2 Monitors, one with Remote Desktop

See the resolution and refresh rate. Unlike VGA, HDMI and DP don't support all resolutions and refresh rates. Use a standard one such as 1920x1080 @ 60Hz. 75Hz, for example, is not supported.

GerryPeters said:

I changed it to a different VGA cable - no difference. Then I used the adapter to be able to plug the VGA into the DP 1.4 port, for some reason that didn't work well. Not sure why it goes black, losing the picture.

Click to expand...

Could be a couple of things...

Is your video card integrated (shares memory with your main memory)? Check to see if you have it on the highest available setting (like 128MB).

If after you check your refresh rate & that does not help, maybe its time to dump your VGA monitor for an inexpensive new HDMI monitor model & use an HDMI>DP adapter or better yet, use an HDMI > DP video cable. This way you'll have one less connection between devices.

Cheers!

One thing comes to mind on this. Bad VGA monitor.

Hooking into an HDMI or DP port with an adapter is a sub-optimal way to go when connecting a monitor. Adapters are usually made cheaply and don't work very well in my experience. It's better to use native cables. Of course, that means in your case you would need to buy a new monitor with at least an HDMI port.

In answer to your original question: It is possible to use Remote Desktop on one monitor and work on the other. I do it all the time. I drag my Remote Desktop window to my second monitor and it works easy peasy. My setup is like this:



My main monitor is identified as monitor 2 and I have chosen to make this my main display. My second monitor is on the right and is labeled #1. (It's just the way my cables worked out and I am too lazy to change it). In your case, just make the right hand monitor your main display and then dragging to the left will work for you as long as the displays are extended.

I don't think the display extension is causing your headache though. I think you have a problem with your VGA monitor.

Which reminds me, what kind of graphics card are we talking about here?

Unlike VGA that supports many resolutions and many refresh rates for the same resolution, DP and HDMI support only specific standard resolutions at 60Hz refresh rate only. This includes 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024, 1280x720, 1600x1200, 1920x1080, for example. Non-standard and weird resolutions such as 1368X768, 1440x900 and 1680x1050 are not supported. Make sure you select a standard resolution at 60Hz to maximize compatibility when using the DP to VGA or HDMI to VGA adapter. 1280x720 at 60Hz is a good starting point for most monitors. Try that first.