Home Setup Guide

Home Setup Guide

Overview 

This article serves as a general guide to help you set up equipment to work from home. 

Equipment

Depending on your selection, you may have some or all of the following equipment: 

Monitors

Power

Monitors normally have an indicator light that changes color depending on whether it's in use or in standby mode. If the monitor's indicator light is off, verify that the power cable is firmly plugged in on both ends.

AV Signal

For AV signal, most monitors just have inputs to connect to other devices. There are often labels on ports that tell you if the port is an input or an output, but if that detail is missing you can safely assume that the port is input only. 
Output = the end sending a signal from the source
Input = the end receiving the signal
Higher end monitors may have output ports in addition to input ports, which enables the ability to daisy chain monitors. Most monitors you'll encounter do not support this feature and will need to be directly connected to the source or dock. 
 
If your monitor is showing that it has no signal, here are some things you can try: 
  1. Reboot your computer 
  2. Unplug your computer from the dock and then plug it back in 
  3. Run updates on your computer
  4. Reseat both ends of the AV cable 
  5. Swap cables between monitors and different ports

Cables

Each monitor in your setup requires two cables:
  1. A power cable 
  2. An audio video (AV) cable connected to a source
The AV source is your laptop, which can send signal through the dock to your monitors. Depending on your equipment, the main AV cables you'll see are shown below: 
VGA and DVI have anchors that should be fastened to ensure a stable connection if bumped

Adapters

Sometimes you'll need an external adapter or a cable with a built-in adapter if the inputs on your monitor(s) don't match the available outputs on your dock. Depending on the adapter, it may not be reversible for how it converts signal so there is often only one way to install them. The item description will list the direction it supports with the output/source (laptop/dock) listed first, followed by the destination/input (the monitor), e.g., DP to DVI, HDMI to VGA. 

If plugging in a cable to an external adapter, the adapter is normally plugged directly into the docking station or source. 


Docking Station

The docking station's role is to be a "home base" that allows you to connect everything to your laptop through just one connection. This means that your dock should be able to handle charging, additional screens, and connecting to some USB peripherals, such as the USB receiver for a keyboard or mouse - all at the same time!  

Most of the docking stations currently used by the firm use a USB-C connection to plug into your laptop. 


The docking station requires its own power supply in order to power and manage everything connected to it. The power supply for the docking station typically has a larger brick than the one on your portable laptop charger. Different docks have different power supplies.


Setting it up

The following steps will help guide you along with setting up your equipment. If you have any questions about the parts in your kit, look at the equipment section above. 
  1. Remove your equipment from the box and/or packaging
  2. Install the stand on your monitors, if applicable
  3. Plug one power and AV cable into each monitor
    1. Connect the other end of the power cable to an outlet, then press the power button on your monitor if the standby light is not lit up
    2. Connect the other end of the AV cable to your dock, using an adapter if necessary
  4. Connect the power supply to your dock and plug that into an outlet
  5. Connect other peripherals to your dock, e.g. keyboard and mouse
  6. Connect your computer to the dock.
    1. Your computer should chime when it recognizes that a device was connected.
    2. If your external monitors don't show your screen, check for Windows updates and reboot your computer
  7. Go into Windows Settings > System > Display, then drag and drop the numbered screens to match the physical layout at your desk
    1. Select "Identify" to show which screen is assigned to a number
    2. Select "Apply" to test your arrangement and then "Keep" to confirm the change

Examples


 

 

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