How to Switch Between Screen 1 and 2 on Your PC

Are you having trouble setting up dual monitors on your Windows PC? Some video conferencing and screen-sharing apps prioritize screen order over display settings, causing you to accidentally share the wrong screen. While you can set one of the screens as the main display, switching the '1' and '2' numbers requires changing your settings. This guide will show you how to adjust your Windows settings to change the screen order on your computer.

Right-click anywhere on the screen. Right-click in an empty area on your desktop where there are no apps, programs, or icons. A menu will appear here.

• Use this method when you have two monitors and want to switch their positions to make the second monitor the main display.

Click on Display settings (Display Settings). This option is located just below the menu that appears, right next to the screen icon.

Click and drag the screens to arrange them in the order you prefer. Each screen will be numbered in this window. You’ll want the display arrangement to match the physical positioning of your monitors. For example, if Screen 1 is your laptop screen and Screen 2 is your external monitor placed to the left of your laptop, drag Screen 2 to the left of Screen 1.

• If you’re unsure which display corresponds to which screen, click on one screen and select Identify. This will display a number ‘1’ or ‘2’ in the bottom-left corner of each screen.
• If you’re satisfied with the setup, simply click Apply to save your changes.

Click on the screen you want to set as the main display. This is how you select your primary screen.

Click on Apply (Apply). This button is located below the selection box. Clicking it will apply the new settings and change the screen configuration.

Disconnect all screens except for the main one. To change the display order on a Windows computer, you need to alter the connection port of each screen. However, simply reconnecting the screen to a different port isn't enough — you must delete the registry key related to the screen's number for Windows to recognize the new display order. Before you open the editing tool, make sure to disconnect all screens that are not set as the main display.

• For example, if you are using a laptop plugged into a power socket, keep the laptop connected and disconnect the external monitor.

Open the Registry Editor. To open the Registry Editor, type regedit into the Windows search bar, then click on Registry Editor from the search results.

Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers. A simple way to do this is to copy the address, paste it into the address bar at the top of the Registry Editor, and press Enter. Alternatively, you can access it step by step as follows:

• Double-click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE in the left pane.
• Double-click on the System folder below it.
• Double-click on the CurrentControlSet folder below that.
• Double-click on the Control folder below that.
• Double-click on the GraphicsDrivers folder below that.

Rename the "Configuration" key to Configuration.old. The purpose of this is to delete the key, but renaming it provides a way to restore the information in case of an issue. To do this:

• Right-click on the "Configuration" folder in the left pane.
• Click Rename.
• Enter Configuration.old.
• Press Enter.
• If an issue arises (which is rare), you can always return here and rename the newly created folder "Configuration.old" back to "Configuration" to restore previous settings.

Rename the "Connectivity" key to Connectivity.old. Here's how to do it:

• Right-click on the Connectivity folder in the left pane.
• Right-click again and select Rename.
• Enter Connectivity.old.
• Press Enter.
• As with the previous step, if any issues arise with the configuration, you can always return here and rename the "Connectivity.old" folder back to "Connectivity" to restore the settings.

Turn off your Windows computer. This is a complete shutdown, not a restart. To do so, click on the Start menu, click the power icon at the bottom left, and then choose Shut down. Proceed to the next step after your computer has fully powered down.

Connect only the display you wish to set as Screen 1. It's crucial to remember that your computer must be connected to the primary video port. If you have a multi-port graphics card, use the first port. If the display port is integrated into the motherboard, it is typically considered the main port (Screen 1).

• If you're using a laptop, the built-in screen is always Screen 1.
• If you have multiple graphics cards, the best way to identify the primary display is to try the reverse order.
• Do not connect the second monitor yet.

Power on the computer. Simply press the power button on your laptop or desktop. Turn on the monitor if you had previously turned it off.

Right-click on the screen and select Display settings (Display settings). This will open the display configuration window.

Connect the second display. Windows will automatically detect the monitor and install the necessary drivers. Once the display is detected, you'll see two screens listed under the "Multiple displays" section in the right-hand pane. At this point, Screen 1 is the monitor connected to the primary port, and Screen 2 is the one you connected last. If you add another monitor, it will become Screen 3, and so on.

• If the second (and/or third) monitor doesn't appear in the Display Settings window, click the Detect button under "Multiple displays" to force the system to recognize the screen.
• Windows will automatically recreate the registry information you renamed earlier, so you won’t need to revisit the registry settings.