Tech Stuff

How To Use Your Old Monitor On A New Computer

You have finally purchased your brand new computer, only to find out that your second monitor (or even the main one) can no longer be used with it because of the missing VGA port, which is now commonly replaced by HDMI only. Most people take this as an opportunity to also replace their old screen with a better one, but its cost is far from generous and sometimes you’d rather keep what still works no matter how old it is.

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Before considering throwing away your 10 or even 20 years old screen because you can’t connect it to your new PC, you could look into some HDMI to VGA Adapters. Surely you won’t be able to optain a great resolution if the maximum it can reach is 1280×1024 for example, but at least you will have it running without giving up a perfectly functional device. Amazon has a few ones available from different sellers and brands, Amazon picked the Moread one as best choice and most recommended, but alternatively you may prefer a portable adapter without cable like this from Urelegan.

Please be aware that if you buy a VGA to HDMI Adapter instead, it is not guaranteed to work as it reads the opposite input and output (VGA port on PC to monitor/TV with HDMI). You specifically need the computer the read the VGA correctly, so that it will receive the needed signal from your graphics card.

You can also find simple HDMI to VGA cambes without adapter online, but I wouldn’t really consider those as they won’t work as you expect. The two devices will in fact require a proper converter to become compatible, a camble with HDMI input and VGA output will not be able to reach the monitor.

In case of a second screen, you may notice that the mouse cursor remains stuck over the first screen, or it takes a bit to properly slide in it unless you drag and move an open window from one screen to another. Even so, the alignment will be particularly off and that is to be expected if the two devices do not have the same resolution. In order to make it better and produce a smoother transition with the mouse going back and forth without too much struggle, you have to change the screen alignment in Display Settings. On the top you’ll see the two squares representing your monitors, ordered with number 1 (main screen) and number 2 (second screen). If 2 is placed at the top corner next to 1 and it’s not aligned to the bottom of it, just click and push it down to correct its placement. Click on Apply and you should see the overall mouse movement improving.

Another thing affecting this is the order set for the monitors, it highly depends on the way they are positioned on your desk and the arrangement you need. Again, this can be easily fixed by dragging and moving the squares around.

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