MELANCHOLY404 TECHNOLOGY

Just like a bag of chips or a piece of cake, when it comes to monitors, you can always have more. If you’re a coder, writer, or you do any kind of work that involves more than two windows, you’ll appreciate the hell out of a multi-monitor setup. For coders, you often have multiple browser windows open for testing, and being able to emulate different devices on a separate screen while you code is a godsend. And unlike a couple of years ago, getting there is easy and cheap. Windows 8 comes with spectacular multi-monitor features, and good displays start at just $150.

So whether you want to add a trove of monitors to your high-end desktop or just an external monitor to your laptop, I’ve got you covered. Best of all, you don’t need to install any extra piece of software to do any of this. Let’s get started.

If you have a modern laptop you can use an HDMI cable to connect to an external monitor. You can get full HD 21–23 inch monitors well around the $150 range. And there’s always an option to go for a 27 inch IPS display.

These are especially helpful for multi tasking/monitoring. Also, movies and games will look much better on these full HD screens than your small, reflective laptop’s screen. And before you ask, your laptop can handle it. Even the 2–3 year old laptops with Intel’s integrated graphics are more than capable of firing pixels onto an external monitor (gaming not included).

Related: If you don’t want to buy an external display, you can turn your Android tablet to an external display. Check out our guide to know how.

If you’re attaching one or two external displays to your laptop and don’t want to look at the laptop’s screen, there’s a way to essentially turn the laptop into a desktop PC.

To do this, go to Control Panel -> Hardware and Sound -> Change What the Power Buttons Do. Here you’ll seen an option called “When I close the lid”. From either the On Battery or Plugged In section, change the option to Do Nothing. Now when you close the lid, the computer won’t go to sleep. I’d suggest you choose the Plugged In option because driving external displays on your laptop’s battery isn’t the best idea.

Windows 8 and 8.1 span the taskbar to all the displays by default so no matter where you are, you’ll be able to quickly switch between applications. If you don’t want this feature, you can turn it off by right-clicking on the taskbar and selecting Properties.

There’s no missing the Start page. Sure you can directly boot into Desktop now but if you put in some time, you can learn to love it or live with it. Either way, having a multiple monitor setup gives you a bit of both old and new. The Start page will show up on your default screen while the secondary monitor will show the good ol’ desktop.

Let’s say you’ve got three 27 inch monitors arranged on your desktop, which is starting to look something like an airplane cockpit. It’s a shame if all of them show different pictures. Thanks to a built-in mode, you can apply panoramic wallpapers to your displays and stretch that skyline to the edges of the horizon.

You don’t need to download a special program to apply panoramic wallpapers. Right-click on the Desktop and go to Personalize. From the Wallpapers tab select your downloaded panoramic wallpaper. In the bottom you’ll see a Picture position option. From here select Span and now your wallpaper is stretching across your displays.

Want to set different wallpapers for each screen? That’s cool. In the same window, right-click on the image and select either of the displays.

Wallpaperfusion is the best place to get dual, triple or quad screen panoramic wallpapers.Dualmonitorbackgrounds.com also has a great collection.

If you don’t want to download panoramic wallpapers, both websites offer cut-out wallpapers for individual screens as well.

I’m sure you know about Windows Aero Snap feature that allows you to split two windows to take up exactly 50% of your screen, like seen below.

All you need to do is either drag the window to the left or the right edge of the screen and it just docks there.

I know what you’re thinking, This won’t work with your dual monitor set up. Dragging it to the left edge from the monitor on the right will just take the window over to another display. You’re smart but then so is Windows. This is when keyboard shortcuts come into play.

Use Win + right arrow/left arrow to dock a window in the respective direction on the current screen.

If you want to move the window over to the display on the left, tap Win + Shift + Left Arrow.Win + Shift + Right Arrow key will bring the window to the display on the right. It’s that easy.

You’re now ready to supercharge your productivity with the help of multiple monitors. If you have any tips or tricks related to the topic, feel free to share in the comments below.

Today, the hot topic of discussion in my friends’ circle was the Windows 8 Developer Preview and we went on talking about it for hours.

One obvious point that popped up in the discussion again and again was whether Microsoft did the right thing by removing the start menu as most of the people who will run Windows 8 are still on desktops and laptops, and the metro style interface that caters to tablet owners mainly probably won’t be liked by the longtime Windows users who are accustomed to the good old start menu.

Well, the good thing about Windows is that there’s never a dearth of hacks and tweaks that can make your Windows behave the way you want. The deal’s the same with Windows 8 too. Yes, there’s a way to get the old start menu back!

So let’s see how we can get back the old start menu on Windows 8.

Step 1: In Windows 8, the start orb place is occupied by the first pinned application on the taskbar and thus the first thing we need to do is make a place for the Start Orb on the left end of the taskbar. Begin by creating a new folder anywhere on your computer. Renaming the folder is totally up to you.

Step 2: Right-click anywhere on the taskbar and click on Toolbars—>New Toolbar. Now browse for the folder you have created and select it to add it to your taskbar.

Step 3: Again right-click on the taskbar and unlock it by unchecking Lock the taskbar option. Now select and hold the separator near the New Folder tool on the taskbar and drag it to the leftmost section of the screen such that it holds the first position on the taskbar and all the pinned apps start after that.

Step 4: Right-click on New Folder text and deselect Show Text and Show Title to make the folder text disappear.

Step 5: Now when everything is in place, download and install ViStart on your system to bring back the Start Orb (and hence the menu) where it belonged.

If you want to remove the Start Orb in future just remove the New Folder tool from the taskbar and uninstall ViStart from your system.

ViStart will bring the old Start Menu back to Windows 8 but don’t expect it to be as smooth as the Windows 7 stock start menu. Moreover, the Metro Start menu will remain there and you may use it too. You might encounter some other issues too (like the button disappearing at times). So it’s a workaround, not a solution, but should be more than enough for those who can’t stand the new start menu (or lack thereof).

8. Exit Registry editor and reboot your computer. This should resolve the issue and your CD drive icon should now show up.

1. Click Start. Click Run.

2. In the Run box, type regedit and click OK.

3. In registry editor, go to

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

4. Click on {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} .

5. On the right pane, right click on UpperFilters and select delete from the context menu. If asked to confirm the deletion, click “Yes”.

6. If you don’t find UpperFilters registry entry then there should be LowerFilters registry entry. Right click on it and select delete from the menu. If asked to confirm the deletion, click “Yes”.

7. Exit Registry editor and reboot your computer.

You have to remove and reinstall the device drivers for the drive. Here I am explaining the process for Windows Vista and Windows XP. Process for Windows 7 is almost same as Windows Vista.

1. Click Start button

2. Type Device manager in the search box. Click on the result.

4. Reboot your PC.

5. The drivers will be automatically installed after your PC restarts.

1. Go to Start > Control Panel.

2. Click System and Maintenance > System.

3. Open the Hardware tab, click “Device Manager”.