Connecting Monitors

@Neva1, edited my reply above to provide a bit more information. Hopefully it helps!

Video output from USB-C is an optional feature of USB-C ports, and not all systems have USB-C ports that include that capability.  The same is true for USB Power Delivery over USB-C that often gets used to charge systems.  Some systems with USB-C ports support being charged through that port, and others don't.

What exact system model do you have?  "Inspiron 13 7000" refers to an entire product line that includes several models made over several years, sort of like "BMW 3 Series".  Your actual system model would be something like Inspiron 7378, for example.  But if it turns out that your system's USB-C port is only for data rather than supporting video output, and the only other video output connector you have is HDMI (which doesn't support multiple independent displays from a single output), then your only option for connecting additional external displays would be to use a DisplayLink adapter for at least one of the displays, which plugs into a traditional USB port (USB-A) and offers a video output like DisplayPort, HDMI, or VGA.  You'd want a DisplayPort version for your displays.  There are also docks that have multiple display outputs and use DisplayLink technology for all of them, such as the Dell D6000, if you want a single-cable connection to your system.  The D6000 can connect to a system via traditional USB or USB-C, and it would work with your system's USB-C port because again it uses DisplayLink technology rather than relying on a native GPU output being available on the USB-C port.  The catch in either case is that DisplayLink has some drawbacks that I've described in this thread, specifically the post marked as the answer.  Those may or may not be relevant to your use case, but on the other hand even if they are, chances are that the productivity benefits of being able to use a second display would outweigh the drawbacks.  Or if those drawbacks aren't acceptable, then unfortunately it seems you didn't buy the right system for your needs, since it only supports a single GPU-driven external display.

And fyi, an HDMI to DisplayPort adapter only allows you to connect a DisplayPort output to an HDMI input.  It cannot be used in the opposite direction as you're attempting to do.  In your case you'd want an HDMI to DVI cable/adapter to connect one of your displays to that output.

I'm in a similar situation to OP.

I have a Dell G5 15 5587, which has a HDMI output.
I'm borrowing a Dell E2420H monitor from work, which has Display Port and VGA inputs.

My PC Techs at work said that for some reason, the display port to HDMI cables they have that worked on previous monitors don't with these screens, so I would need a HDMI to VGA converter plus VGA cable.

I have plugged in the brand new Newlink HDMI to VGA Converter, and also added the USB cable that came with it to power the converter in case it is necessary, and it simply doesn't work.

When the VGA cable is not plugged into the monitor, it says "No cable detected".
Plugging in the cable, it says "scanning for signal, will go into Power Save Mode in 4 minutes"
As soon as I plug the other end of the cable into the Converter, it says "No VGA signal from your device".
I've changed the VGA cable, and suspect the next advice someone may give would be to try a different converter - or better still, not use a converter in the first place.

However, the Newlink AV HDMI to VGA converter explicitly says it converts HDMI into VGA, with input signal being HDMI, and output SVGA. My laptop is presumably outputting a HDMI sign, which the converter receives, so it is the input signal for the converter, and the output of VGA travels along the standard VGA cable to then be the input for the monitor.

Especially considering my colleagues have said that this is what is required and works for others, with the converter being brand new, it makes me feel like there must be something else besides the converter being at fault...

Other posts online have suggested changing the output resolution, but this is only possible for the laptop screen and not the monitor, as it isn't detected by Windows.

I'm not expecting a resolution to this, but perhaps will help other people who have also done research and tried an adapter discover that they don't really work, before going through as many cables/adapters/converters as OP

I managed to solve this by following comment from Crowbar Ky on this page https://www.drivereasy.com/knowledge/fix-windows-10-not-detecting-second-monitor-solved 

Essentially: 

- Open device manager (Windows key + X brings up a menu you can select it from)
- Expand Display Adapters
- Right click on Display Adapter and choose Disable
- Wait until it's disabled
- Right click on Display Adapter and choose Enable

I did the above steps for both my nvidia graphics card, then (once re-enabled) did the same for Intel onboard graphics.

Then I unplugged the HDMI port (on the converter), then the USB power cable. Plugged in the USB power cable (while it was connected to converter) and then HDMI cable and heard the sound indicating new device had been connected, then it started working.

It may have been as simple as the last paragraph I wrote, where the order of connection was important (USB power cable in converter, then into laptop, then plug HDMI converter into laptop).

However if this was the case, one would think that just leaving everything plugged in and then restarting the laptop would have created the same effect... *shrug*