Extended Desktop will not turn on

Okay I've had this problem before (with Windows 8.1) and this is generally the reason and solution (I'm using a notebook and an external display for extended desktop):

At Location 1 I have a Dell E2414H Monitor that is 1920x1080 resolution.

At Location 2 I have a 26" Samsung TV I use for a monitor.. I forget the resolution but it is not 1920 x 1080.

Neither supports the other's resolution so the first time I plug into the other display I have to go to settings and change it to a supported resolution to get it to work, however, this has always worked.

So, the Dell monitor was working just fine on Windows 10. I upgraded a week or two ago, and it worked just fine. Then I went to Location 2 and plugged my notebook into the Samsung TV. I changed the resolution and it worked. Now back at Location #1 I plug into my Dell monitor and change it to 1920 x 1080 and it does not turn on. The monitor always says "Going into Power Save Mode" as soon as I plug it in to the computer or turn it on / off..

Here is an interesting tid-bit that might help troubleshoot this: Windows 10 settings obviously sees the monitor is plugged in because instead of showing 1 screen in the setting it shows 2 screens and gives the normal "Extended Desktop", "Duplicate Displays" etc. etc. options. However, I'm also getting the message that there is no signal from the VGA cable.. I don't think the cable went bad nor the port on my computer. I mean the Dell monitor was working up until the second I unplugged it to go to Location 2. And the Samsung TV worked up until the second I unplugged it to go back to location 1. This is the first time I've switched back and forth between displays on Windows 10.. maybe it's a bug in the OS...

Any ideas how to fix this?

That is because the resolution is out of range of the other monitor.

broe23- I know that the resolution of the Dell monitor is 1920 x 1080 which is what I have it set for in the settings and it will not turn on.

I understand why the problem originally occurs, but after I change it back to the supported resolution and it still will not turn on is what I cannot figure out.. do you have a solution?

For some reason, this morning, after two days of not turning on, it turns on when I reboot the computer. However, then it starts blinking on and off.. at first it was like 1 sec off and 10-15 secs on.. now it is blinking a little more rapidly. Every once in a while my laptop monitor blinks off then on, but not very often or predictable.. any ideas??

Try going into Safe mode and uninstall the display driver, then reboot to have windows load the driver again.

Usually when you are switching back and forth like that. The software for thr driver if you have it installed, can cause it to be out of range, due to it still remembers the previous display.

As for the blinking monitor screen. Does it even allow you to go into the bios and see that screen?

Hi, Thanks for your response. So if I just uninstall my driver Windows will go find it automatically? No need to worry about neither monitor never turning on again? I did check the driver status in device manager and it says it is the most up to date.

Also, here's a little update on this problem:

I figured out that for some reason now I have to have the monitor plugged in when I boot up Windows to get it to turn on. In that case, it will turn on now that the resolution is correct. Previously, I could plug and unplug the VGA cable at will and it would switch between single display and extended desktop. I no longer seem to have that functionality. Additionally, when I am off a fresh boot everything seems to work as normal for at least a little while. After a few hours, the extended desktop will start blinking, maybe once per 10 seconds. Sometimes, the laptop display will also blink, less predictably.

I'm wondering if maybe my hardware is not made for Windows 10? The computer is almost exactly 5 years old, built on WIndows 7, but it is a Core i3 2.27 GHz with 4 GB Ram it is actually surprisingly quick for a 5 year old computer...

Additionally, I noticed my laptop speakers no longer work. I can plug in headphones and they work fine, but nothing from the speakers.