Beamer is not recognized - that may be the reason

Whether for a presentation or a cozy evening of films: It can happen that the projector is not recognized by the computer or laptop. In this practical tip, we will show you why.

Beamer is not recognized - Reason # 1: Cable defective

• The connection cable to the projector may have a cable break. You can test this if you still have a second (working) cable available.
• You can avoid a cable break by not placing heavy objects on the cable and not kinking it. Cables are relatively flexible, but only to a certain extent.

Beamer is not recognized - Reason # 2: Driver / additional software not installed

• Although many projectors work through plug-and-play, it can sometimes happen that certain projectors need additional software to be recognized or so that certain functions can be used.
• You can find out easily by entering the projector's product name and "driver" into Google search. Alternatively, you can check in the Device Manager whether a driver is still missing for a device.

Beamer is not recognized - Reason # 3: screen has to be switched

Probably the most common problem. But it is relatively easy to fix on Windows. If you press the Windows key and "P", an overview appears, where you can set how the picture is shown. You can choose between:

• "Screen PC only": This only shows the image on the PC / laptop.
• "Duplicate": Exactly the same image as on the PC is projected by the projector,
• "Extend": The projector then behaves like a second screen so that you can use multi-monitor functions.
• "Second screen only": This means that only the image from the projector is shown while the screen is missing on the PC. You should not activate this function if no projector is connected, as it will be a little more complicated to switch the mode back to normal.

If you are trying to stream your TV signal via the projector, our next practical tip will help you.