Force win7 to detect a newly connected DVI (HDMI) device without rebooting

Question

I'm plugging my (Dell) laptop's secondary DVI port to my HDTV. Sometimes the connection is detected right away. Sometimes I have to reboot the laptop. Is there a way to ensure the newly detected laptop is available right away?

Answer 1

Many reasons for such problems are possible. Some of them may be:

1. Video card driver (may try to update it from the manufacturer's site)
2. Bad connectors
3. Bad cable
4. Bad video card

See in any case the Event Log for any errors regarding video.

Answer 2

Is the TV already switched on, when you plug the cord?

Maybe detection fails when the TV is not running/not yet "ready" or when it is set to a different input device?