous Version
If you encounter a projector issue after updating Windows or drivers, reversing the driver to the previous version can resolve the problem.
- Open the device manager and expand display or the ports drivers.
- Double click the driver you recently updated to open the driver properties and switch to the “Driver” tab.
- Click the “Roll Back Driver” button. This will restore the driver to the previous working condition.
5. Download and Install Windows Updates
Windows updates can fix a number of problems including projector issues. To check and install windows update:
- Press the “Windows logo + I” keys to open the settings app and select “Update & Security” settings.
- Go to “Windows Update” and click the icon on the right pane to check for updates. If new updates are found, download and install the updates.
- You may have to restart your PC after installing certain updates.
Summary
Projector issues in Windows 10 can result from several problems ranging from outdated drivers / OS, failed driver updates to simple connection errors. Fortunately, you can use the built-in Windows 10 troubleshooter to detect and fix hardware and device issues. Moreover, you can easily update your drivers to the latest available version or roll back to a previous version should the update backfires.
