Dual Monitor blacks out the second monitor in locked mode

Hi Kunal Pathak,

a.      What kind of Display settings have you set it to?

b.     Is it an Extended Display or Duplicate Display setting?

If it is an Extended Display, the Display will not be extended if the primary display is not active.

Extend your displays: This spreads your desktop over both monitors and lets you drag items between the two screens. This is how most people use two monitors, and it's the default setting.

If you have set the second monitor to Duplicate the display, then it will replicate the setting even if you have locked the computer.

Duplicate your displays: This displays the same desktop on both monitors. For a laptop, this is the default setting. This is useful if you're giving a presentation with your laptop connected to a projector or large monitor.

Refer this link for more information:

Work and play better with multiple monitors

Regards,

Divya R – Microsoft Support.

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Thanks Divya,

We have setup of two monitors with setting "Extend your displays", the point is to make the most of these two monitors. The behaviour as you said is normal however the same was working better with Windows XP.

in XP: After locking the screen or at the Logon Screen both the monitors display was there with the wallpapers on. Even we had choice of keeping diff. wallpapers on both screens.

In Win7: After locking the screen or at the logon screen the second monitor is still active and ON. the cursor movement is there however just the change (not desired and not appreciated) is its all blacked out. No wallpaper seen.

Can't this be changed by any reg. settings or third party tools if not in built with windows 7.?

Thanking you again for your reply and looking forward to some way out.

Thanks,

Kunal

Hello KK_KNL,

That function has never been built into any version of Windows. Although there are numerous third party products that will accomplish what you are looking for. Please use your favorite search engine to locate these third party products.

Hope this helps 

Chris.H

Microsoft Answers Support Engineer

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Chris,

I don't think you understand what he is asking for. If you do, then you are mistaken. It was definitely built into XP. If you set your group policy settings correctly, you can see your wallpaper when you LOCK the computer. It shows on both monitors and requires no plugins or third party software. This doesn't mean it shows on the logon screen, just the lock screen. They changed it in Vista and Windows 7 so that this isn't possible anymore. You had to have the welcome screen and fast user switching off. Domain environments were always setup like that, so we got used to it being that way where we work.

KK_KNL,

I have searched extensively for a way to change the second screen from black to something else and haven't found anything so far, 3rd party or otherwise. If anyone has found a way though, I would love to know how. I have found many ways to change the main screen logon/lock screen background, but not the black second screen. With the death of GINA and rise of credUI, there is no way to go back to old classic logon/lock screen and get away from the new welcome screen style. Which also means no domain drop-down list either.

Thanks,

Dan