Dual Monitor blacks out the second monitor in locked mode

Solution1:  Have your Help Desk remove end users second monitor because it's "broke".  Problem solved.

Solution2:  If it bothers you that much, go back to Windows XP.  Problem sovled.

You're right coldfire.  I missed the point.  Because the point is a waste of everyones talented time.  I only took the time to post about it because of the absurdity of the whole situation.  I'm honestly still shocked that people believe this is a "legit" issue.  I won't lose any sleep over it and neither should you. Educate your end users.  Be happy they're locking their computer when they get up for their coffee or their smoke break every 10 minutes.  And rest assured, that when they press that magic little key sequence "Ctrl" + "Alt" + "Delete", their beautiful picture of the beach they vacationed on, or their pet dog, or sweet little kid, will be happily staring them in the face . . . on both screens.

There is no built in way to change this functionality. When locked, one screen will be black. There may be some 3rd party software that may do this however it would not be supported by  Microsoft.

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Matthew Arkin - Windows Answers Moderator - Windows Desktop Experience MVP - http://twitter.com/Microsoft\_Cares

This forum post is my own opinion and does not necessarily reflect the opinion or view of Microsoft, its employees, or other MVPs.

Need to send me an email? Click my Name, my email is on my profile page.

So that is it? The best the answers community can come up with is that it is the way it is and any solution isn't supported and should be stifled. This fits oh so well with the name of the twitter account you have linked in your sig.

I agree with Coldfire.  This is annoying and it is a legitimate issue.  My organization is 100% dual monitors on about 4000 PCs.  In XP the background shows on BOTH monitors at the logon screen and locked screen.  However, in Windows 7 (which we are currently migrating to) the background is BLACK on the second monitor.  Another annoyance is that at the logon screen you can only see your mouse cursor on the second black monitor, and can't see it on the first monitor with background.

This is a legit issue, because our helpdesk is actually getting calls from end users that were just upgraded from XP to Win7 saying that their second monitor isn't working, when in fact it is working, MS just decided that in Windows 7, that latest and greatest and more "mac-like" operating system that you no longer should have a background on the second monitor when your computer is at logon screen or locked.

There is no built in way to change this functionality. When locked, one screen will be black. There may be some 3rd party software that may do this however it would not be supported by  Microsoft.

---

Matthew Arkin - Windows Answers Moderator - Windows Desktop Experience MVP - http://twitter.com/Microsoft\_Cares

This forum post is my own opinion and does not necessarily reflect the opinion or view of Microsoft, its employees, or other MVPs.

Need to send me an email? Click my Name, my email is on my profile page.

So that is it? The best the answers community can come up with is that it is the way it is and any solution isn't supported and should be stifled. This fits oh so well with the name of the twitter account you have linked in your sig.

There is no built in way to change this functionality. When locked, one screen will be black. There may be some 3rd party software that may do this however it would not be supported by  Microsoft.

---

Matthew Arkin - Windows Answers Moderator - Windows Desktop Experience MVP - http://twitter.com/Microsoft\_Cares

This forum post is my own opinion and does not necessarily reflect the opinion or view of Microsoft, its employees, or other MVPs.

Need to send me an email? Click my Name, my email is on my profile page.

So because Microsoft does not support such a software application, should it exist, you want to end this thread and keep people from spreading the word about a workaround? Simply because the solution is outside the purview of Microsoft and your own narrowly focused support doesn't justify marking your own answer as the correct one. I thought this was a community based forum where people come to find help with difficult issues. I don't see how telling someone "Any possible solution isn't supported by Microsoft" is helpful.