Where does the picture go when I plug in an external monitor in laptop?

Question

I have a Asus laptop with Windows 7 on it. And when I plugged in an external vga-monitor I wanted to extend the desktop between laptop monitor and the external one.

After pressing Windows+P a few times. The picture went away from the laptop monitor, never showed up on the external monitor. And now I can't get the picture back when the vga-cable is plugged in. If I unplug the cable. The picture shows up on the laptop monitor.

The monitor and cable is working fine with another computer. so I'm pretty sure that the problem is with the laptop.

Answer 1

Normally laptops have a alternate functions to keys near the top or top right that switch between which monitor(s) are selected. Typically there is a special function key (normally blue), that you have to hold in combination with a key that looks like it has two squares on it or above it.

Answer 2

According to Windows Key + P = Presentation Mode:

Use your keyboard arrows to navigate through > Click Enter to activate.

So, if you cannot see the onscreen dialog, maybe just press the cursor-left key three times and press Enter?

And according to the same resource:

To activate this feature type displayswitch.exe in the search programs and files text box. In other circumstances when you require more control over volume, screen brightness etc. simply press Windows+X, to bring up the Windows Mobility Center feature. This feature existed in Windows Vista too.