Have you ever found yourself wishing for just one more screen? Maybe your desktop monitor suddenly stopped working, or you need to extend your workspace while traveling with only your laptop. It’s a common situation, and you might have looked at your laptop’s screen and wondered if it could serve as a spare. The good news is that in many cases, you can indeed use your laptop as a secondary monitor.
While it’s not as simple as plugging in a regular monitor, several methods can get the job done. The right approach for you depends on your equipment and what you’re trying to achieve. Let’s look at the most common and effective ways to make it happen.
Using Built-in Software on Windows
If both your main computer and your laptop are running Windows 10 or 11, you have a convenient built-in option called Projecting to this PC. You can find this feature in your system settings under the ‘Display’ or ‘System’ menu. On the laptop you want to use as a monitor, enable this setting. Then, from your primary PC, press the Windows key + P and select ‘Connect to a wireless display’. Your laptop should appear as an available screen, allowing you to extend or duplicate your desktop.
Leveraging Third-Party Applications
For those who use different operating systems or need more features, third-party software is a fantastic solution. Programs like Space Desk or Parsec are popular choices. These applications work by installing a small program on both your main computer (the host) and your laptop (the client). Once connected over your network, your laptop becomes a fully functional second monitor. This method is excellent for both Windows and Mac users and often provides low latency.
Considering the Hardware Route
It’s important to know that you generally cannot connect another device to your laptop’s video input port (like HDMI-in) because most laptops are designed only for video output. However, some specialized gaming laptops do feature this capability. For everyone else, the software methods described above are your best bet and work remarkably well for most tasks like coding, writing, or browsing the web.
Using your laptop as a second monitor is a clever way to boost your productivity without buying new hardware. With a little setup using either built-in Windows tools or a free application, you can create a flexible and efficient dual-screen setup wherever you are.
Leave a Reply