Model?

Thanks for the replies! My Computer is a Dell XPS 8500 and my operating system is Windows 8. The funny thing is that this problem happened when I first got the computer, it was nothing that I did, I pretty much tried to connect to VGA cable to it's usual port like I said and it would not work.

I connect the dvi adapter to the port of my computer and the vga cable to the back of the dvi adapter if that makes sense, after I did that, then everything works fine. It's the VGA port at the back of my computer that seems not to work.

It sounds like you have an add-in video card which disables the on-board VGA port.

If you want to use the VGA port, look in BIOS Setup (reboot and press F2) for the Intel Multiple Display setting and change it to Enabled. Save the change and exit BIOS.

The VGA port should work now. But why would you use the VGA port if you have an add-in video card? The video card probably has much better graphics than the onboard Intel graphics.

BTW: It's probably not a good idea to hot-swap the monitor connection. Better to do that when the PC is off.

To be honest, I only wanted both ports to work, so I could use both the DVI & the VGA ports so I could have display on both my monitor and my TV, if that makes sense. When it comes to doing hardcore stuff, I don't like to change anything since I am not that professional with computers lol.

I guess I will just keep it the way it is. I was just wanting to know why the VGA port was not working, since when you get a computer, it usually does work. I guess Dell wanted me to have better graphics :)

Hi OsirianTheGreat,

Glad to know that you found the information helpful in understanding why the VGA port was not working, also the steps shared by Ron are very simple to perform. You'll have to make the aforesaid changes in BIOS if you need both the ports working.

Feel free to reach out to us if you need any assistance in future.

@Ron: Thank you for your inputs. I appreciate your assistance in helping us out.

Your video card probably has a second output port so you could connect the monitor to its DVI and the TV to its HDMI port, depending on what inputs your TV has.  If the TV only accepts DVI, you may be able to get an HDMI>VGA dongle (not a simple adaptor) to run the VGA monitor.

But it's still easier and less expensive  just to turn the VGA port on in BIOS Setup. Won't take you more than ~5 minutes.

Also, I tried going to BIOS by pushing F2 at restart and it took me to something called Aptio Startup Utility and I couldn't find anything that said Intel Multiple Display... very strange

Well, I actually have a HDMI cable and tried doing that which does not work either and of course my TV does have HDMI input. The HDMI TV problem is pretty much the same as the monitor one. The TV is able to locate it, but nothing shows on the screen. I am guessing, it is cause of that Intel Multiple Display thing you were talking about Ron?

Once you plug in your screen, you can choose your display options.

1.Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Devices.

(If you're using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down, and then click Devices.)

2.Tap or click Second screen and then choose one of these options:

•Duplicate. You’ll see the same things on both screens.

•Extend. Your screen is now spread over two monitors, and you can drag and move items between the two.

•Second screen only. You’ll see everything on the connected screen, and the other one will remain blank

The funny thing is that this problem happened when I first got the computer, it was nothing that I did, I pretty much tried to connect to VGA cable to it's usual port like I said and it would not work.

Which CPU is installed in your XPS 8500? Some of the Intel CPUs do not have onboard graphics. (I believe they are suffixed with 'P.')

I think my CPU is Intel i7 Core. Hey Ron, I tried what you said and went to Devices, all it really said was, Nothing Can Be Sent From The Desktop or something? I had another check again, I am definitely sure that my TV is noticing when my VGA cable is connected to the VGA port, but of course it is still saying No Signal... really really weird

Hi OsirianTheGreat,

Please flow the below mentioned steps to enable the Intel Multi-Display settings in BIOS:

• Boot to BIOS by tapping F2 key on the startup.
• Navigate to Advanced tab.
• Select Onboard Device Configuration.
• Under that you will find Intel Multi-Display, change it to Enabled.

Hope this helps. Please reply if you have any questions.