Multiple monitors issue on Dell Latitude E5470

Well, I was able to turn off my laptop display so now I'm down to one.The external is set up as my primary and  I did a recent Dell update to make sure I had the latest drivers.  I just don't get why everything has to be so hard for me.

Ok, the full specs for that CPU here indicate that it can support up to 3 simultaneous displays, so you should be able to run both of your external displays and your built-in display at the same time.  My only remaining idea would be to perform a manual install of the latest BIOS and Intel Graphics driver in case the automatic update somehow isn't providing them.  As of this writing, the latest BIOS is here and the latest Intel Graphics driver is here.  Install those, restarting your system after each one, and then try again with both of your external displays connected to the dock.  Note that I'm not sure whether the Pro3x dock is the E-Port or E-Port Plus.  Does that dock have two DVI and two DisplayPort outputs, or only one?  If it only has one of each, that's an E-Port, in which case you can only use EITHER a DVI or DisplayPort output and then the VGA output at the same time.  You would not be able to use that dock's DVI and DisplayPort outputs at the same time.  If you have two of each output, that's the E-Port Plus, in which case you can use any combination of outputs as long as you have one display connected to one of the "Display 1" pair of outputs and the other connected to the "Display 2" pair.  You can't use both the DVI and DisplayPort outputs of the same pair simultaneously.

It's also possible that the system doesn't support using displays attached to the dock and displays attached to the system's built-in outputs simultaneously, but I haven't tested that.  But if you're only trying to use 2 external displays and one of them will be connected via VGA, then you can connect both to the dock no matter what.

If you still can't get it to work even after installing those updates and connecting your displays as described above, then maybe reinstalling Windows from scratch would resolve it, but that's obviously a significant undertaking.  Otherwise, it might be some kind of hardware issue.

I have good news. I was messing around with the monitors in the room that didn't have the docking station. Anyway, I got the two monitors to work;  one through the HDMI port on my Delll and the other off the VGA but I have to turn the laptop screen off..

  It's progress! I'll be expecting to use four screens when I get the docking station going..I don't think I made any substantive changes to my set up.  

So I can do two monitors with my laptop display without the docking station is that right? Thanks for your help because you at least provided the foundation for me to believe it can get done

I can run the laptop screen with the two monitors without the docking station oh, is that right?

Oops, I forgot, I have the 3x so not the e-port plus docking station

@tfrasierthe non-Plus docking station can handle two displays as long as one of them is VGA.  But in terms of your expectations of getting four displays going, that isn't going to happen, because as I said above, the Intel GPU in that system only supports up to 3 simultaneous displays total, no matter what.  In fact, all Intel GPUs as of this writing have that limitation, even the ones in the latest Intel CPUs.  The only way to get additional displays would be to use something like a DisplayLink "indirect display" adapter.  They plug into USB ports and give you a display output like VGA, DVI, HDMI, or DisplayPort  But indirect display technology has some drawbacks that I've written about in detail here in the post marked as the answer.  If that's acceptable to you, or at least acceptable enough compared to the alternative of not having a fourth display at all, then this might be a good option -- but you should know what you're getting into.

But apart from that, I'm not sure what other display output combinations are possible.  Two dock displays plus the built-in display should work based on the system specs.  As for mixing dock displays and external displays connected to the built-in display outputs on the system, I'm not sure.  Some systems have restrictions around which display outputs can be used simultaneously.  For example, I've seen Latitude laptops with VGA, HDMI, and USB-C video outputs, but the VGA and USB-C outputs can't be used at the same time.  I'm not sure if the E6430 has any similar restrictions, but it might.

@tfrasier  unfortunately I can't say for certain whether the E6430 can support dual external displays without any docking station.  I've never tested that.  My guess is that it probably does, but again I can't be sure of that.

If you have an E-Port docking station that has USB 3.0 ports, then yes it will support DisplayPort MST (what you called multi-link).  The way to tell this is to check the color of the rear USB ports.  If they're blue, you have USB 3.0 and DisplayPort MST support.  If they're black, then you don't have either of those things.  The left USB ports will always be black and always be USB 2.0, fyi.  However, even if you have DisplayPort MST, that doesn't automatically mean you can use more displays.  There are a few things to be aware of:

- As I said, your Intel GPU is limited to no more than 3 displays no matter what, regardless of how they're connected -- so to get 3 displays running off the dock, you would first have to disable the built-in display.

- If you want to take advantage of DisplayPort MST, you'll either need displays that have built-in support for daisy-chaining, or you'd need a DisplayPort MST hub, plus possibly specialized adapters if your displays don't all have native DisplayPort inputs.  By specialized, I mean "active" adapters.  Most DisplayPort to DVI/HDMI adapters are passive adapters and rely on the source device to fall back to sending a native DVI/HDMI signal.  Most MST hubs won't do that, in which case you need "active" adapters that have a chip built into the adapter itself that will itself convert the native DisplayPort source signal to DVI/HDMI.  Those adapters are a bit harder to find and a bit more expensive.

- Your entire triple display setup would need to fall within the bandwidth limits of a single DisplayPort 1.2 link.  Assuming all displays involved are the same resolution, that would mean you could do triple 1920x1200 or possibly a single 2560x1440 display and a pair of 1920x1200.  I'm not 100% sure about that second one.

But again, all of this is speaking in general terms.  For all I know there might be something particular about that system that prevents some of these setups even when they would otherwise meet the general GPU and DisplayPort MST requirements.

@wtnwin111  were you able to try a 2560x1440 monitor via HDMI on your E5470?  (without docking station, preferably together with the internal/laptop's display)

I have the same E5470 with integrated GPU (Intel HD Graphics 530), with full-HD display (1920x1080) and would like to use it in a dual-display setup by adding an external 2560x1440 monitor via the laptop's HDMI-port, but I have none available to test before buying.

I know it works with an external 1920x1080 monitor, but I find that resolution is too low for a 24" or even a 22" monitor.

Perhaps it is hard for you because this isn't what you're natively good at, so you might find relief by finding someone that "Does computers" in person, and ask them to help achieve what you want, and spend a happier time being productive in the things you are good at.

Or, google your question rather than ask a forum, to find articles that help you help yourself.

I didn't see that you replied to include what processor you have, and if you follow the link you'll learn i3 processor can't do what you want, but i5 and i7 can, and any of those 3 could be inside your e6430

The link below will help you determine if you can do what you want with the gear that you have.
https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000131612/how-to-configure-three-3-displays-on-a-dell-latitude-notebook-with-intel-hd-4x00-graphics

@Xteknik  I don’t really understand people who feel the need to belittle or patronize others as part of ostensibly trying to help them, as you clearly felt compelled to do. But if you’re going to try to make someone else look dumb, you should at least make sure you’re on solid ground. You linked to an article about HD Graphics 4000 Series GPUs, while the person who posted in this thread most recently before you specifically said they had a Latitude E5470, which uses the Intel HD Graphics 520 GPU — not any of the 4000 Series GPUs. Maybe you don’t really “do computers” so well yourself? Also, the newest post in this thread before yours is over a year old at this point. So who exactly did you think you were trying to help with your bad information, delivered over a year after a question was asked, wrapped up in snark?