Some of these steps may not apply to your computer. Test the projector display after performing each step.

Symptoms

To begin projector display troubleshooting select from the following symptoms:

The projector does not display an image

The projector image is cut off

The computer screen turns off

Resetting the projector

The projector does not display an image

These instructions tell you how to fix the most common causes of this symptom:

1. Enable the external monitor port on your ThinkPad computer
   Projectors usually connect to the external monitor port which must be enabled before any image will be sent to the projector.
   
   
   
   
   
   1. Press and hold the Fn key (located in the lower left-hand corner of your keyboard) then press the F7 key. (This combination of keys is known as "Fn+F7".) Each time you press the Fn+F7 key combination you will cycle your display through the following settings:
      
      
      
      
      
      • Your ThinkPad LCD screen only
        
        
      • Your external monitor port only
        
        
      • Both the ThinkPad LCD screen and the external VGA port
      
      
      
   2. Wait a few seconds each time you press Fn+F7 to let the projector refresh or "perfect" its image.
      
      
   3. Cycle through the display settings using Fn+F7 until you reach the setting you desire.
      
      
   
   
   
2. "Waking up" the projector
   Some projectors have power-saving states similar to a computer's sleep mode. Usually there is a button on top of your projector to enable or disable this state. Consult your projector's documentation if you need to "wake up" your projector.
   
   
   
   
3. Using Presentation Director
   A great way to ensure that your projector is optimized for your presentation is to use a software program called Presentation Director which is probably already installed on your ThinkPad computer. Presentation Director lets you set up a profile that will enable the external monitor port for your projector with one click of a button. You can use Presentation Director to optimize you computer for presentations (by doing things such as setting the display resolution and turning off the screen saver) then you can save your settings in a profile and apply them at any
   time.
   
   
   
   
4. If these steps have not solved your problem or refer to "Need more help?"

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The projector image is cut off

Usually this problem occurs when your ThinkPad computer's display properties are set to a resolution that your projector does not support. Similar to your ThinkPad LCD display your projector has an optimal resolution with which it works best. Consult your projector's documentation to find this optimal resolution and set your computer's display properties accordingly.

Set the display properties on your ThinkPad computer

1. 
   
   

    

   For Windows 2000 click Start select Settings and then click Control Panel. Double-click Display.
   For Windows XP click Start and then click Control Panel. Click Appearance and Themes and then click Display.
   
   
   
   
2. Click the Settings tab. There will be a slider bar on the right side of the window.
   
   
   
   
3. Use the slider bar to change your video resolution. Check your projector's documentation to find its optimal resolution.
   Once you find your projector's optimal resolution you can save that setting in a profile using Presentation Director.
   
   
   
   
4. If these steps have not solved your problem or refer to "Need more help?"

Note: For more information about fixing projector images that are cut off visit the following link: External projector displays image clipped on both sides.

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The computer screen turns off

Your computer probably has a built-in feature that turns off the screen after a period of inactivity to conserve your ThinkPad computer's battery power.

Disable the power-saving feature that turns off your screen

1. For Windows 2000 click Start select Settings and then click Control Panel.
   For Windows XP click Start and then click Control Panel. Click Performance and maintenance.
   
   
   
   
2. Double-click the Power Options icon.
   
   
   
   
3. Click the Power Schemes tab. A set of options for turning off your monitor will appear in the lower portion of the dialog box.
   
   
   
   
4. Set the Turn off monitor drop-down list to the settings you desire. For most presentations you will want to change the settings to Never.
   
   
   
   
5. If these steps have not solved your problem or refer to "Need more help?"
   
   Note: Remember to change your settings back after your presentation (or use Presentation Director which may use a profile to disable and reset them automatically) or you may waste battery power unintentionally.

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Resetting the projector

Resetting your projector will fix most other problems.

1. Unplug the projector from your computer.
   
   
   
   
2. After ten seconds plug the projector back in.
   
   
   
   
3. Set the display resolution on your computer to the projector's optimal resolution (for more information see Setting the display properties on your ThinkPad computer). Your projector should work properly now.
   Note: Your projector may have a slower refresh rate than your ThinkPad LCD does. As a result your projector may take longer to display the image than your ThinkPad computer does.
   
   
   
   
4. If these steps have not solved your problem or refer to "Need more help?"