Q&A for How to Hook Up a Laptop to a TV

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Question

Can I connect my laptop to my TV wirelessly?

Luigi Oppido
Computer & Tech Specialist
Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years.

Luigi Oppido

Computer & Tech Specialist

Expert Answer

Most TVs need to have some type of receiver to connect wirelessly. There's a few out there to choose from. You will need either a Chromecast receiver, an Apple Airplay receiver, or a Bluetooth type connection.

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Question

What is the name of the cable that I will need exactly?

Community Answer

The most common cable is an HDMI-cable. It's great because it can deliver HD picture and sound quality and it's all digital.

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Question

The HDMI port on my Lenovo is small but large on the TV. Will this still work?

Community Answer

Yes. You will need to either purchase an adapter or a cable which is mini/micro HDMI to HDMI.

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Question

How do I get sound when I hook my computer to my TV?

Community Answer

You may need to have another cable from the earphone jack of the computer to the audio "IN" jack of the television.

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Question

How do I connect my laptop if I only have USB ports and a telephone jack?

Community Answer

You can connect through the USB cable with HDMI on the other end of the cable. You need to connect your TV with the HDMI end and your PC with the USB. There are many other options to connect as you can connect through converters available in the market.

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Question

I have picture on my TV through a HDMI but I don't have sound. Can I get some help?

Community Answer

Check your HDMI port. Try hooking up a different HDMI cable to it and see if it works. If it's not a bad cable, then you may have a bad port. Also, check your settings on the computer. Some PC's will automatically disable things when you connect to another device. I'm not sure what kind of PC or TV you have, but usually you can adjust audio and visual settings in your control panel. Also, some antivirus software will disable certain features as added protection for your PC.

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Question

How can I connect a laptop to multiple TVs?

Community Answer

You need an HDMI splitter.

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Question

How do I partition a hard drive?

Community Answer

When you set up a brand new laptop, the settings will be there. You can choose how many partitions and how much memory is assigned to each. The other way to do it is to factory reset your laptop first then go through the steps provided.

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Question

What should I do if I've connected an HDMI cable between my laptop and the TV and there's no picture on my TV?

Community Answer

Ensure that your TV is on the correct HDMI input (they often have 2 - 4), then try the function key on the notebook that redirects video output (Function-F5 is common for this, but check your laptop's manual).

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Question

How can I do this if I don't have a cord for any of the ports?

Community Answer

Unfortunately, it will not be possible, as you need to have a cable of sorts to connect the devices. HDMI cables are available on Amazon starting from around £3.

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Question

The screen on my laptop is too damaged to view anything. I have Windows 7, do I just press "Windows key + P" to have it switch to the external monitor (in my case, TV)?

Ron Schick

Community Answer

Based on the article, after pressing Windows key + P, the three choices mentioned in the article will appear on screen. Since your screen is damaged, you may be able to press Windows + P and then tab to the desired choice. I have Windows 7 and have the following choices, which appear side by side, left to right: Computer Only (default), Duplicate (the picture shows a laptop screen and a larger screen, such as a TV or projector screen), Extend (two screens side by side, possibly a dual-monitor setup) and Projector Only (laptop screen blacked out and display on projector screen). Try tabbing once to move the selection from Computer Only to Duplicate or two more times to Projector Only.

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Question

Once I have connected my laptop to my television, how do I get it to display?

Community Answer

Your TV might adjust the settings itself for the screen, but if that doesn't happen, then go into your TV's display options and change them yourself. Check with your user manual for your TV if you need to.

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Question

Does hooking a TV to a laptop wear out the laptop?

Community Answer

No. But it might wear out the cable or port if you unplug it too many times.

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Question

I was using a HDMI cable, but two days ago it stopped working. I tried a new cable, but it still does not work. Why?

Community Answer

Make sure that your TV is on the right input. Unplug and replug. Also, restart your TV or cable box or laptop (whichever it's connected to).

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Question

If I connect my laptop to my TV using a USB to HDMI cable, will the sound transfer also?

Community Answer

Only if you get an adapter that specifies it has audio support. However, all of them seem to require Windows 7, 8, or 10 (not Mac or Linux) and a USB 3.0 port to provide full performance. If you have these (Windows + USB 3.0) on your laptop, you probably have a better connection option available.

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Question

Do I only need an HDMI port and cable to connect my laptop to my TV?

Community Answer

Yes, assuming your laptop and TV both have a HDMI port.

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Question

What is the approximate cost of an HDMI cable?

Zoey

Community Answer

A 3 ft one would be about $2.50, while a ft one would be about 20 dollars. The cost depends on the length of the cord. A 6 ft one off Amazon is currently $11 for a display port one.

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Question

My TV says no signal. I have HDMI to USB. What should I do?

Rudy Toth

Community Answer

Then you need to switch the TV settings to the other device, you have connected to your computer and assign that in the edited field on your TV to manually switch it. Like for an example on your TV you would name the input: "Blu-Ray" and the other saying "Cable". That way you have 2 separate channels of input, one goes to the cable and the other goes to your Blu-Ray player. Its all in the switching mechanism to make a connection.

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Question

My laptop has no HDMI port but my LCD screen does, so how can I connect them?

Rudy Toth

Community Answer

Most laptops today have at least one HDMI connector. Then you need to connect the HDMI connector to your LCD screen that leads over to your TV HDMI input, then you need to switch the TV settings mode to that you edit/rename to "PC Connection" manually. Then you will hit the F4 key that looks like this |[ ]| that is the switching function from your screen to your TV input. You might need to write this out... so as not to forget.

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Question

I'm trying to connect a Dell laptop to my older Toshiba TheaterWide HDTV. I'm using an HDMI for the red, white and yellow video ports but nothing is showing up on my TV. Do you have any suggestions?

Rudy Toth

Community Answer

You can't split the HDMI cable into three different outputs red and white is audio and the yellow is the video signal. You can damage both ends of the devices. Might your Toshiba HDTV be RCA female jacks? You can't connect a HDMI cable to any of those - you need the corresponding other end as the same female jacks.

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