3 monitor support: 1 laptop screen (docked), 2 ext. LCDs plugged into the back of the docking station?

Question

I just got the Thinkpad 8741-C2U running XP, and the advanced docking station (which has one DVI and one VGA port). I also have two 20" LCD screens which support both DVI and VGA inputs.


What I'd like to do is have 3 screens. One LCD using the DVI out of the adv. dock, the other LCD using the VGA out of the adv. dock, and the 3rd screen being the Laptop screen (with the laptop docked of course). And it is setup like this now.

Problem: Either the docked laptop screen and 1 ext. LCD screen will work simultaneously, leaving the last LCD screen blank, -or- the two ext. LCDs will work, leaving the docked laptop screen blank.

I'm running XP, which only supports dual monitors... Are there any programs (under $100) or any freeware programs that can allow my setup to work?

I already tried the ThinkVantage Presentation Director from Lenovo and it doesn't have an option for 3 or more monitors.

Your help is GREATLY appreciated! :)

Answer 1

The problem is not XP. I run XP with three monitors quite happily.

The problem is that the ATI FireGL chipset inside your T60p can only run two monitors. So, ThinkPad LCD + DVI or ThinkPad LCD + VGA or DVI + VGA.


I believe that you have the full dock:
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/catalog.workflow:item.detail?GroupID=38&Code=250310U¤t-category-id=2EA3D98929BD4B848C9712870E5BFF24

rather than the mini-dock:
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/catalog.workflow:item.detail?GroupID=38&Code=250410U¤t-category-id=C115F1DCFEEC4FC98B385898D5DB0658


This is good.

What you need to do is get a X1300 adapter card:
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/catalog.workflow:item.detail?GroupID=38&Code=41U5028¤t-category-id=FD615D93B7F84602A1957783BBEAACF8

or the X700 adapter card
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/catalog.workflow:item.detail?GroupID=38&Code=41U4813¤t-category-id=FD615D93B7F84602A1957783BBEAACF8


and put it in the PCI-e slot in the bottom of the dock.

Make sure your drivers for the ThinkPad video an for the adapter card are at the latest level of the Lenovo web site.

Then connect your two external monitors to the adapter card and you will be able to run the ThinkPad LCD too.



Edit:
You can try other video adapters but:
The power form the dock is limited to <34 watts.
The 16x PCIe slot is really only 1x. Your video card has to cope with this.
The video drivers must play nicely with the ATI drivers on the ThinkPad.

Lenovo guarantees that the above combination will work.

Answer 2

Every dell laptop i've ever seen (and I've seen a lot of them) has a place to plug in a monitor. Once you hook it up just hit function f8 until it's displaying on the monitor. You can also plug in a usb keyboard and mouse. About the only advantage in a docking station is you can grab the laptop and run with it when you want to take it somewhere, instead of unscrewing a bunch of cables.

Answer 3

Sony VEGAS video editing software has a driver for a FIREWIRE monitor.

Vegas is a pretty expensive program, but the home version is only $129 and might offer the same functionality.

you can download free 30 day trials at http://SonyCreativeSoftware.com