Fixing the computer display

1. Plug in the connecting cables between computer and television.
2. Switch on the television before booting up the computer.
3. Boot up the computer.
4. For XP, right click on desktop and go straight to Properties *
5. Click Settings on Display Properties
6. Click screen 2, then right click "attached"
7. The computer should identify the television as monitor 2
8. Adjust TV input if necessary (eg AV1)
9. Select the best screen resolution for the television by adjusting the slider bar
10. If the display is still not behaving, click Advanced on Display Properties
11. Open the graphics card tab to be found on the PC or laptop Display Properties
12. Follow the menu - for instance if you have a graphics card such as the nVidia Quadro, then adjust the resolution and set the display to "clone" to get an identical display on both screens. With the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator, open Graphics Properties and choose Intel Dual Display Clone.

Trial and error seems to be the best approach for establishing the ideal screen resolution for your equipment. HDTV can handle a screen resolution of 1024x768. For Standard TV the resolution will normally be set at 800x600.

* For Vista users a right click on the desktop will give "Personalization", which then offers "Display Settings".

Note: Composite Video and S-Video can only support a maximum of 640x480 pixels, so these cable adapters aren’t suitable for displaying High Definition signals. They will not display the computer desktop very well either.