Skip to main content
Sign Out

Welcome to Dell

My Account
  • Place orders quickly and easily
  • View orders and track your shipping status
  • Enjoy members-only rewards and discounts
  • Create and access a list of your products
Sign In Create an Account Premier Sign In Partner Program Sign In
Contact Us

Your Dell.com Baskets

How to remove "ghost" or non-attached monitors showing in Windows display settings

Summary: Follow these general guidelines for resolving the issue of extra, or "ghost", monitors showing in the Windows Display Settings.

This article applies to This article does not apply to This article is not tied to any specific product. Not all product versions are identified in this article.
Check out other resources

Instructions

You may experience an issue with excess monitors showing in the Windows Display Settings even though these monitors aren't physically connected to the computer. This article provides the steps you can take to resolve this issue.

Extra monitors showing in display settings

You may experience an issue with "phantom" or "ghost" monitors showing in the Windows Display Settings, even though these extra monitors are not connected to the computer. Follow the steps below to resolve this issue:

  1. Right-click and remove any excess generic PnP monitors from Devices and Printers in Control Panel.
  2. Right-click and uninstall any Generic PnP monitor(s) appearing in Device Manager.
  3. Install the latest video drivers (for either the onboard Intel graphics card, or the add-on NVIDIA or AMD graphics card) from Dell. These can be found under the Drivers & downloads section and the Video category for your computer at Dell's Support Website / Drivers & Downloads.
  4. You may need to reboot your computer after installing the video drivers. After the driver completes the installation, only the monitors connected to the computer should be showing in the Display Settings.
HOW12265_en_US__1Monitors More information and support for your Dell monitor, laptop or tablet screen can be found on our Monitor Support site.

Affected Products

Alienware, Inspiron, Legacy Desktop Models, Dimension, OptiPlex, Vostro, XPS, G Series, Alienware and Dell Gaming Monitors, C Series, D Series, E Series, P Series, S Series, SE Series, UltraSharp Premier (UP) Series, UltraSharp (U) Series, Chromebook , G Series, Alienware, Inspiron, Latitude, Dell Pro Rugged, Vostro, XPS, Legacy Laptop Models, XPS Tablets, Fixed Workstations, Mobile Workstations ...
Article Properties
Article Number: 000108307
Article Type: How To
Last Modified: 03 Dec 2024
Version:  5
Find answers to your questions from other Dell users
Support Services
Check if your device is covered by Support Services.