Teleprompter Display Problem-Windows XP

[Jim Brennan]

I am not a PC person, but I have had a bunch of people asking me to rent my teleprompter. Not wanting to loan out my MBpro, I dusted off one of my wife's old laptops, which runs XP, and installed the software (Zaprompt)

The prompter monitor shows the same thing as the laptop, so I went to the display settings to change it, and it only shows one monitor. I tried going to HELP, but all of the suggestions it gives assume that 2 monitors will show up in the display settings, but there is only one.

I tried installing new hardware to see if there was a driver I needed, but it says there is no new hardware.

The prompter software has the second monitor option grayed out and when I asked it to detect a second monitor it says that there isn't one.

Obviously the prompter monitor is getting data from the laptop, since it is mirroring the primary display. I can run the software this way if I have to, but I prefer to have it set up for 2 monitors.

Any suggestions?

 

[Jim Brennan]

Okay now it's much worse. Trying to fix the problem I evidently disabled the entire video driver/system. When I re-booted I just get a black screen.

How the hell do I fix that?

 

[Jeff Anderson]

There are probably a set of function keys (proprietary key + an f-key or number) that control the display. Options are usually LCD, External, or both - perhaps you are set to external right now? If it has a set of keys like that try cycling them until something happens. Good luck! What kind of laptop is it?

 

[Jim Brennan]

Compaq nc6000. The external display works (or it did until I made it worse), it just mirrors the laptop display and I want them to be set up as 2 separate displays.

 

[Nick Walters]

turn off the computer...turn it back on. While it's booting up tap f8 until a text menu pops up. Select safe mode(with or without networking), and try to fix the disabled/damaged driver situation from there.